Mystic and Church

In the church, religionists first learn a religion, then begin to practise it; they do not take experience as the basis of their belief.
But the mystic starts out in search of truth, experiences it first, and then formulates his creed.

The church takes the experience of others; the mystic has his own experience. 

The church goes from the outside in; the mystic goes from the inside out.

- Swami Vivekananda,
  ‘Religion and Science’,
   Notes of Class Talks and Lectures