DOCSLIB.ORG

Apokatastasis Pantōn Origen’S Unknown Remembered Gate

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Apokatastasis Pantōn Origen’S Unknown Remembered Gate Stockholm School of Theology Bachelor’s Thesis Theology Program (Eastern Christian Studies) Spring 2021 Apokatastasis Pantōn Origen’s Unknown Remembered Gate Author: Dorothy Fraser Supervisor: Michael Hjälm Examiner: Grant White 1 And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. Through the unknown, remembered gate When the last of earth left to discover Is that which was the beginning… A condition of complete simplicity Costing not less than everything. – T. S. Eliot Four Quartets Though they go mad they shall be sane, Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again; Though lovers be lost love shall not; And death shall have no dominion. – Dylan Thomas And Death Shall Have No Dominion 2 Acknowledgments: I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Michael, for his time and guidance in putting together this thesis as well as my husband, Håkan, for patiently listening to many monologues on countless, late-night walks about the strange and fascinating world of patristic thought. I am especially indebted to Origen, and all the others in his stead who, across the centuries, risked nothing less than everything to get the Word to us. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PART 1. INTRODUCTION 6 1.1 Overview 6 1.2 Background 7 1.3 Aim 8 1.4 Theory 8 1.5 Methodology 9 1.6 Structure 10 1.7 Limitations 10 1.8 Previous Research 11 PART 2. HISTORICAL CONTEXT 11 2.1 Historical Location and Background of Origen 11 2.2 Definition of apokatastasis 14 2.3 Antecedents 14 2.4 Platonism 16 2.5 Stoic Cosmology 19 2.6 Gnosticism 20 PART 3. ORIGEN’S PHILOSOPHY 22 3.1 Free Will & Divine Providence 22 3.2 Privatio Boni 24 3.3 Theopoiêsis 25 PART 4. ORIGEN’S THEOLOGY 29 4.1 Exegesis 29 4.2 Cosmology 31 4.3 Anthropology 32 4 PART 5. ORIGEN’S SOTERIOLOGY 34 5.1 Soteriology 34 5.2 Individual vs. Corporate Soteriology 36 5.3 Protology & Eschatology 39 PART 6. CONCLUSION 41 6.1. Summary 41 Bibliography 45 Keywords: Origen, apokatastasis, universal restoration, free will, privatio boni, theopoiêsis, salvation, patristic eschatology and soteriology 5 PART 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Overview In the Christian faith, there is a simplistic notion that good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell. As agents of human history, the idea that we will somehow be evaluated for the quality of our lives and then consigned to a place of reward or punishment based on our actions seems to assuage a deep-seated moral instinct that makes sense of an unjust and, at times, frightfully evil world. However, our exaggerated focus on judgment in the afterlife has also produced a legalistic and monstrous notion of God, which has led to negative consequences concerning our conceptions of what a Christian life is intended to entail, both as individuals as well as participants in a communal and cosmic order. Atonement theology found in the Roman Catholic conciliar definitions and Protestant confessions, such as satisfaction or penal substitution theory, interpret the death and resurrection of Christ as a type of economic exchange. They use juridical legal categories to set up a system wherein human sin incurs a penalty which has to be paid by an innocent victim. In this model, the crucifixion is viewed as the necessary payment to satisfy the anger of a wrathful God. However, this raises a serious question: how can a debt be paid by the one to whom it is owed? In addition, western theologians such as Augustine and Abelard viewed hell as the physical state of eternal torment in retribution for humanity’s sinful and irreparable nature, which could only be ameliorated by the illogical notion of endless punishment for finite crimes. As a result, the topics of hell and salvation in the modern context have either become private fantasies or totalitarian excuses for ideas that have very little religious or biblical foundation. In many cases, if we are truly honest, the portrayal of God as a disgruntled judge, wielding threats of post- mortem punishment in the sulfuric flames of hell has led many to turn away from the Christian faith all together. And who can blame them. With a God like that, who needs a devil? These traditional views of the afterlife and their negative effect on the Christian community eventually led me to ask whether or not it has always been this way. What was the early Christian understanding of hell and how does it differ from salvation history in its western articulations? The early Church 6 Fathers were familiar with the Greek phrase ἀποκατάστασις πάντων (apokatastasis pantōn), which is rendered in English as “universal restoration” and makes its first appearance in the Christian tradition with Acts 3:21 when Peter pronounces the “universal restoration of which God has spoken through his holy prophets through time immemorial.” It is a notion that rejects the conception of hell as retributive eternal punishment and, instead, endorses the position of reconciliation of the entire cosmos with its teleological end in communion with God. Apokatastasis, or universal restoration, has been a central and often debated topic within the Orthodox Church and, currently, there is a renewed interest concerning this notion, particularly in regards to Origen of Alexandria. It has been argued that the universalist perspective was normative among the early Church Fathers and it is possible that the Alexandrian thread of eschatology that began in the second and third centuries that was made prominent by Origen can offer up more useful ideas concerning our notions of salvation, particularly in regards to the character and duration of evil as well as the moral implications of human freedom in conjunction with divine providence. 1.2 Background While there are a variety of opinions concerning the notion of hell within the Christian tradition, there are normally three views that have dominated the theological conversation and can be described as either Traditional, Conditional or Universal. For Traditionalists, hell is a place of eternal, conscious torment for sinners from which there is no escape or redemption. Whereas, Conditionalists see hell as a temporary place of punishment but where the unrepentant will eventually be annihilated. They see the human soul as naturally mortal and eternal life as a gift bestowed by God to those he deems worthy. Universalists, however, hold the view that the soul is immortal and that all people are destined for salvation. This does not mean that they deny hell, only its eternal duration. They find never-ending torment to be contrary to the nature of God’s love for humanity and see hell as remedial and punishment as purgative, ultimately leading a person towards repentance and reunion with God. There were six main theological schools in the first 600 years of Christian history. Four of them held the Universalist’s view of restoration (Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea and Edessa/Nisibis), one held the 7 Conditionalist’s view of annihilation (Ephesus) and one held the Traditionalist’s view of eternal conscious torment (Carthage/Rome). Each of these schools can further be associated with a major Church Father: the schools at Alexandria and Caesarea followed the principles of Origen’s universalism while the schools at Antioch and Edessa followed the principles of Theodore of Mopsuestia’s universalism. Irenaeus is connected with conditionalism at Ephesus, while Carthage was influenced by the largest proponent of the traditional view, Tertullian, which was later carried on in the Latin tradition by Augustine.1 All three of these readings of salvation history can find scriptural support, which means that there is a biblical tension that can only be worked out through a dialectic within the Christian community or by way of discursive theology. 1.3 Aim Because there are conflicting views as to whether or not the doctrine of apokatastasis is orthodox or heretical, my objective is to remain open and speculative when considering Origen’s understanding of this term and how it is relevant to the modern theological discussions concerning soteriology and eschatology. I hope to invoke more reflective modes of thought to further the discourse concerning this topic as well as to broaden our potential readings of his work. I aim to recover neglected aspects and interpretations of salvation in the early church that are relevant for modern consideration in order to allow for more exploration in relation to atonement theories. Examining the metaphysical motivations that lay behind Origen’s ideas can help us retrieve a fuller picture of the patristic mindset that can both benefit contemporary theology as well as contribute to the continual shaping of the Christian imagination and its relation to the world at large. Research Question: How is Origen’s eschatology related to soteriology? 1.4 Theory My theory is that patristic models of salvation took a more communal and comprehensive approach than modern formulations. Origen’s understanding of apokatastasis preserved both human freedom as well as divine providence by seeing them as compatible elements acting towards a common goal of 1 Steve Gregg, All You Want to Know About Hell, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2013) pp. 128–129. 8 reconciliation. In a similar fashion, Origen’s theories of salvation were also synergistic by granting a collaborative effort between divine grace and human works, wherein progressive education and moral transformation worked in unison. He believed that the beginning was related to the end and, therefore, reflecting on God’s intention for humanity could help us navigate our way there. My hypothesis is that Origen’s speculations about the “last things” influenced his entire theological stance and I postulate that, within his works, restoration and salvation are related.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Reconciling Universal Salvation and Freedom of Choice in Origen of Alexandria
    Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Dissertations (1934 -) Projects Reconciling Universal Salvation and Freedom of Choice in Origen of Alexandria Lee W. Sytsma Marquette University Follow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu Part of the Christianity Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Sytsma, Lee W., "Reconciling Universal Salvation and Freedom of Choice in Origen of Alexandria" (2018). Dissertations (1934 -). 769. https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/769 RECONCILING UNIVERSAL SALVATION AND FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN ORIGEN OF ALEXANDRIA by Lee W. Sytsma, B.A., M.T.S. A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 2018 ABSTRACT RECONCILING UNIVERSAL SALVATION AND FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN ORIGEN OF ALEXANDRIA Lee W. Sytsma, B.A., M.T.S. Marquette University, 2018 Origen has traditionally been famous for his universalism, but many scholars now express doubt that Origen believed in a universal and permanent apocatastasis. This is because many scholars are convinced that Origen’s teaching on moral autonomy (or freedom of choice) is logically incompatible with the notion that God foreordains every soul’s future destiny. Those few scholars who do argue that Origen believed in both moral autonomy and universal salvation either do not know how to reconcile these two views in Origen’s theology, or their proposed “solutions” are not convincing. In this dissertation I make two preliminary arguments which allow the question of logical compatibility to come into focus.
    [Show full text]
  • Eternal Damnation in the Fragments of Clement of Alexandria? Daniel J
    Bryn Mawr College Scholarship, Research, and Creative Work at Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Students 2017 The yT ranny of Authority: Eternal Damnation in the Fragments of Clement of Alexandria? Daniel J. Crosby Bryn Mawr College, [email protected] Let us know how access to this document benefits ouy . Follow this and additional works at: http://repository.brynmawr.edu/gsas_pubs Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Ancient Philosophy Commons, Christianity Commons, History of Christianity Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Citation Crosby, Daniel J., "The yT ranny of Authority: Eternal Damnation in the Fragments of Clement of Alexandria?" (2017). Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. 4. http://repository.brynmawr.edu/gsas_pubs/4 This paper is posted at Scholarship, Research, and Creative Work at Bryn Mawr College. http://repository.brynmawr.edu/gsas_pubs/4 For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Tyranny of Authority: Eternal Damnation in the Fragments of Clement of Alexandria? In the year 1715, John Potter published the most comprehensive edition of the extant writings of the Clement of Alexandria, the second-century Church Father who is most famous for his apologetic Protrepticus and intensely philosophical Stromata. Potter’s edition includes a collection of fragments, and among these fragments, this one is conspicuous: Ἀθάνατοι πᾶσαι αἱ ψυχαὶ, καὶ τῶν ἀσεβῶν, αἷς ἄμεινον ἦν μὴ ἀφθάρτους εἶναι. Κολαζόμεναι γὰρ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀσβέτου πυρὸς ἀπεράντῳ τιμωρίᾳ καὶ μὴ θνήσκουσαι, ἐπὶ κακῷ τῷ ἑαυτῶν τέλος λαβεῖν οὐκ ἔχουσιν.1 All souls are immortal, even those of the wicked, for whom it is better that they were not deathless.
    [Show full text]
  • Universal Salvation and the Problem of Hell John R
    Theological Studies 52 (1991) CURRENT ESCHATOLOGY: UNIVERSAL SALVATION AND THE PROBLEM OF HELL JOHN R. SACHS, S.J. Weston School of Theology, Cambridge, Mass. HE PURPOSE of this article is to take a fresh look at the ancient and Tmuch misunderstood theme of apocatastasis. Increasing contempo­ rary use of the apocalyptic language of hell, hand in hand with the alarming appeal and growth of fundamentalism, sectarianism, and inte- gralism, suggest the urgency of this endeavor. After first surveying the checkered history of this theme from biblical times to the present, I will, second, state and describe the central points of current Catholic theology on these issues. It manifests a remarkable degree of consensus. Third, I shall turn more closely to the highly original thought of Hans Urs von Balthasar, whose approach seems most challenging. Fourth, I shall raise a question concerning the ability of human freedom to reject God defin­ itively. Finally, my conclusion will stress how a properly understood Christian universalism is not only consonant with several central strands of Christian belief, but is also profoundly relevant to the religious and cultural developments of the present age. THE DOCTRINE OF APOCATASTASIS The doctrine of apocatastasis, commonly attributed to Origen, main­ tained that the entire creation, including sinners, the damned, and the devil, would finally be restored to a condition of eternal happiness and salvation. This was an important theme in early Christian eschatology.1 Even before the Christian era, of course, the idea of an apokatastasis paritàri was well known in ancient religion and philosophy. In Eastern thought especially, one finds a predominantly cyclical conception of time and history according to which the end always involves a return to the 1 See, for example, Brian E.
    [Show full text]
  • A Theological Comparison of Joseph Ratzinger and John Milbank
    THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA Truth and Politics: A Theological Comparison Of Joseph Ratzinger and John Milbank 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 Sacred Theology By Peter Samuel Kucer Washington, D.C. 2012 Truth and Politics: A Theological Comparison Of Joseph Ratzinger and John Milbank Peter Samuel Kucer, S.T.D. Director: Chad C. Pecknold, Ph.D. Joseph Ratzinger and the Anglican scholar John Milbank have written extensively on the social and political order from a theological perspective. The main aspect which distinguishes Ratzinger’s theology of politics from Milbank’s political theology is how each theologian orients his thought on the question of truth, and most specifically how each theologian understands and relocates Vico’s claim that verum est factum (the truth is made). While Ratzinger is critical of Vico’s account of the socially constructed nature of truth, Milbank, on the other hand, embraces Vico in a way which validates it. The political consequences which logically follow these two philosophical approaches to Vico illustrate a central difference between Ratzinger and Milbank. As a result of these differing responses to Vico on truth, the dissertation argues that Ratzinger and Milbank take up different ways of relating socialism to the Trinitarian faith. Ratzinger’s critical appreciation of socialism, but rejection of all political models as expressive of Trinitarian faith, and Milbank’s promotion of socialism as integral to Trinitarian faith in practice are rooted in their reactions to Vico.
    [Show full text]
  • Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, and Cyprian of Carthage on Suffering: A
    LIBERTY UNIVERSITY JUSTIN MARTYR, IRENAEUS OF LYONS, AND CYPRIAN OF CARTHAGE ON SUFFERING: A COMPARATIVE AND CRITICAL STUDY OF THEIR WORKS THAT CONCERN THE APOLOGETIC USES OF SUFFERING IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY THEOLOGY AND APOLOGETICS BY AARON GLENN KILBOURN LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA AUGUST 2017 Copyright © 2017 by Aaron Glenn Kilbourn All Rights Reserved ii APPROVAL SHEET JUSTIN MARTYR, IRENAEUS OF LYONS, AND CYPRIAN OF CARTHAGE ON SUFFERING: A COMPARATIVE AND CRITICAL STUDY OF THEIR WORKS THA CONCERN THE APOLOGETIC USES OF SUFFERING IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY Aaron Glenn Kilbourn Read and approved by: Chairperson: _____________________________ Reader: _____________________________ Reader: _____________________________ Date: _____________________________ iii To my wife, Michelle, my children, Aubrey and Zack, as well as the congregation of First Baptist Church of Parker, SD. I thank our God that by His grace, your love, faithfulness, and prayers have all helped sustain each of my efforts for His glory. iv CONTENTS Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………………………ix Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………….x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………..1 Personal Interest………………………………………………………………………8 The Need for the Study……………………………………………………………….9 Methodological Design……………………………………………………………….10 Limitations……………………………………………………………………………12 CHAPTER 2: THE CONCEPT OF SUFFERING IN THE BIBLE AND EARLY APOLOGISTS........................................................................................................................14
    [Show full text]
  • Mystery of the Bodhisattva
    Vincit Omnia Veritas II,2 Mystery of the Bodhisattva Frithjof Schuon Copyright© 2000 Frithjof Schuon Courtesy of World Wisdom This article has been published by World Wisdom (Bloomington, IN, USA) in Frithjof Schuon, Treasures of Buddhism. There is a side of Buddhism which makes it akin not only to Christianity, but also to the Semitic religions in general — paradoxically so, considering its nontheistic character — in the sense that its starting point is related to a human point of view rather than to the metaphysical nature of things. Indeed, when it is said that Existence is but suffering and that the Absolute is the cessation of suffering, and further that human perfection lies in "compassion for all living beings," this opens up a perspective that corresponds to our human situation and to our ultimate interests, no doubt, but it does not straightaway give the most direct possible definition of "that which is," if one may thus express it when thinking of both the manifested Universe and that which transcends it. Such an observation is not, however, of a kind that logically need disturb Buddhists,17 and this for two reasons: firstly, because they are not unaware of the fact that the doctrines of the Buddhas are only "celestial mirages" intended to catch, as in a golden net, the greatest possible number of creatures plunged in ignorance, suffering and transmigration, and that it is therefore the benefit of creatures and not the suchness of the Universe which determines the necessarily contingent form of the Message; and secondly, because Buddhism, within the framework of its own wisdom, goes beyond the formal "mythology" or the "letter" and ultimately transcends all possible human formulations, thus realizing an unsurpassable contemplative disinterestedness as do the Vedanta, Taoism and analogous doctrines.
    [Show full text]
  • Process Theodicy and the Life After Death: a Possibility Or a Necessity?
    PROCESS THEODICY AND THE LIFE AFTER DEATH: A POSSIBILITY OR A NECESSITY? Sofia Vescovelli Abstract: In this paper I argue for the necessity of eschatology for process thought, and against the idea that the belief in a life after death is not an essential element for this theodicy. Without reference to an eschatological dimension, a process theodicy is led to admit a consequentialist conception of divine love and goodness that is inconsistent with its notion of a responsive and participative God who loves each creature. In the world many creatures suffer atrocious evils, which destroy the value of their lives, but the process God does not redeem these sufferings in a personal post-mortem life in which the sufferers participate and can find meaning for their individual evils. In order to support my thesis, I intend to examine some difficulties in process theodicy, especially in Charles Hartshorne’s position, showing how his doctrine of objective immortality is unsatisfactory. My starting point will be some criticisms advanced by John Hick against Hartshorne and the replies made by the process philosopher David R. Griffin. I conclude by contending that process theodicy, at least in its Hartshornean version, in denying the necessity of a personal afterlife, does not provide a satisfying answer to the soteriological-individual aspect of the problem of evil, namely the problem of the individual salvation in which the individual person can find redemption and meaning for the sufferings undergone or inflicted. In the process perspective the divine love is conceived in consequentialist terms and evils suffered by the individual are merely considered a by-product or the negative side of the divine creation out of chaos.
    [Show full text]
  • Of Universalism in Anglican Thought From
    THE TREATMENT OF UNIVERSALISM IN ANGLICAN THOUGHT FROM GEORGE MAC DONALD (.1824 - 1905 ) TO C.S. LEWIS ( 1898- 1963 ). By DAVID M. KELLY, B.A., M.DIV., M.A. A The si s Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Fulfilment ,of the_Requirements L c±',.&*™ /, 'o> for th&3 Doctor A^@Sh1S^^)hy/ UBRARIES .* Kelly, Ottawa, Canada, 1989 UMI Number: DC53517 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform DC53517 Copyright 2011 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 UNIVERSALISM IN ANGLICAN THOUGHT FROM GEORGE MACDONALD TO C.S. LEWIS DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ( I988 ) UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA ( Religious Studies ) Ottawa, Ontario TITLE: The Treatment of Universalism in Anglican Thought from George MacDonald ( 1824 - 1905 ) to C. S. Lewis ( 1898 - 1963 ). AUTHOR: David M. Kelly, E.A. ( Brock University ) MoDiv. ( University of Toronto ) M0A0 ( University of Windsor ) SUPERVISOR: Professor E. J. Lacelle NUMBER OF PAGES: v, 365 • • •* 12. The doctrine of universalism is ancient. It has been endorsed by individuals from the beginning of Christianity to the present.
    [Show full text]
  • The Universal Dimension: William Loftus Hare's Pivotal Contribution To
    Quaker Studies Volume 10 | Issue 2 Article 8 2006 The niU versal Dimension: William Loftus Hare's Pivotal Contribution to London Yearly Meeting Tony Adams [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/quakerstudies Part of the Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, and the History of Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Adams, Tony (2006) "The nivU ersal Dimension: William Loftus aH re's Pivotal Contribution to London Yearly Meeting," Quaker Studies: Vol. 10: Iss. 2, Article 8. Available at: http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/quakerstudies/vol10/iss2/8 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Quaker Studies by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. QUAKER STUDIES 10/2 (2006) [256-280) ADAMS THE UNIVERSAL DIMENSION 257 ISSN 1363-013X UNIVERSALISM WITHIN FRIENDS From the outset, universalism was a significant feature of the Quaker faith. The pos­ sibility of salvation beyond the particularism of the Jewish race that had been voiced by Amos (9:7), and by Paul's assertions (Rom. 9-1 1) that the special call oflsrael was not a privilege but a responsibility, which he envisaged as a re-integration of all man­ THE UNIVERSAL DIMENSION: kind in Christ, was taken up seriously. The divine power or principle of the Holy WILLIAM LOFTUS HARE'S PIVOTAL CONTRIBUTION Spirit was said by George Fox to have been active not only during Old Testament times in Jewish society, but in other cultures too.
    [Show full text]
  • Some Reflections on Simone Weil's Mystical Response to Beckett's
    Vol. 4(10), pp. 549-559, December, 2013 DOI: 10.5897/IJEL11.123 International Journal of English and ISSN 2141-2626 © 2013 Academic Journals Literature http://www.academicjournals.org/IJEL Review Some reflections on Simone Weil’s Mystical Response to Beckett’s Absurdism Mohammad Maroof Shah Rajbagh Colony, Nagbal, Ganderbal, Kashmir 191201, India. Accepted 20 June, 2013 Nihilism as appropriated in existentialist-absurdist thought appears as a stubborn problem and consequent absurdism of such writers as Beckett follows which is a very unsatisfactory position from a philosophical or metaphysical viewpoint. Mysticism as articulated in such writers as Simone Weil offers an alternative approach to tackle the problem of nihilism and critique existentialist thought and its appropriation for absurdist response. The present paper, building on the works of Simone Weil, presents the version of religion that appropriates absurdists challenge in a novel manner. Her metaphysical/mystical reading of Christianity is largely immune to existentialist-absurdist critiques as she does not invoke problematic conceptions of divinity, hope, consolation and soul or self that have been criticized by absurdists like Beckett. Key words: Nihilism, transcendence, attention, perennialism, absurdism. INTRODUCTION Beckett’s extremely influential Waiting for Godot has faith. Both situations are set upon the site of the been much heard and commented upon but there has crucifixion where, in Simon Weil’s belief, man was been paid only relatively little attention to another master farthest from God. Salvation is possible only through piece Waiting on God by his contemporary which extreme affliction. But if Weil shows and not merely challenges and moves beyond the impasse in Beckettian believes in the eventual coming of God, Beckett gives no depressing or nihilistic work.
    [Show full text]
  • An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies
    An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies Edited by Orlando O. Espín and James B. Nickoloff A Michael Glazier Book LITURGICAL PRESS Collegeville, Minnesota www.litpress.org A Michael Glazier Book published by Liturgical Press. Cover design by David Manahan, o.s.b. Cover symbol by Frank Kacmarcik, obl.s.b. © 2007 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, microfilm, microfiche, mechanical recording, photocopying, translation, or by any other means, known or yet unknown, for any purpose except brief quotations in reviews, without the previous written permission of Liturgical Press, Saint John’s Abbey, P.O. Box 7500, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-7500. Printed in the United States of America. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data An introductory dictionary of theology and religious studies / edited by Orlando O. Espín and James B. Nickoloff. p. cm. “A Michael Glazier book.” ISBN-13: 978-0-8146-5856-7 (alk. paper) 1. Religion—Dictionaries. 2. Religions—Dictionaries. I. Espín, Orlando O. II. Nickoloff, James B. BL31.I68 2007 200.3—dc22 2007030890 We dedicate this dictionary to Ricardo and Robert, for their constant support over many years. Contents List of Entries ix Introduction and Acknowledgments xxxi Entries 1 Contributors 1519 vii List of Entries AARON “AD LIMINA” VISITS ALBIGENSIANS ABBA ADONAI ALBRIGHT, WILLIAM FOXWELL ABBASIDS ADOPTIONISM
    [Show full text]
  • Apocatastasis in Patristic Theology
    Theological Studies 54 (1993) APOCATASTASIS IN PATRISTIC THEOLOGY JOHN R. SACHS, S.J. Weston School of Theology ECENTLY ι SURVEYED in this journal the treatment of universal sal­ R vation and the problem of hell in current Catholic eschatology.1 Virtually all theologians emphasize the universal scope of God's sav­ ing will and move beyond a view of divine justice which seems to separate it from and pit it against God's love and mercy. Many stress that while we believe that heaven is indeed (already) a reality, hell is, at most, a real possibility. After all, the Church which reverences the saints refuses to say that even one single person is or will be in hell. These are significant and desperately needed corrections to the pes­ simistic and threatening exaggerations of much past theology and pop­ ular piety. Still, most Catholic theologians refuse to embrace a doc­ trine of universal salvation outright, not only because it would seem to have been condemned rather strongly and consistently by the magis- terium but also because they believe that to do so would be tantamount to denying the reality of human freedom. Most admit and insist upon a fundamental tension or dialectic between the sovereignty of God's universally saving act and human freedom which must embrace it freely. Within the limits of Catholic "orthodoxy" what is encouraged by most is a strong and active hope that all will be saved. To some, such a change in perspective may seem to be merely an­ other example of modernity's relentless dilution of the gospel, a super­ ficial optimism that refuses to acknowledge the power of evil in our world and our responsibility for it.
    [Show full text]