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Esoteric Christianity is an ensemble of spiritual currents which regard Christianity as a mystery religion,〔''Western Esotericism and the Science of Religion: Selected Papers Presented at the 17th Congress''〕 and profess the existence and possession of certain esoteric doctrines or practices〔From the Greek ἐσωτερικός (esôterikos, "inner"). The term esotericism itself was coined in the 17th century. (''Oxford English Dictionary Compact Edition'', Volume 1, Oxford University Press, 1971, p. 894.)〕〔Wouter J. Hanegraaff, Antoine Faivre, Roelof van den Broek, Jean-Pierre Brach, ''Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism'', Brill 2005.〕 of which the public is unaware (or even to which they may be denied access) but which are understood by a small group of people.〔(''Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary'': esoteric )〕 These spiritual currents share some common denominators, such as: * heterodox or heretical Christian theology; * the canonical gospels, various apocalyptic literature, and some New Testament apocrypha as sacred texts; and * ''disciplina arcani'', a supposed oral tradition from the Twelve Apostles containing esoteric teachings of Jesus the Christ.〔 == Mystery religion == Early Christians used the Greek word ' (mysterion) to describe the Christian Mystery. The Old Testament versions use the word ''mysterion'' as an equivalent to the Hebrew ''sôd'', "secret" (Proverbs 20:19). In the New Testament the word ''mystery'' is applied ordinarily to the sublime revelation of the Gospel (Matthew 13:11; Colossians 2:2; 1 Timothy 3:9; 1 Corinthians 15:51), and to the Incarnation and life of the Saviour and his manifestation by the preaching of the Apostles (Romans 16:25; Ephesians 3:4; 6:19; Colossians 1:26; 4:3). The word "mysticism" is derived from the Greek μυω, meaning "to conceal",〔(Gellman, Jerome, "Mysticism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2011 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.) )〕 and its derivative , ''mystikos'', meaning 'an initiate'. In the Hellenistic world, 'mystical' referred to "secret" religious rituals〔 The use of the word lacked any direct references to the transcendental. A "mystikos" was an initiate of a mystery religion. Theologians give the name ''mystery'' to revealed truths that surpass the powers of natural reason,〔''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', Volume X. Published 1911.〕 so, in a narrow sense, the Mystery is a truth that transcends the created intellect. The impossibility of obtaining a rational comprehension of the Mystery leads to an ''inner'' or ''hidden way of comprehension'' of the Christian Mystery that is indicated by the term ''esoteric'' in ''Esoteric Christianity''.〔
This esoteric knowledge would allow a deep comprehension of the Christian mysteries that otherwise would remain obscure. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Esoteric Christianity」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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