ANGELOLOGY IN SITU : RECOVERING HIGHER-ORDER BEINGS AS EMBLEMS OF TRANSCENDENCE, IMMANENCE AND IMAGINATION Dylan David Potter A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2011 Full metadata for this item is available in Research@StAndrews:FullText at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3032 This item is protected by original copyright This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence Angelology in situ: recovering higher-order beings as emblems of transcendence, immanence and imagination Dylan David Potter This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 28/03/2011 Abstract The aim of this study is twofold: to identify the theological purpose underlying the depiction of angels at certain key points in the history of their use, and to explore how far that deeper theological rationale can be reappropriated for our own day. This study first traces the progression of the angelic motif in the Hebrew Scriptures. By examining numerous pericopes in the Pentateuch, major prophets and Daniel, I demonstrate that the metamorphosis of higher-order beings like the angel of the Lord, cherubim and seraphim, is directly related to the writers‘ desire to enhance God‘s transcendence. Next, I evaluate pseudo-Denys‘ hierarchical angelology, which prominent theologians like Luther and Calvin condemned as little more than a Neoplatonic scheme for accessing God through angels. I propose that not only has pseudo-Denys‘ Neoplatonism been overstated, but that his angelology is particularly noteworthy for the way it accentuates Christ‘s eucharistic immanence to the Church. Then I maintain that because assessments of Aquinas‘ angelology are often based upon the Summa Theologiae, his views are wrongly portrayed as overtly philosophical, rather than biblical and exegetical. In his lesser-known biblical commentaries, however, Aquinas pushes the semantic range of the word ‗angel‘ to include aspects of the physical world, which unveils an imaginative, Christocentric, and scriptural dimension of his angelology that is rarely acknowledged. The conclusion considers how contemporary figures and movements relate to these three angelologies. Barth emphasises the transcendent God but unlike Hebrew Scripture, weakens connections between God and angels. New Ageism affirms the immanent angel but unlike pseudo-Denys, does so at the expense of Christology and ecclesiology. Contemporary ecological discourse generally lacks Aquinas‘ appreciation for an imaginative, supernatural approach to the world. Finally, I ground the angels‘ relationship to transcendence, immanence and imagination in an experiential, eucharistic context. 1. Candidate’s declarations: I, Dylan Potter, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 79,520 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. I was admitted as a research student in Oct, 2007 and as a candidate for the degree of PhD in April, 2007; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2007 and 2010. Date 23/12/2010 signature of candidate 2. Supervisor’s declaration: I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of PhD in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date 27/12/10 signature of supervisor 3. Permission for electronic publication: (to be signed by both candidate and supervisor) In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews we understand that we are giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. We also understand that the title and the abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that my thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use unless exempt by award of an embargo as requested below, and that the library has the right to migrate my thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. We have obtained any third-party copyright permissions that may be required in order to allow such access and migration, or have requested the appropriate embargo below. The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the electronic publication of this thesis: Access to all of printed copy but embargo on electronic copy for 2 years on the following ground: publication would preclude future publication Date 27/12/10 signature of candidate signature of supervisor I am requesting an embargo of two years on the electronic copy only because I plan to reach a publishing agreement within that time period. Since an academic or commercial press will acquire the rights to publish either all, or a substantial part, of my dissertation, I want to ensure that the work meets their restrictive pre-publication criteria, should such a policy exist. CONTENTS 1. Introduction a. The existential problem..........................................................................1 b. Gaps in modern angelology....................................................................2 c. A different approach..............................................................................6 2. Chapter I: Angels in the Hebrew Scriptures: means of enhanced transcendence a. Introduction..........................................................................................10 b. Cherubim..............................................................................................13 c. Mal‘ak YHWH: image of progressive transcendence in JEP..............22 d. The function of angels in prophetic and apocalyptic literature............32 e. Angels and the temple: relocating the divine council..........................42 f. Daniel‘s personal angel........................................................................51 g. Conclusion............................................................................................58 3. Chapter II: Pseudo-Denys’ angelology as an emblem of divine immanence a. Introduction..........................................................................................60 b. Deny‘s detractors..................................................................................63 c. Denys‘ presentation of hierarchy.........................................................72 d. Denys‘ Neoplatonic inspiration............................................................89 e. Conclusion..........................................................................................101 4. Chapter III: Recovering the significance of Aquinas’ imaginative angelology a. Introduction........................................................................................104 b. Aquinas in his historical context........................................................106 c. Aquinas‘ angelology in the Summa Theologiae.................................110 d. Hermeneutics and angelology in Aquinas‘ biblical commentaries....118 e. The relationship between angelology and Christology in Aquinas‘ commentaries.....................................................................................135 f. Conclusion..........................................................................................142 5. Chapter IV: Historical angelology in dialogue with the present a. Introduction........................................................................................147 b. Barth‘s angelology: transcendence at the expense of immanence......149 c. The New Age movement: immanence at the expense of transcendence.....................................................................................157 d. Environmentalism: creation at the expense of sacred creativity.........165 e. The Eucharist as the fulfilment of angelology....................................176 f. Conclusion..........................................................................................182 6. Bibliography...................................................................................................186 Introduction The Existential Problem Ever since God planted cherubim outside the eastern entrance to Eden‘s garden, humanity has grappled with a religion of exile and distance, an estrangement neither desired nor entirely understood. Attempts to recover the paradisiacal have led persons to pursue assurances of salvation, secular enlightenment, psychic catharsis, the establishment of civic justice, and even martyrdom. The mythopoeia of a relinquished, verdant garden is symbolic of humanity‘s collective sense of separation from the divine, and the tenets of myriad religions, sects and philosophies, even political ideologies, are faint echoes of the innate desire to recolonise this sacred abode.1 Whether Paradise is an internal or external phenomenon, a present or a future experience, a realm shrouded behind death‘s veil or the dark clouds of an eschatological future, the longing for undisrupted tranquillity is evenly distributed across the human spectrum.2 However, if Paradise is the dwelling of God and angels, theophanies and angelophanies are manifestations