On the Mystical Rejection of Mystical Illuminations

1966 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Zwi Werblowsky
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Formal Structure ◽  
Considerable Part ◽  
Jewish Mysticism ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Mystical Literature ◽  
And Function ◽  
Literary Output

A considerable part of mystical literature deals with, or reports on, experiences that are of a cognitive and not merely of an emotive nature. Information is alleged to have been received not only from higher spheres but also about these higher spheres. Detailed, and at times highly complex, theories are put forward regarding the nature and evolution of the cosmos, the essence of man and his place and function in the scheme of things. The writings of many mystics reveal mysteries that have been infused from above, or apprehended ‘from below’ by the development and use of special spiritual or mental organs. What all these higher insights have in common in spite of their great diversity, is their discursive, objective and detailed, elaborate character. Mysticism of this type is a kind of supernal science. It is distinct from ordinary science as regards its origin and its emotional charge, but it is similar to science in terms of its formal structure. The Jewish mysticism known as Kabbalah is, I think, an instructive example of this discursive tendency, for the literary output of the kabbalists very largely substitutes a theosophical dialectic for the traditional legal dialectic of the Talmudic rabbis. In the case of the kabbalists this tendency was indebted to the medieval identification of mysticism and prophecy: like prophecy, every illumination by the Holy Spirit was supposed to be a matter of ‘clear and distinct’ contents. But, of course, not every form of cognitive mysticism is related to doctrines of prophecy. Cognitive mysticism can be found everywhere, in the revelation of gnostic mysteries as well as in the quest of modern ‘spiritual’ sciences, such as theosophy and anthroposophy, for hidden and occult truths.

Para leer la espiritualidad de Agustín. Elementos espirituales

Augustinus ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-78
Author(s):  
Vittorino Grossi ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Saint Augustine ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
And Function ◽  
Role And Function

The article deals with the key ideas to understand S. Augustine’s Spirituality, setting in its context the figure of the postconstatinian saint, and discussing the topic of the degrees of sanctity in Saint Augustine. Later, it deals with the various spiritual phases in the writings of Saint Augustine, dividing the life of the doctor of Hippo in two moments, before and after his priestly ordination, pointing out in the second stage the role and function of the Holy Spirit as love and principle of holiness. The importance of spiritual man in the period of the anti-Pelagian struggle is also revealed. It also explains what is for Saint Augustine the spirituality of the heart.

The Spirit in 1 Corinthians

Pneuma ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 485-495
Author(s):  
J. Ayodeji Adewuya
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Community Formation ◽  
Personal Lives ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
And Function

Abstract The Holy Spirit plays a significant role in 1 Corinthians. Paul discusses the role of the Spirit in personal lives, community formation, and worship, among other aspects of Christian living. Paul’s teaching about the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians cannot be understood apart from the situation of the congregation in Corinth. It is not possible to address every issue related to the Holy Spirit in an essay of this length. However, Paul highlights and sometimes elaborates on different aspects of the ministry and function of the Holy Spirit among believers in several passages. Therefore, the approach in this essay is to look at some of the passages and see how much they foster the understanding of the Holy Spirit’s work in 1 Corinthians.

Achievements and Conclusions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald O’Collins, SJ
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Substantial Agreement ◽  
Christian Churches ◽  
Secular World ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
And Function ◽  
Theology Of Tradition

This book has demonstrated the absence of studies of theological tradition that might have built on the substantial agreement about tradition, which has come to exist between the Christian churches. It has shown the considerable help offered by sociologists to theologians who want to explore the nature and function of tradition. Any theology of tradition should attend to the vast variety of Christian traditions. While Scripture enjoys an essential place in evaluating traditions, Christians who discern traditions should be open to wider criteria, including those supplied by the secular world. At the heart of all particular traditions is the risen Christ, the Tradition (singular and in upper case) made present by the Holy Spirit, the Christus praesens who is not a reality which Christians possess but the person by whom they are possessed.

Psychotherapy as “Work in the Spirit”: Thinking Theologically about Psychotherapy

1996 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 284-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Kunst ◽  
Siang-Yang Tan
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Human Person ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
New Creation ◽  
Theology Of Work ◽  
The World ◽  
Basic Goal ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
And Function ◽  
God's Work

This article is an exploration of the meaning, value, and function of psychotherapy within a theology of work. Using Volf's (1991) three-fold model of “work in the Spirit,” psychotherapy is seen as cooperation with God, as eschatological work, and as pneumatological or Spirit-centered work. Psychotherapy's most basic goal is to repair the broken personality. The work of psychotherapy is cooperation with God in God's own work of preserving and transforming the original, now-fallen creation. The fruit of such work—the healed and restored human person—will be the raw material from which God will build the new creation. Thus, the work of psychotherapy is God's work in both its intrinsic and instrumental value, as it honors the original creation and makes way for the new. Finally, psychotherapy is seen as God's work in that it is empowered by the Holy Spirit, who gifts, calls, and enables psychotherapists to participate in God's own preserving and transforming work in the world.

Revisiting Affective Knowledge and Connaturality in Aquinas

2005 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
Bernard Lonergan ◽  
Moral Significance ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
And Function

[The author investigates the nature and function of affective cognition through connaturality in Thomas Aquinas. Its modulations are disclosed in the human attraction to happiness, in emotions and their moral significance, in the affective virtues (fortitude and temperance), and in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Finally, the article notes some convergences between the thought of Aquinas and Bernard Lonergan concerning conversion and intentionality, both epistemological and existential.]

The Pneumatology of Watchman Nee: A New Testament Perspective

2004 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-29
Author(s):  
Archie Hui
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Spiritual Maturity ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
And Function ◽  
Acts 2

The article discusses the pneumatology of Watchman Nee and the five questions raised by it. First, does the NT distinguish between being ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’ and being ‘full of the Holy Spirit’ in terms of duration (shorter versus longer period of time) and function (power for ministry versus spiritual maturity and life)? Second, does the NT distinguish between the outpoured Spirit (the Spirit coming ‘upon’ a person) and the indwelling Spirit (the Spirit entering ‘into’ and dwelling ‘in’ a person)? Third, does the NT more or less equate baptism in the Holy Spirit with being ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’? Fourth, are there two comings of the Holy Spirit, one at Easter (John 20:22) and the other at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-42)? Fifth, does the NT distinguish the Spirit as an influence (giving converts new life) and the Spirit as a person (enabling believers to enter into a deeper and more Spirit-filled life)? The article concludes that while there are indeed differences between the various phrases, they are not of the kind specified by Nee. More importantly, there are not two comings of the Spirit in the NT.

scholarly journals The Spirit as Transcendent Lord

Perichoresis ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 61-71
Author(s):  
Ian Stackhouse
Keyword(s):  
Religious Experience ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Martin Buber ◽  
Power Method ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Trinity

Abstract This essay was delivered as the third and last paper at Spurgeon’s Annual Theological Conference in the summer of 2015. The theme of the Conference was the nature of the trinitarian God, neatly divided a sequence of papers on the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In this essay on the person of the Holy Spirit, Stackhouse challenges some of the assumptions we make when we speak of the Spirit as the God who is near. By placing charismatic experience alongside the biblical revelation, he argues for an understanding of the person of the Spirit as no less transcendent as the Father and the Son, and actively engaged not simply in the phenomena of signs and wonders but in drawing the believer into the very life of the trinity. As the essay develops, Stackhouse seeks to draw out the implications of this approach to pneumatology for our notions of identity, holiness, prayer and Christian community. He argues for a much stronger connection in charismatic/Pentecostal experience between Christ and the Spirit; and in so doing, he warns against some of the more popular, and somewhat ironic, emphases on power, method and function. As with the first paper of the day by Dr Nigel Wright, Stackhouse draws upon the work of Jewish philosopher Martin Buber. Like Wright, he regards Buber’s I-Thou construct of religious experience as critical for the future of contemporary revivalism.

‘Man Is Ill Because He Is Badly Constructed’: Artaud, Klossowski and Deleuze in Search for the Earth Inside

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rick Dolphijn
Keyword(s):  
Performance Art ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
The Body ◽  
Deleuze And Guattari ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Life Itself ◽  
Body Without Organs ◽  
Ways Of Thinking ◽  
And Performance

Starting with Antonin Artaud's radio play To Have Done With The Judgement Of God, this article analyses the ways in which Artaud's idea of the body without organs links up with various of his writings on the body and bodily theatre and with Deleuze and Guattari's later development of his ideas. Using Klossowski (or Klossowski's Nietzsche) to explain how the dominance of dialogue equals the dominance of God, I go on to examine how the Son (the facialised body), the Father (Language) and the Holy Spirit (Subjectification), need to be warded off in order to revitalize the body, reuniting it with ‘the earth’ it has been separated from. Artaud's writings on Balinese dancing and the Tarahumaran people pave the way for the new body to appear. Reconstructing the body through bodily practices, through religion and above all through art, as Deleuze and Guattari suggest, we are introduced not only to new ways of thinking theatre and performance art, but to life itself.

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