Divine Nothingness, Ecstasy and Self-transcendence in the Evangelical Pearl
This article considers a key topic from medieval theological anthropology by examining how ecstasy and self-transcendence relate to divine nothingness. It discusses this topic by examining a spiritual classic written by a female author and published in 1538 but largely forgotten, namely, The Evangel...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2022
|
| In: |
Medieval mystical theology
Year: 2022, Volume: 31, Issue: 1, Pages: 33-40 |
| IxTheo Classification: | CB Christian life; spirituality KAF Church history 1300-1500; late Middle Ages KAG Church history 1500-1648; Reformation; humanism; Renaissance NBE Anthropology |
| Further subjects: | B
Ecstasy
B mystical theology B Nothingness B Evangelical Pearl B Self-transcendence B Medieval Dutch mysticism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | This article considers a key topic from medieval theological anthropology by examining how ecstasy and self-transcendence relate to divine nothingness. It discusses this topic by examining a spiritual classic written by a female author and published in 1538 but largely forgotten, namely, The Evangelical Pearl, which encapsulates central themes from Jan van Ruusbroec and Meister Eckhart and passes them on to the modern age. This contribution argues that divine nothingness elicits a theological-anthropological response of ecstasy and self-transcendence, which is best understood as a disposition of radical recollection, dispossessiveness and gratuitousness of one’s memory, intellect and will. The final part of this paper considers the question whether our author’s negative theology of nothingness is vulnerable to Luther’s criticism of apophaticism and its alleged lack of Christocentric grounding. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2046-5734 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Medieval mystical theology
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/20465726.2022.2084840 |
