DOCSLIB.ORG

Christian Mysticism : Considered in Eight Lectures Delivered Before The

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Christian Mysticism : Considered in Eight Lectures Delivered Before The ^ofPmcsTo^ '^Ot.OQiCM St>ft^^ BR 45 .B35 1899 Bampton lectures CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM THE BAMPTON LECTURES, 1899 CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM CONSIDERED IN EIGHT LECTURES DELIVERED BEFORE THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD WILLIAM RALPH INGE, M.A. FELLOW AND TUTOR OF HERTFORD COLLEGE, OXFORD ; FORMERLY FF.LLOW OF KING'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, AND ASSISTANT MASTER AT ETON COLLEGE NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 153, 15s. AND 157 FIFTH AVENUE LONDON: METHUEN & CO. EXTRACT FROM THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF THE LATE REV. JOHN BAMPTON, CANON OF SALISBURY. " I give and bequeath my Lands and Estates to the Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of the University of Oxford for ever, to have and to hold all and singular the said Lands and Estates upon trust, and to the intents and purposes here- inafter mentioned ; that is to say, I will and appoint that the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford for the time being shall take and receive all the rents, issues, and profits thereof, and (after all taxes, reparations, and necessary deductions made) that he pay all the remainder to the endowment of eight Divinity Lecture Sermons, to be established for ever in the said University, and to be performed in the manner following : " I direct and appoint that upon the first Tuesday in Easter Term, a Lecturer be yearly chosen by the Heads of Colleges only, and by no others, in the room adjoining to the Printing- House, between the hours of ten in the morning and two in the afternoon, to preach eight Divinity Lecture Sermons, the year following, at St. Mary's in Oxford, between the com- mencement of the last month in Lent Term, and the end of the third week in Act Term. — VI EXTRACT " Also I direct and appoint, that the eight Divinity Lecture Sermons shall be preached upon either of the following Subjects—to confirm and establish the Christian Faith, and to confute all heretics and schismatics — upon the Divine authority of the Holy Scriptures—upon the authority of the writings of the primitive Fathers, as to the faith and practice of the primitive Church —upon the Divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ—upon the Divinity of the Holy Ghost upon the Articles of the Christian Faith, as comprehended in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. "Also I direct that thirty copies of the eight Divinity Lecture Sermons shall be always printed within two months after they are preached ; and one copy shall be given to the Chancellor of the University, and one copy to the head of every College, and one copy to the Mayor of the City of Oxford, and one copy to be put into the Bodleian Library ; and the expense of printing them shall be paid out of the revenue of the Land or Estates given for establishing the Divinity Lecture Sermons ; and the Preacher shall not be paid, nor entitled to the revenue, before they are printed. " Also I direct and appoint, that no person shall be qualified to preach the Divinity Lecture Sermons, unless he hath taken the degree of Master of Arts at least, in one of the two Uni- versities of Oxford or Cambridge ; and that tlTe same person shall never preach the Divinity Lecture Sermons twice." PREFACE The first of the subjects which, according to the will of Canon Bampton, are prescribed for the Lecturers upon his foundation, is the confirmation and establishment of the Christian faith. This is the aim which I have kept in view in preparing this volume ; and I should wish my book to be judged as a contribution to apolo- getics, rather than as a historical sketch of Christian Mysticism. I say this' because I decided, after some hesitation, to adopt a historical framework for the Lectures, and this arrangement may cause my object to be misunderstood. It seemed to me that the instructiveness of tracing the development and opera- tion of mystical ideas, in the forms which they have assumed as active forces in history, outweighed the disadvantage of appearing to waver between apology and narrative. A series of historical essays would, of course, have been quite unsuitable in the University pulpit, and, moreover, I did not approach the subject from that side. Until I began to prepare the Lectures, about a year and a half before they were delivered, my study of the mystical writers had been directed solely by my own intellectual and spiritual needs. I was attracted to them in the hope of finding in their writings a philosophy and a rule of life which would ; viii PREFACE satisfy my mind and conscience. In this I was not disappointed ; and thinking that others might perhaps profit by following the same path, I wished to put together and publish the results of my thought and reading. In such a scheme historical details are either out of place or of secondary value ; and I hope this will be remembered by any historians who may take the trouble to read my book. The philosophical side of the subject is from my point of view of much greater importance. I have done my best to acquire an adequate knowledge of those philosophies, both ancient and modern, which are most akin to speculative Mysticism, and also to think out my own position. I hope that I have succeeded in indicating my general standpoint, and that what I have written may prove fairly consistent and intelligible ; but I have felt keenly the disad- vantage of having missed the systematic training in metaphysics given by the Oxford school of LitercB Huinaniores, and also the difficulty (perhaps I should say the presumption) of addressing metaphysical arguments to an audience which included several eminent philosophers. I wish also that I had had time for a more thorough study of Fechner's works ; for his system, so far as I understand it, seems to me to have a great interest and value as a scheme of philosophical Mysticism which does not clash with modern science. I have spoken with a plainness which will probably give offence of the debased supernaturalism which usurps the name of Mysticism in Roman Catholic countries. I desire to insult no man's convictions " PREFACE ix and it is for this reason that I have decided not to print my analysis of Ribet's work {^La Mystique Divine, distinguh des Contrefa<^ons diaboliques. Nouvelle Edition, Paris, 1895, 3 vols.), which I intended to form an Appendix. It would have opened the eyes of some of my readers to the irreconcilable antagon- ism between the Roman Church and science ; but though I translated and summarised my author faith- fully, the result had all the appearance of a malicious travesty. I therefore suppressed this Appendix have ; but with regard to Roman Catholic " Mysticism there is no use in mincing matters. Those who find edification in signs and wonders of this kind, and think that such " supernatural phenomena," even if they were well authenticated instead of being ridiculous fables, could possibly establish spiritual truths, will find little or nothing to please or interest them in these pages. But those who reverence Nature and Reason, and have no wish to hear of either of them being " overruled " or " suspended," will, I hope, agree with me in valuing highly the later developments of mystical thought in Northern Europe. " There is another class of " mystics with whom I have but little sympathy— the dabblers in occultism. " " Psychical research is, no doubt, a perfectly legitimate science ; but when its professors invite us to watch the breaking down of the middle wall of partition between matter and spirit, they have, in my opinion, ceased to be scientific, and are in reality hankering after the beggarly elements of the later Neoplatonism. The charge of " pantheistic tendency " will not, I hope, be brought against me without due considera- ; X PREFACE tion. I have tried to show how the Johannine Logos- doctrine, which is the basis of Christian Mysticism, differs from Asiatic Pantheism, from Acosmism, and from (one kind of) evolutionary IdeaHsm. Of course, speculative Mysticism is nearer to Pantheism than to Deism ; but I think it is possible heartily to eschew Deism without falling into the opposite error. I have received much help from many kind friends ; and though some of them would not wish to be as- sociated with all of my opinions, I cannot deny myself the pleasure of thanking them by name. From my mother and other members of my family, and relations, especially Mr. W. W. How, Fellow of Merton, I have received many useful suggestions. Three past or present colleagues have read and criticised parts of my work—the Rev. H. Rashdall, now Fellow of New College ; Mr. H. A. Prichard, now Fellow of Trinity and Mr. H. H. Williams, Fellow of Hertford. Mr. G. L. Dickinson, Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, lent me an unpublished dissertation on Plotinus. The Rev. C. Bigg, D.D., whose Bampton Lectures on the Christian Platonists are known all over Europe, did me the kindness to read the whole of the eight Lectures, and so added to the great debt which I owe to him for his books. The Rev. J. M. Heald, formerly Scholar of Trinity, Cambridge, lent me many books from his fine library, and by inquiring for me at Louvain enabled me to procure the books on Mysti- cism which are now studied in Roman Catholic Universities. The Rev. Dr. Lindsay, who has made a special study of the German mystics, read my Lectures on that period, and wrote me a very useful — - PREFACE xi letter upon them.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Awkward Objects: Relics, the Making of Religious Meaning, and The
    Awkward Objects: Relics, the Making of Religious Meaning, and the Limits of Control in the Information Age Jan W Geisbusch University College London Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor in Anthropology. 15 September 2008 UMI Number: U591518 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U591518 Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work 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 Declaration of authorship: I, Jan W Geisbusch, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Signature: London, 15.09.2008 Acknowledgments A thesis involving several years of research will always be indebted to the input and advise of numerous people, not all of whom the author will be able to recall. However, my thanks must go, firstly, to my supervisor, Prof Michael Rowlands, who patiently and smoothly steered the thesis round a fair few cliffs, and, secondly, to my informants in Rome and on the Internet. Research was made possible by a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
    [Show full text]
  • Pacifism and Apocalyptic Discourse Among Russian Spiritual Christian Molokan-Jumpers
    Church History 80:1 (March 2011), 109–138. © American Society of Church History, 2011 doi:10.1017/S0009640710001587 The Woman Clothed in the Sun: Pacifism and Apocalyptic Discourse among Russian Spiritual Christian Molokan-Jumpers J. EUGENE CLAY ITH its violent images of heavenly and earthly combat, the book of Revelation has been criticized for promoting a vengeful and Wdistorted version of Christ’s teachings. Gerd Lüdemann, for example, has attacked the book as part of the “dark side of the Bible,” and Jonathan Kirsch believes that the pernicious influence of Revelation “can be detected in some of the worst atrocities and excesses of every age, including our own.”1 Yet, surprisingly, nonviolent pacifists have also drawn on the Apocalypse for encouragement and support. This was especially true for generations of Russian Spiritual Christians (dukhovnye khristiane), a significant religious minority whose roots trace at least as far back as the 1760s, when the first “spirituals” (dukhovnye) were arrested and tried in Russia’s southern provinces of Tambov and Voronezh. Although they drew upon apocalyptic martial imagery, the Spiritual Christians were pacifists, some of whom came to identify themselves with the Woman Clothed in the Sun of Revelation 12. Spiritual Christians refused to recognize the sacraments, clergy, and icons of the state church; rather than kiss and bow to icons, they kissed and bowed to one another, and thus venerated human beings, who were the true image—or Research for this article was supported by the Pew Evangelical Scholars Initiative, by seed grants from the Institute for Humanities Research and the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict at Arizona State University, and by the International Research and Exchanges Board with funds provided by the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Mysticism and Greek Monasticism
    Mysticism and Greek Monasticism By JOHANNES RINNE There is reason to assert that Christian mysticism is as old as Christianity itself. In the Pauline epistles, e.g., there are obvious signs of this fact. The later Christian mysticism has, in a high degree, been inspired by these ele- ments and likewise by various corresponding thoughts in the Johannine writings, which traditionally are interpreted from this angle and which have played a central role especially for the Orthodox Church.' In the light of the above-mentioned circumstances, it seems fully natural that there exists, from the very beginning, a clear connection also between mysticism and Christian monasticism. It has been pointed out by certain authors that the role of mystical visions is of essential and decisive significance also as regards the development from the stage of the hermits of the deserts to that form of life which, in the proper sense of the word, is characterised as monastic. There is, generally speaking, no possibility to understand correctly the intentions and the thoughts of the great pioneers of monasticism, unless one takes into account the mystically visionary factors. To this end it is neces- sary, furthermore, to penetrate in an inner, spiritual way, into the holy sym- bolism of the monastic tradition and into the sacred legends of its history.2 In other words, it is necessary to keep constantly in mind the visionary factor and to remember that the pioneers of monastic life, as a rule, are men of which it may be said that they have their conversation in heaven: on the mystical level of vision they converse with the angels as the representatives of the heavenly world and as those organs, by means of which the principles of monastic life are transmitted and given to the men of mystical visions.' The things mentioned above are not merely history.
    [Show full text]
  • PDF Download Christian Spirituality in the Catholic Tradition
    CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY IN THE CATHOLIC TRADITION PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Jordan Aumann | 326 pages | 01 Aug 1985 | Ignatius Press | 9780898700688 | English | San Francisco, United States Christian Spirituality in the Catholic Tradition PDF Book Hammond C. William James popularized the use of the term "religious experience" in his book The Varieties of Religious Experience. How do you imagine the world? In particular, Philo taught that allegorical interpretations of the Hebrew Scriptures provides access to the real meanings of the texts. Jesuit Missionaries to North America. The matter was referred to the Inquisition. Into Your Hands, Father. Christianity portal Book Category. The Rosary: A Path into Prayer. University of California Press. Click here to sign up. Legend has it that Mary herself gave the Rosary to Dominic. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. Each of the religious orders and congregations of the Catholic church, as well as lay groupings, has specifics to its own spirituality — its way of approaching God in prayer to foster its way of living out the Gospel. By: Sohrab Ahmari. Mysticism is not so much a doctrine as a method of thought. Ignatius Loyola. Pastoral Spirituality The monasteries became places of public scandal and the spirituality was measured in terms of worldly pleasure, riches and honour. What was part and parcel of royal court culture was adopted into religious practice. Liberative spirituality centres on the Exodus experience of the people of Israel who encounter Yahweh as the Liberator. Today, the same Christ is in people who are unwanted, unemployed, uncared for, hungry, naked, and homeless.
    [Show full text]
  • Embracing Icons: the Face of Jacob on the Throne of God*
    Images 2007_f13_36-54 8/13/07 5:19 PM Page 36 RACHEL NEIS University of Michigan EMBRACING ICONS: THE FACE OF JACOB ON THE THRONE OF GOD* Abstract I bend over it, embrace, kiss and fondle to it, Rachel Neis’ article treats Hekhalot Rabbati, a collection of early and my hands are upon its arms, Jewish mystical traditions, and more specifically §§ 152–169, a three times, when you speak before me “holy.” series of Qedusha hymns. These hymns are liturgical performances, As it is said: holy, holy, holy.1 the highlight of which is God’s passionate embrace of the Jacob icon Heikhalot Rabbati, § 164 on his throne as triggered by Israel’s utterance of the Qedusha. §§ 152–169 also set forth an ocular choreography such that the For over a century, scholars conceived of the relation- gazes of Israel and God are exchanged during the recitation of the ship between visuality in Judaism and Christianity Qedusha. The article set these traditions within the history of sim- in binary terms.2 Judaism was understood as a reli- ilar Jewish traditions preserved in Rabbinic literature. It will be argued that §§ 152–169 date to the early Byzantine period, reflecting gion of the word in opposition to Christianity, a Jewish interest in images of the sacred parallel to the contempo- which was seen as a deeply visual culture. For raneous Christian intensification of the cult of images and preoccupation many scholars, never the twain did meet—Jews with the nature of religious images. were always “the nation without art,” or “artless,”3 while for much of their history Christians embraced Bear witness to them 4 5 of what testimony you see of me, icons, creating visual representations of the divine.
    [Show full text]
  • The Development of Marian Doctrine As
    INTERNATIONAL MARIAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON, OHIO in affiliation with the PONTIFICAL THEOLOGICAL FACULTY MARIANUM ROME, ITALY By: Elizabeth Marie Farley The Development of Marian Doctrine as Reflected in the Commentaries on the Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-5) by the Latin Fathers and Pastoral Theologians of the Church From the Fourth to the Seventeenth Century A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate in Sacred Theology with specialization in Marian Studies Director: Rev. Bertrand Buby, S.M. Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute University of Dayton 300 College Park Dayton, OH 45469-1390 2013 i Copyright © 2013 by Elizabeth M. Farley All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Nihil obstat: François Rossier, S.M., STD Vidimus et approbamus: Bertrand A. Buby S.M., STD – Director François Rossier, S.M., STD – Examinator Johann G. Roten S.M., PhD, STD – Examinator Thomas A. Thompson S.M., PhD – Examinator Elio M. Peretto, O.S.M. – Revisor Aristide M. Serra, O.S.M. – Revisor Daytonesis (USA), ex aedibus International Marian Research Institute, et Romae, ex aedibus Pontificiae Facultatis Theologicae Marianum, die 22 Augusti 2013. ii Dedication This Dissertation is Dedicated to: Father Bertrand Buby, S.M., The Faculty and Staff at The International Marian Research Institute, Father Jerome Young, O.S.B., Father Rory Pitstick, Joseph Sprug, Jerome Farley, my beloved husband, and All my family and friends iii Table of Contents Prėcis.................................................................................. xvii Guidelines........................................................................... xxiii Abbreviations...................................................................... xxv Chapter One: Purpose, Scope, Structure and Method 1.1 Introduction...................................................... 1 1.2 Purpose............................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Henri Le Saux)
    THE CHURCH OF ABHISHIKTÅNANDA (HENRI LE SAUX) A Thesis Submitted to the University of Stirling for the Degree of Master of Philosophy in the Faculty of Human Sciences April 2009 Enrico Beltramini Religious Studies 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................................. 6 DECLARATION AND COPYRIGHT ......................................................................................................................... 7 Declaration .................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Copyright ....................................................................................................................................................................... 7 PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND DEDICATION ..................................................................................... 8 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................................... 9 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Interreligious Dialogue or Intercultural Dialogue ...................................................................................................... 10 Henri Le Saux
    [Show full text]
  • Theology Today
    Theology Today volume 67, N u m b e r 2 j u l y 2 0 1 0 EDITORIAL Christmas in July 123 JAMES F. KAY ARTICLES American Scriptures 127 C. CLIFTON BLACK Christian Spirituality in a Time of Ecological Awareness 169 KATHLEEN FISCHER The “New Monasticism” as Ancient-Future Belonging 182 PHILIP HARROLD Sexuality as Sacrament: An Evangelical Reads Andrew Greeley 194 ANTHONY L. BLAIR THEOLOGICAL TABLE TALK The Difference Calvin Made 205 R. BRUCE DOUGLASS CRITIC’S CORNER Thinking beyond Easy Tribalism 216 WALTER BRUEGGEMANN BOOK REVIEWS The Ten Commandments, by Patrick Miller 220 STANLEY HAUERWAS An Introduction to the New Testament Manuscripts and Their Texts, by D. C. Parker 224 SHANE BERG TT-67-2-pages.indb 1 4/21/10 12:45 PM Incarnation: The Person and Life of Christ by Thomas F. Torrance, edited by Robert T. Walker 225 PAUL D. MOLNAR Religion after Postmodernism: Retheorizing Myth and Literature by Victor E. Taylor 231 TOM BEAUDOIN Practical Theology: An Introduction, by Richard R. Osmer 234 JOYCE ANN MERCER Boundless Faith: The Global Outreach of American Churches by Robert Wuthnow 241 RICHARD FOX YOUNG The Hand and the Road: The Life and Times of John A. Mackay by John Mackay Metzger 244 JOHN H. SINCLAIR The Child in the Bible, Marcia J. Bunge, general editor; Terence E. Fretheim and Beverly Roberts Gaventa, coeditors 248 KAREN-MARIE YUST TT-67-2-pages.indb 2 4/21/10 12:45 PM James F. Kay, Editor Gordon S. Mikoski, Reviews Editor Blair D. Bertrand, Editorial Assistant EDITORIAL COUNCIL Iain R.
    [Show full text]
  • This Shabbat We Find Ourselves in What I Might Call The
    March 30, 2013 - Shabbat Hol Hamoed Pesah 5773 HIR - The Bayit Steven Exler This Shabbat we find ourselves in what I might call the Valley of Pesah - between the peak of Seder night - the springboard of our liberation and nationhood, and the glorious Song at the Sea on the Seventh Day and Haftorah of the Messianic Era on the Eighth Day - our full redemption and deliverance. What was even happening on these days between our departure from Egypt and our deliverance at the Sea 3300-some years ago? We were trudging along just out of Egypt, not even sure what lay ahead, probably exhilarated, and overwhelmed and tired! And we may feel a little of that fatigue - perhaps enhanced by the drowsying effects of matzah - even today. So what is the teaching of these middle days, the Valley of Pesach, and especially on this Shabbat Hol Hamoed, to awaken us? One answer lies in what may be the theme of today’s Torah reading, Haftorah, and Shir Hashirim. Yes, I’m going to try to connect all three, in the next 12 minutes! Why is today’s reading, from Ki Tissa, chosen? Presumably because it concludes with mention of Pesah in the context of the shalosh regalim - the three pilgrimage festivals, and in order to get there we have to backtrack a little ways so we wind up including some earlier material - the content of the end of Shemot Chapter 33 and beginning of 34, in which Moshe tries to coax God to show Moshe God’s face. But perhaps this content is particular to this intermediate part of Pesah, a time when we want somehow to focus on connecting with the Presence of God.
    [Show full text]
  • Augustine and the Scandal of the North African Catholic Mind Paul Copan*
    JETS 41/2 (June 1998) 287–295 AUGUSTINE AND THE SCANDAL OF THE NORTH AFRICAN CATHOLIC MIND PAUL COPAN* Four years ago Mark Noll wrote a landmark book entitled The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind.1 He pointed out that modern evangelicals are not known for their rigorous thinking, nor does popular evangelicalism tend to sustain the intellectual life.2 Such a situation, he noted, has practical im- plications. For instance, who will teach the children of evangelicals if they are not taught to love God with all their mind? All too often it is Hollywood or Madison Avenue3—not to mention fringe religious groups preying upon unprepared young minds. This scandal within Christendom is hardly a ˜rst, however. One was taking place during the time of Augustine (b. AD 354). In this case it was the scandal of the North African Catholic mind—a scandal that pushed him toward the Manichees, a Christian fringe group. During Augustine’s day North African Catholica were closeminded toward reason, toward a faith seeking understanding.4 And despite the simple, vibrant faith of his mother Monica, the young Augustine did not receive within Catholic Christianity the intellectual answers to his questions that he so desperately sought. In this paper I shall brie˘y explore Augustine’s antiintellectual environ- ment and its characteristics—especially with regard to the North African clergy—and then discuss the signi˜cant eˆect this had in driving him into the arms of the Manichees. I. NORTH AFRICAN CATHOLIC CHRISTIANITY The atmosphere of North African Christendom in which Augustine grew up re˘ected the in˘uential thought of Tertullian (d.
    [Show full text]
  • Divine Manifestations in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha Orientalia Judaica Christiana
    Divine Manifestations in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha Orientalia Judaica Christiana 2 Orientalia Judaica Christiana, the Christian Orient and its Jewish Heritage, is dedicated, first of all, to the afterlife of the Jewish Second Temple traditions within the traditions of the Christian East. A second area of exploration is some priestly (non-Talmudic) Jewish traditions that survived in the Christian environment Divine Manifestations in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha Andrei Orlov govg'ms press 2009 For law and June Fair ... Then the old man stood up and stretched his hands to­ wards heaven. His fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he said to him, "If you will, you can become all flame/5 Apophthegmata Patrum, Joseph of Panephysis, 7. Abba Bessarion, at the point of death, said, "The monk ought to be as the Cherubim and the Seraphim: all eye." Apophthegmata Patrum, Bessarion, 11. TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface xv Locations of the Original Publications xvii List of Abbreviations xix INTRODUCTION. The Kavod and Shem Paradigms and Divine Manifestations in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha 1 Silvanus and Anthony. 3 Moses and Elijah 8 Enoch and Abraham 12 PART I: THE DIVINE BODY TRADITIONS 19 "Without Measure and Without Analogy": The Tradition of the Divine Body in 2 (Slavonic) Enoch 21 Introduction 21 Adamic Tradition of 2 Enoch 23 The Corporeality of the Protoplast 26 From the Four Corners of the World 29 The Measure of the Divine Body. 34 Bodily Ascent 37 Adam and Enoch: "Two Powers" in Heaven 38 Two Bodies Created According to the Likeness of the Third One 43 The Pillar of the World: The Eschatological Role of the Seventh Antediluvian Hero in 2 (Slavonic) Enoch 49 Introduction 49 I.
    [Show full text]
  • Kabbalah, Magic & the Great Work of Self Transformation
    KABBALAH, MAGIC AHD THE GREAT WORK Of SELf-TRAHSfORMATIOH A COMPL€T€ COURS€ LYAM THOMAS CHRISTOPHER Llewellyn Publications Woodbury, Minnesota Contents Acknowledgments Vl1 one Though Only a Few Will Rise 1 two The First Steps 15 three The Secret Lineage 35 four Neophyte 57 five That Darkly Splendid World 89 SIX The Mind Born of Matter 129 seven The Liquid Intelligence 175 eight Fuel for the Fire 227 ntne The Portal 267 ten The Work of the Adept 315 Appendix A: The Consecration ofthe Adeptus Wand 331 Appendix B: Suggested Forms ofExercise 345 Endnotes 353 Works Cited 359 Index 363 Acknowledgments The first challenge to appear before the new student of magic is the overwhehning amount of published material from which he must prepare a road map of self-initiation. Without guidance, this is usually impossible. Therefore, lowe my biggest thanks to Peter and Laura Yorke of Ra Horakhty Temple, who provided my first exposure to self-initiation techniques in the Golden Dawn. Their years of expe­ rience with the Golden Dawn material yielded a structure of carefully selected ex­ ercises, which their students still use today to bring about a gradual transformation. WIthout such well-prescribed use of the Golden Dawn's techniques, it would have been difficult to make progress in its grade system. The basic structure of the course in this book is built on a foundation of the Golden Dawn's elemental grade system as my teachers passed it on. In particular, it develops further their choice to use the color correspondences of the Four Worlds, a piece of the original Golden Dawn system that very few occultists have recognized as an ini­ tiatory tool.
    [Show full text]