DOCSLIB.ORG

BOOK ESSAY Bernard Mcginn's Presence of God: the Project That

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
BOOK ESSAY Bernard Mcginn's Presence of God: the Project That Louvain Studies 41 (2018): 173-195 doi: 10.2143/LS.41.2.3284885 © 2018 by Louvain Studies, all rights reserved BOOK ESSAY Bernard McGinn’s Presence of God: The Project that Made Mystical Theology Respectable John Arblaster and Rob Faesen For the past several decades, Bernard McGinn,1 Emeritus Professor of the University of Chicago, has been working on a magisterial project on the history of Christian mysticism entitled The Presence of God: A History of Western Christian Mysticism.2 Part two of volume six of this series of books was published in late 2017. Despite the fact that seven books have thus far appeared, a review of the series may appear somewhat prema- ture, given that two more books are planned to complete the project. Nevertheless, we would like to take this opportunity to discuss McGinn’s contributions thus far, and especially from our own expertise, which is primarily in the history of mystical theology in the medieval and early modern Low Countries. Each of the volumes of The Presence of God has received almost universal praise. For example, Denys Turner, another famous scholar of medieval mysticism, commented on the fifth volume: 1. Bernard McGinn is the Naomi Shenstone Donnelley Professor Emeritus in the Divinity School at the University of Chicago, where he taught for thirty-four years (1969-2003). Trained in both theology and Medieval intellectual history, the author and/or editor of thirty-three books and well over three hundred articles; he was Editor- in-Chief of the Paulist Press Classics of Western Spirituality Series between 1988 and 2015, and has served on the editorial boards of many publications. 2. Bernard McGinn, The Foundations of Mysticism: Origins to the Fifth Century (New York: Crossroad, 1991); The Growth of Mysticism: Gregory the Great Through the 12th Century (New York: Crossroad, 1994); The Flowering of Mysticism: Men and Women in the New Mysticism – 1200-1350 (New York: Crossroad, 1998); The Harvest of Mysticism in Medieval Germany (New York: Crossroad, 2005); The Varieties of ­Vernacular Mysticism 1350-1550 (New York: Crossroad, 2012); Mysticism in the Refor- mation 1500-1650 (New York: Crossroad, 2016); and Mysticism in the Golden Age of Spain 1500-1650 (New York: Crossroad, 2017). 174 JOHN ARBLASTER AND ROB FAESEN The staggering erudition of McGinn’s latest volume is no surprise, nor is the lucidity of his expositions of the vernacular mysticisms that flourished in the Low Countries, Italy and England in the late mid- dle ages. What dawns on you as you progress through McGinn’s magisterial retrieval of fourteenth and fifteenth century develop- ments in ‘mystical theology’ is how seriously Ruusbroec, Catherine of Siena, Julian of Norwich and a host of lesser figures have to be taken as theologians. Much more than a history of western Christian mysticism, this volume calls for and supplies a major revaluation of theology in the late medieval Christian church.3 In a recent article on the study of mysticism, Barbara Newman high- lights a number of monuments and significant trends from the past several decades, and McGinn’s work is first on her list: It would be hard to imagine the field today without Bernard McGinn’s magisterial history, The Presence of God. Its three origi- nally planned volumes have now morphed into six, with more to come. With his unparalleled knowledge of the whole sweep of Christian mysticism, McGinn’s work has become indispensable to all further studies. Fully integrating mystics of both genders in all languages, he has firmly guided historical scholarship to focus on texts (which we can study), rather than states of consciousness (which we cannot). His work blends ecclesial context with close reading, and he is especially skilled at teasing out the dense theologi- cal thought of writers, including women and other lay authors, once dismissed as merely ‘devotional’.4 The importance of McGinn’s series for the study of the Christian mysti- cal tradition stands unquestioned. What we will seek to do in this con- tribution is to highlight the significance of this project for theologians and theological research. We shall first provide a description of the pro- ject for those who may not be familiar with it and will then analyse a number of the methodological contributions McGinn has made that have shaped and will continue to shape the study of Christian mysticism in the future. 1. The Presence of God as a Project Bernard McGinn provided a description of the purpose of his series in the first volume. It is important to note that he himself had initially planned to write ‘only’ four volumes, but though the number of planned 3. Review on the back cover of the book. 4. Barbara Newman, “New Seeds, New Harvests: Thirty Years of Tilling the Mystic Field,” Traditio 72 (2017): 9-20, quotation on p. 11. BERNARD MCGINN’S PRESENCE OF GOD 175 books has increased over the years, the overall aim of the project as such has not changed substantially. The past two decades [McGinn was writing in 1990] have witnessed a remarkable resurgence of interest in the study and practice of Christian spirituality, not least in mysticism traditionally understood as the acme of the spiritual path. Though the challenge of secularism has marginalized religion for many in the modern world, it has also provided the occasion for others to discover profound depths in their religious traditions. (…) It is true that a large body of literature has been devoted to the study of mysticism over the past century (…) Nevertheless, from the theological point of view, it is remarkable how few synoptic presentations exist and how limited and unsatisfac- tory many of these are. (…) The present moment calls out for a more complete and critical knowledge of the history of Christian mysticism, as well as more adequate contemporary theological appraisals of the phenomenon. I believe that these two tasks are so interdependent that neither can be successfully undertaken apart from the other.5 Each of the consecutive volumes is devoted to this central aim in a more or less chronological presentation. As mentioned, five complete volumes have appeared thus far. Volume six is divided into three parts, the first two of which have also been published. The third part of volume six is expected in two or three years, and the series will then conclude with a final, seventh volume. What will the reader find in these books? The first volume, The Foundations of Mysticism: Origins to the Fifth Century, describes the historical roots of Western mysticism, both Jew- ish and Greek, and discusses the figure of Jesus Christ extensively under the subheading “the presence of God in Jesus” (in the New Testament and earliest Christian texts). It then focuses on the importance of the early Greek Christian ‘monastic turn’ for the later development of the mystical tradition. McGinn then discusses the birth of Western mysti- cism in Ambrose, Jerome and especially Augustine, whom he calls ‘the Founding Father’. The first volume concludes with an important appendix of almost eighty pages in which McGinn surveys the leading contemporary theoretical approaches to mysticism: theological, philo- sophical, comparativist, and psychological approaches. Volume two, The Growth of Mysticism: Gregory the Great through the 12th Century, covers the long period from Augustine up to and including the twelfth century. McGinn discusses Gregory the Great, John Scottus Eriugena, and mystical elements in early medieval monasticism. 5. McGinn, The Foundations of Mysticism, xi-xii. 176 JOHN ARBLASTER AND ROB FAESEN He devotes extensive attention to the major (and minor) figures of the twelfth century: Bernard of Clairvaux, William of Saint-Thierry, and the other Cistercians, but also the twelfth century visionaries and con- templatives (such as Rupert of Deutz, Hildegard of Bingen, Elisabeth of Schönau, and Joachim of Fiori), and finally the Carthusians and Victorines. The third volume is entitled The Flowering of Mysticism: Men and Women in the New Mysticism 1200-1350. McGinn discusses the thir- teenth-century development of mysticism, including early Franciscan mysticism, extensive treatments of the mulieres religiosae (Hadewijch, Mechtild of Magdeburg, Margaret Porete, and women religious of reli- gious orders). The term ‘new mysticism’ in his subtitle evidently requires further explanation, and we shall return to it below. Volume four focuses on the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries under the title The Harvest of Mysticism in Medieval Germany 1300- 1500. All the titles in the series up to this point clearly highlight a certain perceived trajectory, from origins to growth, flowering, and harvest. We will return to this idea of culmination and fulfilment in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Germany below. This volume treats: Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, Eckhart and his students, the diffusion of mysticism in late Medieval Germany, and Nicolas of Cusa. Beginning from the fifth volume, the titles no longer contain agri- cultural metaphors, but the title of volume five – The Varieties of ­Vernacular Mysticism 1350-1550 – is an evident allusion to William James’ famous book, which we will likewise discuss below. This volume discusses authors and texts in the vernacular tradition – which is, inci- dentally, a central concern in McGinn’s approach – and covers the Low Countries, Italy, and England. The major authors are John of Ruusbroec (and the Groenendaal mystics), the Modern Devotion, Appelmans, ­Sister Bertken, Hendrik Herp, the ‘mystical renaissance’ in the Eastern Netherlands (i.e. The Evangelical Pearl, Maria van Hout, The Arnhem Mystical Sermons), Catherine of Siena, Renaissance mysticism in Italy, Richard Rolle, Walter Hilton, The Cloud of Unknowing, The Book of Privy Counselling, Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe, and Richard Methley. The tripartite sixth volume deals with the same historical period, namely 1500-1650, but in different geographical regions.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018
    Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 Conforming to General Convention 2018 1 Preface Christians have since ancient times honored men and women whose lives represent heroic commitment to Christ and who have borne witness to their faith even at the cost of their lives. Such witnesses, by the grace of God, live in every age. The criteria used in the selection of those to be commemorated in the Episcopal Church are set out below and represent a growing consensus among provinces of the Anglican Communion also engaged in enriching their calendars. What we celebrate in the lives of the saints is the presence of Christ expressing itself in and through particular lives lived in the midst of specific historical circumstances. In the saints we are not dealing primarily with absolutes of perfection but human lives, in all their diversity, open to the motions of the Holy Spirit. Many a holy life, when carefully examined, will reveal flaws or the bias of a particular moment in history or ecclesial perspective. It should encourage us to realize that the saints, like us, are first and foremost redeemed sinners in whom the risen Christ’s words to St. Paul come to fulfillment, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” The “lesser feasts” provide opportunities for optional observance. They are not intended to replace the fundamental celebration of Sunday and major Holy Days. As the Standing Liturgical Commission and the General Convention add or delete names from the calendar, successive editions of this volume will be published, each edition bearing in the title the date of the General Convention to which it is a response.
    [Show full text]
  • Modern Devotion the Northern Renaissance and Religious
    Turning Points:God’s Faithfulness in Christian History 4. Religious Awakening: Modern Devotion below: Begijnhof/ Beguinage, Bruges Context : Renaissance 1300-1500 “Renaissance”= re-birth / discovery of “Classical Ancient World”= Greece & Roman (600 BC--300 AD) “Humanism” = method to recover & study ancient texts. Discovery of ancient wisdom challenged existing authorities (church, kings): “Veritas, non auctoritas facit legem” (truth, not authority makes the law); truth in original texts & languages: Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, Arabic, classical Latin. All Truth is God’s Truth Arthur F. Holmes, All Truth Is God’s Truth (Eerdmans, 1977). Long-time Wheaton College philosopher 2 Rise of Spirituality Problem of “Spirituality” for medieval laity & individual: (1) Few “religious” (nuns), monks, & priests w/some access to spirituality; (2) Laity mediated only through institutional Christendom (& rise of papacy). Lacked: access to Bible (esp. own language); God very distant (in heaven judging) & Jesus divinity, not humanity; no developed sense of individual/personal piety; almost no education about doctrine. CHANGE 1. Renaissance: 1300-1500 = re-birth of antiquity. 2. Christology: from almost solely divine Jesus to more human Jesus. 3. Mysticism allowed individual quest to know God & Self with heightened awareness of role of “conscience” & individual responsibility. Rise of Spirituality 4. “Devotio Moderna ” (modern devotion) movement northern Europe: Beguines, Brethren of the Common Life, & new Augustinian Order1256, education & publication. 5. Crises 14th c.: breakdown Christendom (2-3 popes);100 Yrs. War; Bubonic Plague; Peasant revolts. 6. Christian Humanism & spread of handbooks/manuals (scholarly base) & devotional materials. A balance b/w FAITH & REASON = goal. Crisis of Authority: Breakdown of Christendom Great Schism (1378-1417) SUPPORT Avignon: Kingdoms of France, Two popes: Avignon & Rome.
    [Show full text]
  • Why Does the History of Christian Spirituality Mattery
    WHY DOES THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY MATTER? Rob Faesen PIRITUALITY, IN ALL ITS SHAPES and forms, is very much in vogue at S present. But for the history of Christian spirituality, this is much less the case. It appears that what happened in the past is regarded as of little relevance, and as something that, on the whole, can be disregarded. There are, however, a few fashionable exceptions—for example Meister Eckhart and the Beguines. I would like to raise the question of why the history of Christian spirituality might be very relevant, and what some important writers from the European spiritual tradition can teach us in the twenty-first century. Perhaps the first point to stress is that, in any case, the importance of spirituality is relative, and never normative. On this, the Bible could not be clearer: the only thing that really matters is to love God, with all one’s heart, all one’s soul and all one’s mind, and this can only be done by loving one’s neighbour as oneself (Matthew 22:36–39). Included in the command to love one’s neighbour as oneself are personal care for the neighbour, the effort to establish human, social and economic structures that are just, and to nurture and protect God’s creation. The human person is called to an actively good, just and responsible life. These things are normative and indispensable. Spirituality presupposes this; in no way are the two mutually exclusive. On the contrary, these are clearly foundational principles in the history of Christian spirituality.
    [Show full text]
  • John of Ruusbroec Mystic and Theologian in the Quiet of Groenendaal
    LIEVE UYTTENHOVE John of Ruusbroec Mystic and Theologian in the Quiet of Groenendaal A few years ago, I was asked to attend a colloquium on hermits and recluses in the Low Countries. On that occasion, I was due to give a lecture on the fourteenth-century Brabantine mystical writer John of Ruusbroec (1293-1381), of whom it has generally been said, left the city of Brussels in 1343 and moved into a hermit’s hut in the Sonian Forest, in a valley called Groenendaal. Unfor- tunately, the colloquium did not take place. It was then decided that I convert my presentation into an article. At that stage, I took for granted the generally accepted portrayal of Ruus- broec as a ‘hermit’, who lived in a hermitage or hermit’s hut. This depiction, however, may be less securely based than might at first sight appear. With regard to both Ruusbroec’s move into a hermitage and the seemingly general consensus that he lived there as a hermit, it is helpful to rehearse the relevant findings in two extant and well-known written testimonies about his life. The first of these is a Prologue to a manuscript collection of five of Ruusbroec’s works written circa 1360 by Brother Gerard of Saintes, a Carthusian at the ­priory in Herne;1 the second is a biography of Ruusbroec contained in De ­origine monasterii Viridisvallis – a history of the foundation of the priory at Groenendaal – written circa 1414-1420 by canon of Groenendaal, Hendrik Utenbogaerde (better known by his Latinised name Henricus Pomerius).2 ¶ I wish to thank Ursula Lawler for assistance in language editing and proofreading the manuscript.
    [Show full text]
  • Traces of a Thomistic De Musica in the Compositions of Olivier Messiaen
    Siglind Bruhn Traces of a Thomistic De musica in the Compositions of Olivier Messiaen In the year of his centennial, Olivier Messiaen (1908–92) is widely acknowledged as not only one of the leading French com­ posers of the twentieth century, but as a voice of timeless signifi­ cance within Western music. In addition to his love for music with its “colors” and rhythms, he felt passionately about two other areas in which he became an erudite scholar: theology and ornithology. A devout Catholic, he owned and diligently read a large collection of theologi cal books; an avid bird lover, he studied their song so thoroughly that his contri butions to the field are now considered invalua ble even to specialists. A third field to which Messiaen de­ voted a cluster of com positions is that of idealized human love. As he knew, all love derives from God’s love for humankind. The hu­ man love of God may be but an awkward and flawed response to the divine gift, but even the love of one human for another, provided it is true and strong, must be regarded as a reflection—albeit a pale reflection—of God’s love.1 Messiaen began reading books on theology already as a teen­ ager. Mystics like John of Ruusbroec, Thomas à Kempis, and Thomas Merton as well as saints like Francis of Assisi, Teresa of Ávila, John logos 11:4 fall 2008 thomistic de musica in the compositions of messiaen 17 of the Cross, Catherine of Siena, and Thérèse de Lisieux were of crucial impor tance for his devotion.
    [Show full text]
  • How Ruusbroec Tastes, Sounds, and Smells Henry of Coesfeld and the Gerson–Groenendaal Controversy
    TOM GAENS How Ruusbroec Tastes, Sounds, and Smells Henry of Coesfeld and the Gerson–Groenendaal Controversy Around 1406, the chancellor of the University of Paris Jean Gerson († 1429) condemned parts of Ruusbroec’s Espousals in two letters to the Herne Carthu- sian Bartholomew Clantier († 1427).1 In his second letter, Gerson included an excerpt from a capitular sermon by an anonymous Carthusian.2 Elsewhere, I have demonstrated that this quotation has its origin in a sermo or collatio held by Henry of Coesfeld († 1410) at the 1406 general chapter of the Urbanist branch of the Carthusian Order in Seitz [Žiče].3 This sermon contains a sum- mary of Henry’s theology of devotio, as it was developed in a few earlier ser- mons and a tract on the institution of the sacrament of the Eucharist.4 ¶ I would like to thank José van Aelst, Krijn Pansters, Kees Schepers, and John Arblaster, for giving valuable comments and insights to improve this essay. I am also indebted to Jasper Hop- kins’ translations of the early sermons of Nicholas of Cusa, made available on his personal web- site (jasper-hopkins.info). 1 For an overview of the Gerson–Groenendaal controversy, see K. Schepers, ‘Ruusbroec in Latin: Impulses and Impediments’, in: J. Arblaster & R. Faesen, A Companion to John of Ruusbroec [Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition, 51], Leiden – Boston, 2014, 237-285, p. 262-268. 2 See the edition of Epistola II ad Bartholomeum in A. Combes, Essai sur la critique de Ruys- broeck par Gerson, 3 vols., Paris, 1945-1959, vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Brepolis Catalogue
    2020 Online DATABASES Brepols Online Databases Table of Contents Introduction 1 Source Collections 2 Bibliographies 11 Encyclopaedias 18 Stand-alone Databases 21 WEBSITES www.brepolis.net - www.brepols.net More info on databases: about.brepolis.net E-NEWSLETTER Subscribe to our free E-Newsletter: [email protected] Please specify your field(s) of interest. B Introduction Unequaled resources for the study of Western civilisation from Antiquity to the twenty-first century For more than 25 years, Brepols Publishers has been The other strength of Brepols lies in the study of Latin developing high-value databases in the field of Humanities. language and Literature as we offer the world’s leading Since 2001, these databases are available online on a databases in this field. Brepols has created a Latin environ- platform called BREPOLiS. ment where we bring together recent Latin texts editions and Latin dictionaries: At the moment, BREPOLiS offers seven bibliographic databases, four encyclopaedias, eight full-text data- The cluster Brepolis Latin Complete gathers together bases and four stand-alone databases. the Library of Latin Texts (Series A & Series B), the Monumenta Germaniae Historica, the Archive of Celtic- Latin Literature, the Aristoteles Latinus Database, and One of Brepols’ main fields of interest isMedieval Studies. the Database of Latin Dictionaries. The Cross Database We have created an unparalleled medieval environment Searchtool allows the user to search these databases where we bring together key resources for the study of simultaneously. the Middle Ages with bibliographies on the one hand, and with encyclopaedias on the other. Two clusters are available, including “live links”: A last cluster of databases is dedicated to Religious Studies and Church History and includes the Index Religiosus, the Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, and Brepolis Medieval Bibliographies gathers together the Bishops of the Holy Roman Empire (Bischöfe des Heiligen the International Medieval Bibliography, the Bibliographie Römischen Reiches).
    [Show full text]
  • William of St. Thierry's Theological Treatment of Salvation in Light of His Pneumatology
    Durham E-Theses In the Spirit of Salvation: William of St. Thierry's Theological Treatment of Salvation in light of his Pneumatology O'LEARY, DEVIN,JAMES How to cite: O'LEARY, DEVIN,JAMES (2016) In the Spirit of Salvation: William of St. Thierry's Theological Treatment of Salvation in light of his Pneumatology, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/11671/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Devin James O’Leary Abstract While desire for salvation forms the foundation of all Christian investigation, the modes through which salvation is explored vary between different theologians. William of St. Thierry, while leaving behind a wealth of extant sources, is frequently overlooked in the academic and theological investigation of the subject. This study undertakes an in-depth investigation of William’s writings, focused on pnuematological soteriology and an explanation of the characteristic elements which made up his thinking on this core.
    [Show full text]
  • Poverty and Mobility: New Religious Movements and Urban
    Poverty and Mobility: new religious movements (c. 1200-1300 AD) Europe c. 1200- 1300By 1200, the map of Europe was a complex one: • A number of polities that had grown up in the wake of the collapse of the Carolingian empire – by this stage, they were increasingly mature and ambitious! • The most powerful kings increasingly sought to establish fuller control over core and neighbouring territories, limiting the authority of other dukes and princes within them, and establishing clearer borders. The roots of “countries”, in the modern sense, are becoming a little easier to see. • In the region of modern-day France, the Kings of the Franks (who increasingly styled themselves “Kings of France”) began a struggle with the Angevin/English kings; the latter had full sovereignty in England, but also held and effectively ruled many territories in France that were technically subordinate to the French King. • The Empire, meanwhile, was becoming an increasingly German polity. Increasingly independent and ambitious local states in northern Italy – Venice and Genoa especially – as well as the Papacy begin to roll back the power of the German Emperors in the Italian peninsula. • The aspiration to have a ‘universal’ authority still existed in the Latin West, however, despite the decline of the Empire. The post-Gregorian reform papacy had much success in subjugating the clergy throughout Western/Central Europe to its overall authority. This greater control in religious matters ran across borders and effectively gave the papacy significant political influence across the West. They also claimed the right to collect taxes from ecclesiastical properties regardless of which polity they were located in.
    [Show full text]
  • The Shape of Spiritual Direction in the Mystical Theology of Jan Van Ruusbroec
    THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA The Shape of Spiritual Direction in the Mystical Theology of Jan van Ruusbroec A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Theology and Religious Studies Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Philosophy By Greg Voiles Washington, D.C. 2016 The Shape of Spiritual Direction in the Mystical Theology of Jan van Ruusbroec Greg Voiles, Ph.D. Director: James Wiseman, O.S.B, S.T.D. This dissertation considers the trinitarian mystical theology of the late-medieval mystical theologian Jan van Ruusbroec and how his trinitarian thought forms and animates his written spiritual direction. It particularly examines the relationship between Ruusbroec’s trinitarian mystical theology and his post-Brussels written spiritual direction, which offers guidance to specific communities and persons in their pursuit of union with God through the life of prayer, worship, and service. In order to render a coherent account of this relationship and its primary characteristics, the work argues that one must read Ruusbroec as a mystical theologian. As a mystical theologian, Ruusbroec’s thought displays the natural integrity of theology and spirituality, as assumed by the majority of the theological masters of the Christian tradition, from its origins to the High Middle Ages. After dealing with the biographical details of Ruusbroec’s life and historical, cultural, and theological contexts, the study makes a foray into the works of Ruusbroec to show the primary characteristics of the Brabantine’s trinitarian mystical theology, the core of which is his teaching of essential love, the perfect, eternal simultaneity and harmony of activity and rest of the life of the Trinity.
    [Show full text]
  • The Strategy of Ontological Negativity in Meister Eckhart's Metaphysics
    religions Article The Strategy of Ontological Negativity in Meister Eckhart’s Metaphysics and in Philosophical Traditions of India Tatyana Lifintseva * and Dmitry Tourko * Faculty of Humanities, School of Philosophy, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Staraya Basmannaya st., 21/4, Moscow 105066, Russia * Correspondence: lifi[email protected] (T.L.); [email protected] (D.T.); Tel.: +7-9099748119 (T.L.) Received: 4 October 2018; Accepted: 20 November 2018; Published: 26 November 2018 Abstract: In this article, the authors investigate ontological strategies in Meister Eckhart’s metaphysics, which remounts Neoplatonism and the Corpus Areopagiticum, and in two schools of Indian philosophical tradition, the Advaita Vedanta and Early Buddhism. Along with differences in the anthropology, epistemology, and soteriology of these traditions, we can find similar strategies of ontological negativity and mystical experience in both traditions: detachment from the world of images and forms as the highest blessing; non-association of oneself with corporality, feelings, cognitive ability and reason; interiorizing the intentionality of consciousness, and termination of its representative function. Practically all systems of Indian philosophy were projects of liberation or personal transformation from subjugation and suffering into being free and blissful. The idea of spiritual release is also the cornerstone of Christian salvation as with the renouncement of sin and entering blissful unity with God. The apophatic doctrine of Christian neo-platonic mystics about the concealment, non-comprehensiveness, and inexpressibleness of God as the One and Nothingness, and also the idea of comprehension of God by means of detachment from the created world and one’s own ego, gives us the opportunity for such comparative analysis.
    [Show full text]
  • Book Notices
    Studies in Spirituality 27, 323-343. doi: 10.2143/SIS.27.0.3254109 © 2017 by Studies in Spirituality. All rights reserved. BOOK NOTICES The intention of these book notices is very simple: to draw attention to new spirituality books that could be of interest to readers of Studies in Spirituality. Henk Rutten, the librarian and information manager of the Titus Brandsma Institute, lists about sixty titles with short descriptions. They are not meant to be comprehensive and in-depth book reviews. Arblaster, John, & Rob Faesen (Eds.), Mystical Anthropology: Authors from the Low Countries, Basingstoke: Routledge/Taylor & Francis, 2016 (Contemporary Theological Explorations in Christian Mysticism), 240 pages, ISBN: 9781472438034. The question of the ‘structure’ of the human person is central to many mystical authors in the Christian tradition. This book focuses on the specific anthropology in a series of key authors in the mystical tradition in the medieval and early modern Low Countries. Their view is fundamentally different from the anthropology that has commonly been accepted since the rise of Modernity. This book explores the most important mystical authors and texts from the Low Countries including: William of Saint-Thierry, Hadewijch, Pseudo-Hadewijch, John of Ruusbroec, Jan van Leeuwen, Willem Jordaens, Hendrik Herp, Arnhem Mystical Sermons, and the Evangelical Pearl. The most impor- tant aspects of mystical anthropology are discussed: the spiritual nature of the soul, the inner-most being of the soul, the faculties, the senses, and crucial metaphors which were used to explain the relationship of God and the human person. Two contribu- tions explicitly connect the anthropology of the mystics to contemporary thought.
    [Show full text]