Madame Guyon’s Influences on a Protestant Spirituality : The Case of Thomas C. Upham

Abstract

The research on mysticism in Protestant spiritualities is still in the beginning stage. In this paper, I have examined the process of Thomas Uphams' appropriation of Madame Guyon's mysticism and some concerns in the interpretation on mystical experiences. Phoebe Palmer guided Upham to have spiritual experiences starting from conversion and assessed them as a model case of experiencing entire sanctification in the Wesleyan term. However, Upham had conflicts with Palmer regarding his interpretation on the death of the will or self-annihilation, which are elements of divine union. He found the appropriate explanation of his inner experience in the writings of Madame Guyon and used Madame Guyon's thoughts on self-annihilation and divine union. Upham contributed to Protestant spirituality by appropriating Madame Guyon's mystical experiences to the Holiness movement. Upham's case shows the serious influence of Madame Guyon's spiritual experiences on Protestant spirituality and mysticism. By Upham, mystical experiences were tried to be interpreted as a Protestant theological term such as entire sanctification. Upham's position was somewhat dubious but seems to have a role of bridge between Guyon and Palmer. In this paper, first, I describe Upham's experience of sanctification and his interest in mysticism. Then, I explore Upham's appropriation of Madame Guyon's mystical experiences shown in her writings and his conflicts with Phoebe Palmer regarding his deviant position on entire sanctification.