Son of Man: The Mystical Path to Christ [Paperback]

Andrew Harvey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 11, 1999

Named one of the Best Books of 1998 by Publishers Weekly, here is the seminal work on the Christ of the early mystics and saints by the bestselling author of Hidden Journey and coauthor of the classic The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying.

"A grenade tossed into the complacencies of Christianity. A radical challenge to re-vision the nature of Jesus and the message he brought."--Larry Dossey, M.D.

"Galvanizing, beautifully written . . . a powerful expression of faith in the transforming power of Christ's love."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Son of Man is Andrew Harvey's most basic statement on Christ, and it has already become a treasured work to readers interested in Christian mysticism.

For the first time in any of his books, Harvey provides spiritual exercises--centuries-old rites previously available only to a few--that allow the reader direct experience with the mystical Christ. Son of Man also includes an easily accessible section of classic readings and meditations on the nature of Christ, making it the comprehensive experience in the Christ of the new millennium.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Andrew Harvey's Son of Man: The Mystical Path to Christ is a strange and wonderful book about learning to become like Jesus. Harvey, a scholar, poet, novelist, and translator (he's perhaps best known for helping incite a resurgence of interest in the 12th-century Turkish poet Rumi), draws on his extensive knowledge and experience of Christian and Eastern spiritual practices to create a profound and wide-ranging meditation on who Jesus was and why Jesus matters today. The connection between this book's beginning (a summary of historical-Jesus research) and its end (a series of meditations to help believers grow more Christ-like) is perhaps best summarized by the following passage, which also conveys the sweeping momentum of Harvey's prose:

Paying attention to how Jesus acted and in what context and to what he really said--and not on the dogmas surrounding his divinity--can have the paradoxical effect of making us take him and his actions and words even more seriously and, above all, and in the highest, most urgent sense, practically.

Son of Man is also profusely illustrated with haunting black-and-white photographs by Harvey's partner, Eryk Hanut. --Michael Joseph Gross --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Poet/novelist Harvey, who attained self-revelation in his native India (A Journey to Ladakh, LJ 6/15/93) and has since been acclaimed as a mystical writer, here aims to guide the seeker in "an unfolding initiatory journey into the full nature of Christ." He sees Jesus as a mystical revolutionary who never claimed any divine or unique status but instead sought to empower people with "their essential divine identity." To that end, Harvey lays out the stages of "Christing" from the human Jesus through the Mystical Christ to the final mysteries and creative powers of Christhood. This Mystical Christ is the "androgenous, mystical, and practical Christ child that the Divine Mother, as Mary, is working to engender in all of us now." Harvey includes spiritual exercises, drawn from "early Christian traditions of mantra," medieval mystics, Gnosticism, and his own experiences. A well-thought-out book by a skilled writer that will interest mystics and New Agers.?Eugene O. Bowser, Univ. of Northern Colorado, Greeley
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher; 1st trade pbk. ed edition (October 11, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874779928
• ISBN-13: 978-0874779929
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #609,212 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mystical Christ, June 12, 2001

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A. Hogan (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Son of Man: The Mystical Path to Christ (Paperback)

Andrew Harvey is an excellent writer who has covered everything from outposts of Buddhism in Ladakh to transalations of the Sufi genius Rumi. In this book,which arches at being a modern version of The imitation of Christ,he puts forth of image of Jesus as THE mystic,the Alpha and Omega of existence.It succeeds much of the time.The historical Jesus presented is lacking somewhat, though the book picks up in part 2, the mystical Christ. Some people,especially those of a literal bent, wuould be slightly put off in the section Christ and the sacred feminine.The final section of the book, The Direct Path to Christ is a series of meditations and "exercises",which are worth the price of the book alone.Mr. Harvey believes that we need no intermediaries between us and God, and that Jesus shows us this way. The traditional harrangue against Christianity is softened by Mr. Harvey's genuine passionate love of Christ. There are lovely phtographs by Eryk Hanut throughout, which actually enchance the pleasure of this book. Not an easy read,{Mr. Harvey rarely is}, this is a book menat to be read and taken slowly, to draw deeply from this source. This book is quite beautiful, and is and important addition to any spiritual library. This is an important and wonder-filled book, and is hugely recommended.

37 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but bias, January 7, 2003

By 

Scott Masterton (Blaine, MN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Son of Man: The Mystical Path to Christ (Paperback)

I listened to the audio version of this book and so had the opportunity to hear the author read his own work. Andrew Harvey is an extremely passionate and learned man. His insights into the subject of Jesus, both Historical and biblical are fascinating. I would definately recommend this book if you are interested in a different viewpoint on Jesus.

Having said that that though, I did find, (as some of the other reviewers did as well) that Andrew Harvey's view of the story was simply another form of fundamentalism; albeit fundamentalism from a mystical stand point. Harvey continually points out that the feminine aspect of the Christ consciousness are completely dismissed by the traditional view of the Church. I agree. However, Harvey completely dismisses the Masculine aspect of the Divine and in fact Harvey goes as far as suggesting that all evil and darkness are in fact masculine. He makes the claim that without bonding to the feminine, that the masculine is just chaos and darkness. Again, I agree with him on this point, however if that in fact is true then the converse of that must also be true. The feminine would be incomplete and chaotic without it's polar opposite. Andrew Harvey may agree with me on that topic but there is no evidence within his writings to suggest that he does. He tirades against patriarchal society and the suppression of women as a divine force. I think he's right. Conventional religion has long denied that the feminine energy of the Divine was equally important as the masculine. Harvey seems to suggest that a matriarchy would be flawless and without the same problems as a patriarchy.

The book is really worth reading for it's refreshing and interesting view of the traditional story of Christ. But Harvey is as intolerant of the masculine as the traditionalists are of the feminine.

This is just another vew of the story. It should be read with an open mind and with the understanding that it is as bias as the traditional version.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Work on Christ, December 30, 2003

By 

Zen (sherman oaks, ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Son of Man: The Mystical Path to Christ (Paperback)

This book is a very interesting book that points readers into looking at Jesus Christ as a non-dogmatic, unconditionally loving spiritual maaster and not the Christ that we here in churches...A religious leader out to propogate a religion and condemn non-believers of him.
Of course, this book will not be accepted by all since it can be seen as overly liberal and unconventional. How? Since Mr. Harvey is primarily out to paint a portrait of a loving, mystical Christ that could never have even intended to be deified and who mainly wanted to teach a love based spirituality, the author uses quotes from many unconventional sources like the Gnostic Gospels (Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Mary, Secret Book of James, Gospel of the Savior and others). That unto itself will spark some controversy for this book.
Mr. Harvey's Christ has a through-line of that of an enlightened master, say a Buddha of Nazereth, so it is with that Christ in mind that he writes and he pulls from many Christian sources to keep in line with this mystical, unconditionally loving Christ.
What this adds up to is for those that are spiritual 'seeker' types who are lovers of Light and seeing spirituality through Oneness and an Eternal Truth of Unity without dogmas you'll find this book extremely fascinating. For those "fundamenalist" types, you'll either brush this book of as some kind of new age concoction or it'll make you reconsider some of your preciously held beliefs about who Jesus Christ was.
There are some very well written chapters on: Jesus' Message, Jesus and family, Jesus and women, Jesus and the rich, Jesus and religion, Jesus and his Disciples and other topics. Mr. Harvey shows us through Jesus teachings how he promoted love, humility and acceptance in all these areas.
Another nice bonus is that the book has some beautiful Christ based meditations.

This book is unique in that the author is a scholar, well rounded spiritual teacher and poet all at the same time. The author manages to be remarkably intuitive and speak from the heart while always remaining centered and intelligent, not just "way out there". The book is rooted enough in research to deserve to be considered a serious work on Christ (although, many will disagree with me because of the uncommon philosophies put forth). The book has a heartfelt-poetic quality to it while simultanously being very scholarly which is extremely rare. Even though I consider myself to be an open minded spiritual seeker that always saw Christ as a great teacher of Unity, I never saw Christ's teachings with the depth of Mr. Harvey's book. Very enlightening.