Visual Images and Spiritual Exercise in Confessions 7
The central theme of conf. 7 concerns knowledge of God. Augustine describes his so-called "intellectual conversion" when he came to comprehend God as a spiritual reality, a breakthrough which paved the way for his volitional conversion as recorded in conf. 8. In the present article, I argu...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
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| Published: |
Brepols
2022
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| In: |
Sacris erudiri
Year: 2022, Volume: 61, Pages: 7-29 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The central theme of conf. 7 concerns knowledge of God. Augustine describes his so-called "intellectual conversion" when he came to comprehend God as a spiritual reality, a breakthrough which paved the way for his volitional conversion as recorded in conf. 8. In the present article, I argue that the journey to certainty is illustrated in conf. 7 through visual images, as Augustine describes his doubts and misapprehensions about God as a condition of blindness, and his breakthrough to a spiritual understanding of God through images of vision and illumination. These images are effective in expressing his spiritual ascent. However, they also give structure to an exercise of transformation which guides the reader towards knowledge of God as a spiritual reality in participation with the Word. The presence of the recurring, contrasting images of blindness and sight sets up a comparison between Augustine’s lack of cognition while confined to a materially-based way of thinking, and his success in understanding God once he changed this outlook. Furthermore, I find that while visual images signify the intellectual aspect of spiritual progression and reveal its importance, they also place emphasis on its Christian realisation and the soul’s necessary submission to Christ for its progress towards God. Coupled with a narrative-framed inquiry and doctrinal arguments, the visual images are effective in guiding and exhorting readers to follow the advocated path to God. |
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| ISSN: | 2295-9025 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Sacris erudiri
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1484/J.SE.5.133564 |