Anne Conway and George Keith on the ‘Christ Within'

This paper explores the influence of early Quaker theology on the philosophy of Anne Conway, as presented in her The Principles of the Most Ancient and Modern Philosophy (1690). We begin by exploring Conway's rejection of the remnants of Cartesianism in the Neoplatonic philosophy of her mentor,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Quaker studies
Main Author: Head, Jonathan (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Liverpool University Press [2018]
In: Quaker studies
IxTheo Classification:KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history
KBF British Isles
KDG Free church
NBF Christology
VA Philosophy
Further subjects:B inner light
B Anne Conway
B Christology
B George Keith
B Cartesianism
B Henry More
Online Access: Volltext (doi)
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Summary:This paper explores the influence of early Quaker theology on the philosophy of Anne Conway, as presented in her The Principles of the Most Ancient and Modern Philosophy (1690). We begin by exploring Conway's rejection of the remnants of Cartesianism in the Neoplatonic philosophy of her mentor, Henry More, leading her to posit a monistic ontology of spirit. Following this, I argue that Conway's Christology and religious epistemology can be understood as inspired by George Keith's account of the ‘Christ Within' and the manner in which the historical Christ is construed as a manifestation of a metaphysical principle, ‘Christ'. We can understand Conway's notion of ‘adoption' by Christ as becoming qualitatively identical with Him as part of the process towards moral perfection, in which we come to embody the ‘Christ Within'.
ISSN:2397-1770
Contains:Enthalten in: Quaker studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.3828/quaker.2018.23.2.2