Jan Van Ruusbroec, Mystical Theologian of the Trinity

Jan Van Ruusbroec, Mystical Theologian of the Trinity

Author: Rik Van Nieuwenhove

Publisher:

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13:

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Jan van Ruusbroec (1293-1381), a Flemish mystical theologian, was one of the most original Trinitarian thinkers in the medieval West. Yet, his works--written in Middle-Dutch--have remained relatively unknown. In this book, Rik Van Nieuwenhove presents the first major study in English of Ruusbroec's thought. Van Nieuwenhove explores in detail Ruusbroec's theology of the Trinity, his anthropology, Christology, and his understanding of union with God. Van Nieuwenhove's study reveals that Ruusbroec, while incorporating aspects of the rich theological and spiritual tradition that preceded him, wrote at the beginning of a modern age in which mystical theology changed radically in nature. Ruusbroec claimed that the divine Persons are subject to an eternal dynamic of procession or out-going from the Father, on the one hand, and returning to the shared divine essence, on the other. The human person is called to participate in this continuous ebbing and flowing by leading a life that combines contemplation and charitable activity. Ruusbroec argued that mysticism should be interpreted in terms of a transformation of the human person rather than in terms of an immediate experience of God. Jan van Ruusbroec, Mystical Theologian of the Trinity is an innovative, original study of one of late medieval theology's undiscovered treasures. Written in clear, accessible language, this new interpretation of Ruusbroec's theology will appeal to all those interested in mysticism, medieval theology, and the doctrine of the Trinity.


An Introduction to the Trinity

An Introduction to the Trinity

Author: Declan Marmion

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 263

ISBN-13: 0521879523

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This book introduces the main people and themes in the history of Trinitarian theology and analyses recent, alternative readings of the tradition.


The Oxford Handbook of Mystical Theology

The Oxford Handbook of Mystical Theology

Author: Edward Howells

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2020-02-25

Total Pages: 725

ISBN-13: 019103407X

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The Oxford Handbook of Mystical Theology provides a guide to the mystical element of Christianity as a theological phenomenon. It differs not only from psychological and anthropological studies of mysticism, but from other theological studies, such as more practical or pastorally-oriented works that examine the patterns of spiritual progress and offer counsel for deeper understanding and spiritual development. It also differs from more explicitly historical studies tracing the theological and philosophical contexts and ideas of various key figures and schools, as well as from literary studies of the linguistic tropes and expressive forms in mystical texts. None of these perspectives is absent, but the method here is more deliberately theological, working from within the fundamental interests of Christian mystical writers to the articulation of those interests in distinctively theological forms, in order, finally, to permit a critical theological engagement with them for today. Divided into four parts, the first section introduces the approach to mystical theology and offers a historical overview. Part two attends to the concrete context of sources and practices of mystical theology. Part three moves to the fundamental conceptualities of mystical thought. The final section ends with the central contributions of mystical teaching to theology and metaphysics. Students and scholars with a variety of interests will find different pathways through the Handbook.


The Trinitarian Theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar

The Trinitarian Theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar

Author: Brendan McInerny

Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess

Published: 2020-04-30

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 0268107599

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Although scholarship has long recognized the centrality of the Trinity in the theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar, no sustained treatment of this theme has been published until now. In this insightful new book, The Trinitarian Theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar, Brendan McInerny fills this gap, situating Balthasar’s trinitarian theology in conversation with both the wider Christian theological tradition and his non-Christian intellectual contemporaries. Drawing from across Balthasar’s extensive body of works, McInerny argues that Balthasar’s vivid description of the immanent Trinity provides a way to speak of how “God is love” in himself, beyond his relationship to creatures. He then shows how Balthasar’s speculation into the immanent Trinity serves as the substructure of his theology of deification. For Balthasar, what we say about the inner life of God matters because we are called to share in that very life through Christ and the Holy Spirit, to the glory of God the Father. Finally, responding to the criticisms that Balthasar’s speculations into the inner life of God are without warrant, McInerny argues that Balthasar’s bold trinitarian claims are actually a vehicle for apophatic theology. Balthasar’s vivid description of the triune God does not transgress the boundaries of theological discourse. Rather, it manifests God’s ever-greater incomprehensibility through verbal excess, oxymoron, and paradox.


Rethinking Trinitarian Theology

Rethinking Trinitarian Theology

Author: Giulio Maspero

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2012-03-01

Total Pages: 513

ISBN-13: 0567468313

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The book aims at showing the most important topics and paradigms in modern Trinitarian theology. It is supposed to be a comprehensive guide to the many traces of development of Trinitarian faith. As such it is thought to systematize the variety of contemporary approaches to the field of Trinitarian theology in the present philosophical-cultural context. The main goal of the publication is not only a description of what happened to Trinitarian theology in the modern age. It is rather to indicate the typically modern specificity of the Trinitarian debate and - first of all - to encourage development in the main areas and issues of this subject.


Introduction to Medieval Theology

Introduction to Medieval Theology

Author: Rik Van Nieuwenhove

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2022-03-24

Total Pages: 397

ISBN-13: 110883955X

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The best introduction to medieval theology from the time of St Augustine to the 14th century, in an expanded, 2nd edition. This volume invites us to think along with major theologians and spiritual authors in order to understand how pre-modern thought can enrich and challenge us in a (post-)modern context.


An Introduction to Medieval Theology

An Introduction to Medieval Theology

Author: Rik van Nieuwenhove

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2012-04-19

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 0521897548

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This book is essential reading for anyone interested in medieval thought, be they students of theology, philosophy or literature.


A Companion to John of Ruusbroec

A Companion to John of Ruusbroec

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2014-05-08

Total Pages: 465

ISBN-13: 9004270760

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John of Ruusbroec (1293-1381) is one of the most important mystical authors in the Christian tradition. This Companion provides a comprehensive overview of Ruusbroec studies, including a survey of the mystical tradition in the Low Countries before Ruusbroec, a discussion of his life and works, the manuscript tradition, the most significant mystical-theological and literary themes, Latin translations of his work, and the widespread resonance of his thought across Europe until 1800. Finally, it offers a summary of secondary research since the nineteenth century. To complement the range of scholarly articles, this Companion also includes the first English translation of a series of Middle Dutch texts that offer deeper insight into Ruusbroec, his thought, and his mystical and literary context. Contributors include: Jos Andriessen, John Arblaster, Guido De Baere, Rob Faesen, Bernard McGinn, Hilde Noë, Kees Schepers, Loet Swart, Rik Van Nieuwenhove, and Lieve Uyttenhove.


Mystical Anthropology

Mystical Anthropology

Author: John Arblaster

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-11-10

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 1317090969

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The question of the ‘structure’ of the human person is central to many mystical authors in the Christian tradition. This book focuses on the specific anthropology of a series of key authors in the mystical tradition in the medieval and early modern Low Countries. Their view is fundamentally different from the anthropology that has commonly been accepted since the rise of Modernity. This book explores the most important mystical authors and texts from the Low Countries including: William of Saint-Thierry, Hadewijch, Pseudo-Hadewijch, John of Ruusbroec, Jan van Leeuwen, Hendrik Herp, and the Arnhem Mystical Sermons. The most important aspects of mystical anthropology are discussed: the spiritual nature of the soul, the inner-most being of the soul, the faculties, the senses, and crucial metaphors which were used to explain the relationship of God and the human person. Two contributions explicitly connect the anthropology of the mystics to contemporary thought. This book offers a solid and yet accessible overview for those interested in theology, philosophy, history, and medieval literature.


From Eckhart to Ruusbroec

From Eckhart to Ruusbroec

Author: Satoshi Kikuchi

Publisher: Leuven University Press

Published: 2014-09-26

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 9058679853

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The mystical relationship between Meister Eckhart and Jan van Ruusbroec In this thorough textual, historical, and doctrinal study the author seeks to clarify the relationship between two prominent mystics of the fourteenth century: Meister Eckhart, the German Dominican, and Jan van Ruusbroec, the Brabantine Augustinian. Special attention is paid to Ruusbroec’s criticism of mystical tenets circulating in Brabant at that time which were both textually and doctrinally related to Eckhart’s condemned propositions in the papal bull In agro dominico. This fact implies that Ruusbroec was confronted with the impact of the condemnation of Eckhart’s doctrines on the people in Brabant. Situating Ruusbroec’s life and works within the aftermath of Eckhart’s arrival, the author elucidates Ruusbroec’s position regarding the relevant mystical themes in the later Middle Ages, and follows a process of critical inheritance of mystical tradition from Eckhart to Ruusbroec.