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Jeanne Guyon’s Interior Faith
Her Biblical Commentary on the Gospel of Luke with Explanations and Reflections on the Interior Life
Jeanne de la Mothe Guyon
Introduction and Translation from the Original French by Nancy Carol James
Foreword by William Bradley Roberts
Jeanne Guyon’s Interior Faith
Her Biblical Commentary on Luke with Explanations and Reflections on the Interior Life
Copyright © 2019 Nancy Carol James. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.
Pickwick Publications
An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers
199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3
Eugene, OR 97401
www.wipfandstock.com
paperback isbn: 978-1-5326-5868-6
hardcover isbn: 978-1-5326-5869-3
ebook isbn: 978-1-5326-5870-9
Cataloguing-in-Publication data:
Names: Guyon, Jeanne Marie Bouvier de La Motte, 1648–1717, author. | James, Nancy Carol, introduction writer and translator. | Roberts, William Bradley, foreword writer.
Title: Jeanne Guyon’s interior faith: her biblical commentary on Luke with explanations and reflections on the interior life / Jeanne Guyon, introduced and translated by Nancy Carol James.
Description: Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2019 | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: isbn 978-1-5326-5868-6 (paperback) | isbn 978-1-5326-5869-3 (hardcover) | isbn 978-1-5326-5870-9 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Guyon, Jeanne Marie Bouvier de La Motte,—1648–1717 | Bible—Luke—Meditations | Bible—Luke—Devotional literature | Spiritual life—Catholic Church | Quietism
Classification: BX4705.G8 A25 2019 (paperback) | BX4705.G8 (ebook)
Manufactured in the U.S.A. 04/08/19
Dedicated to my grandmother Priscilla Culbert James
A musical woman filled with faith and wonder
Permissions
Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Foreword
Nancy Carol James stands firmly at the forefront of Madame Guyon scholarship. This is in fact her eighth book either describing or translating the work of Madame Guyon. Being a seasoned scholar of Guyon allows James to write with the kind of penetrating insight only possible after years of exposure to her subject. Dr. James has lived with this fascinating mystic long enough that she can speak in Guyon’s voice, nearly anticipating what Guyon will say.
What the reader craves in a translation is for the prose to flow as smoothly as if this were the first writing and the first tongue. In the case of James’ translation this is exactly what is offered: smooth, flowing sentences without oddly-placed prepositional phrases, jarring syntax, or stilted language.
The reader quickly discovers the truth that both Guyon and James care deeply about the Bible. As unusual as this is in contemporary society, it was even rarer in Guyon’s day, especially for a woman, because women were frequently barred from education. This stricture was even more pronounced when it came to the study of sacred texts.
Their love of holy writ—Guyon’s and James’s—arises not primarily from their love of scholarship, as ardent as that is. Instead, both author and translator share a deep passion for God as revealed in scripture, and this passion shines through their words, revealing hearts both devoted and consecrated.
The writer of Luke asserts from the outset that several accounts have been written of the life of Jesus Christ. Since we know only three others in the biblical canon, one is intrigued to imagine what might be learned from access to the other witnesses. Perhaps our passion would be stoked by going deeper into the spirit, the psychology, and the life of this singular man. Guyon, through James, does lead us to a profound depth in the scriptural text.
Guyon’s passion is everywhere in evidence. Believing fervently in the prophetic word, she states that “God’s word in us triumphs over everything.” At the same time “doing the will of God and tending to the perfection that God wants for us” is crucial.1 This calls to mind the admonition of James 1:22, “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” She understands that action is the evidence of revelation received.
Guyon is well aware that God’s revelation comes to the community and not just to individuals. A deeply committed devotee of the Church, her faith in it is especially remarkable in light of the unjust treatment she experienced at its hands. Earlier books of James explore that treatment. In Standing in the Whirlwind, James explores Guyon’s long and violent incarcerations and yet Guyon’s forgiveness of those who abused her. One might call Guyon’s faith “blind faith,” but then faith by its very definition is, in a sense, blind. (“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1) Even after a personal inquisition by the Roman Catholic Church, Guyon concludes, “People are blessed who are in the Church of God.”2 Indeed, Guyon sees the church as a bestower of gifts, specifically designed for each believer.
Jeanne Guyon believes ardently in the Church’s laws and refutes those who place tolerance above Law. She views the practices the Church gives us—e.g., holiness and salvation—as stairs that lead us to God. It is union with God, relationship with God, that Guyon sees as the goal of the practices we receive from the Church.3
For Guyon scripture is the dependable revelation of God. It is also true, however, that our spirits, animated by the Holy Spirit, enlighten us. African American Lukan scholar Brian K. Blount in his ironically titled essay “The Last Word on Biblical Authority” asserts that there is no such thing as “the last word” on biblical authority, because the Bible is a living word. As an example he relates a story from Howard Thurman about his grandmother, a slave. Upon occasion the master’s minister would hold services for the slaves. At least three or four times a year, he used as his text, “Slaves be obedient to them that are your master . . . , as unto Christ.” (Ephesians 6:5) But Thurman’s grandmother was steeped in the Bible, and she knew instinctively that there was something wrong with using the passage to justify slavery.4 Guyon’s symbolic, scriptural interpretation supports leaving behind
