lecture 4: knowing god mysticism and personal illumination
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Lecture 4: Knowing God Mysticism and Personal Illumination. Dr. Ann T. Orlando Sept. 25, 2008. Outline. The Theme of this lecture: personal growth and experience of the Divine Augustine Personal experiences of God Rules of Spiritual Progress (how to prepare for divine illumenation) - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Lecture 4: Knowing GodMysticism and Personal Illumination
Dr. Ann T. Orlando
Sept. 25, 2008
Outline
The Theme of this lecture: personal growth and experience of the Divine Augustine
– Personal experiences of God– Rules of Spiritual Progress (how to prepare for divine illumenation)
Augustinian Orders Bonaventure Petrarch, Ascent of Mt. Ventoux Rousseau Modern readings of Confessions IX
– Derrida– Merton
Key issue: Is interior illumination important way of knowing? Is Augustine authoritative, sympathetic, ignored, rejected?
Confessions VIII - IX
End of Book VIII is story of a moment of illumination for Augustine in garden
– Story of Antony– Reading Romans
Book IX is story of Monica– Her life and struggles– Moment of divine illumination with Augustine– Her death
Note that Augustine’s story of his past ends with her life.
On True Religion
Written shortly before his ordination (390) Addressed to Romanianus, benefactor, and father of
his friend Licentius– Romanianus was a Manichee, benefactor to Augustine in
his student days in Carthage– Licentius was a student of Augustine in Milan and
Cassiciacum
Heavily influenced by neoPlatonism Givens steps on the ascent to truth and beauty
“Augustinian” Rule
Three texts associated with Augustine are referenced for his Rule:
– Regulations for a Monastery– The Rule– Reprimand and Rule for Quarreling Nuns (Letter 211)
The Regulations probably was not written by Augustine The Rule may have been written by Augustine Letter 211 was written by Augustine, but perhaps not as a Rule How to live to prepare oneself for divine illumination
Bishop Augustine and His Priests
What Augustine really wanted to do was live in a monastery with like-minded friends to study Scripture
He encouraged the priests of Hippo to live with him in community
He was distressed by the financial entanglements of some of his clergy and their heirs
Medieval Appropriation of ‘Augustine’s Rule’ for Reform
Gregorian Reform– Pope Gregory VII (r. 1073-1085) concerned about corruption of canonical
clergy – Looks to ‘Augustine’s Rule’ as a way of reforming clergy, relation to their
bishop and correcting some of the problems of lay investiture– Canons could not live in private homes or own property
Dominicans– St. Dominic (1170-1221) was already living the Rule as a canon– Founded Order of Preachers to live a mendicant life devoted to preaching,
used Augustine's Rule as the Dominican Rule.– Following decree of Fourth Lateran Council that new orders should use a
predefined Rule Other Orders using some form of Augustine’s Rule: Servites,
Premonstratenasians, Brigitines, Ursalines and Visitation Nuns Impact on early Franciscans: St. Anthony of Padua had been an
Augustinian; St. Bonaventure
Late Medieval ‘Augustinian’ Orders
Hermits– Independent groups of communities throughout Italy and France
formed in 13th C to live the ‘Augustinian Rule’– Pope Alexander IV in 1256 forced them into one organization with
a common hierarchy – Became ‘secular’ monks, i.e. not cloistered– Emphasis on education and preaching, especially against
Pelagianism (Gregory of Rimini, d. 1358)– Martin Luther was an Augustinian Hermit
Canons Regular– Goes back to the Gregorian Reform– Way of life for diocesan clergy, especially those working in
chancery– Erasmus of Rotterdam was a Canon Regular
St. Bonaventure (1217-1274)
Franciscan, Master General– “The Seraphic Doctor”
Most famous commentary on Lombard’s Sentences– Augustine the greatest of all the Latin teachers Sent. III, d. 3
Argued against Aristotelian use of matter and form in theology
Particularly drew on Augustine and divine illumination in spiritual journey to God
Itinerarium Mentis in DeumThe Mind’s Journey Into God
Written for University of Paris student retreat– Mimics pilgrimage itinerary– Approach God by leaving world behind
Seven steps, one goes from one to the next by being open to God’s grace
Importance of will One possible difference: Bonaventure strongly
apophatic– God unknowable– Augustine (perhaps) more that God is inexpressible
Meister Eckhart von Hockheim (1260-1329)
Born in Germany, entered the Dominican priory in Erfurt Studied in Paris on several occasions Became prior at Strasburg and Cologne
– Rhineland mysticism Preacher to Beguine houses
– Loose association of lay women religious– Viewed with some suspicion by some clerics
Charged with heresy for preaching that the creature is equal to the Creator and for encouraging lay movements out side of hierarchical Church
– Condemned by John XXII in 1329 shortly after his death
Eckhart’s Sermons
From his time in Strasburg and Cologne– Delivered primarily to lay people, some to Beguines
Encourages an apophatic spirituality Sermon on Eph 4:23 (Sermon 12, “Sinking Eternally
into God,” pp177-180) Sermon on Lk 6:33-42 (Sermon 30, “Be
Compassionate as your Creator in Heaven is Compassionate,” pp 417-428)
– Note recap of On True Religion
Petrarch (1304-1374)
‘Father of Humanism’ Studied as a lawyer, but emphasized reading
ancient classics Particularly influenced by Cicero and
Augustine Wrote Secretum, dialog with Augustine
Ascent of Mt. Ventoux
April 26, 1336 Note relation of Petrarch to his brother Opening the Confessions to a random
passage What is significance of Augustine to
Petrarch? How is it different from Bonaventure?– Is Augustine an authority and/or a sympathetic
companion for Petrarch?
Petrarch SecretumDialog with Augustine
Three books of dialogs between Petrarch and Augustine
Petrarch worked on this throughout his life– ‘Secret’ book, for his use only; his philosophical
diary
Optional: introduction– Where is God in this?
John Locke (1632 – 1704)
Studied medicine in England and philosophy in France
Worked against the establishment of an English absolute monarchy
Also concerned by skeptical philosophy of some 17th C continental philosophers
Empiricism as the way (only way) to know– Rejection of religious feeling– Rejection of innate ideas
Essay Concerning Human Understanding
Book IV, Chapter 17: Ways of knowing– According to reason (empiricism)– Above reason (public revelation)– Contrary to reason (private revelation)
Book IV.19, “On Enthusiasm”– Enlightenment opposition to divine illumination– Rejection of another way of knowing – Available at
http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/locke/locke1/Book4b.html#Chapter%20XIX
Augustine not mentioned by Locke (but then, why should he be?)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
Born a Calvinist in Geneva, mother died in child-birth Father watchmaker, forced to leave Geneva because of pretensions
beyond his class– Lived in poverty– Jean-Jacques grew up with his uncle
Arrived in Paris in 1742 and became part of ‘philosophes’ Diderot, D’Alembert, Voltaire
– Age of Reason– Individual freedom– Opposed to authority, especially ‘altar and throne’
But Rousseau also considered ‘father’ of Romanticism, opposed to philosophes
– Importance of Nature (as inspiration to man, not subject of study)– Questioned the value of progress– Man naturally good, made bad by complex societies
Rousseau’s Confessions
First ‘modern’ autobiography Started writing in 1764 after he had read
Augustine, published after his death Theme was to write unvarnished truth about
himself and those around him– But without apology or desire for forgiveness
Probably written to counter attacks from philosophes, especially Voltaire and Hume
Rousseau’s source of illumination: Nature
Jacque Derrida (1930-2004)
French, Jewish, North African “There is no outside the text”
– Language does not express philosophy; language is philosophy
– Opposed to metaphysics
Each reader creates his own understanding; interpretation is fundamentally unstable
Violence comes from society’s efforts to enforce particular meanings
Circumfessions
Written in 1990 Derrida’s personal reading of Augustine's
Confessions Book IX But also Derrida’s response to Geoffrey
Bennington’s reading and attempt to systematize Derrida’s philosophy, Derridabase
Thus the work is two works Is Derrida a sympathetic reader or an ironic reader of
Augustine?
Thomas Merton (1915-1968)
Born in France, educated in United States Convert to Catholicism Fathered an illegitimate child, which kept the
Franciscans from accepting him, but not the Trappists– However, editors removed this from the Seven
Storey Mountain
“The Sleeping Volcano”
Part of The Seven Storey Mountain (1948) Tells Merton’s inner conflict about his
vocation Note importance of Bonaventure, interiority Climbing a mountain (Petrarch) Leaving at school vacation (Augustine)
Assignment
Augustine, Confessions VIII.xii – IX.xii Augustine, On True Religion, 45-58 and 107-113 Bonaventure Itinerarium, http://www.franciscan-archive.org/bonaventura/opera/bon05295.html, Book I
and VII Meister Eckhart, Breakthrough, Meister Eckhart’s Spirituality in New Translation, Introduction and
Commentary Matthew Fox, (New York: Image Books, 1980). Petrarch, Ascent of Mt. Ventoux, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/petrarch-ventoux.html Petrarch, Secretum, available at http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~amtower/SECRET.HTM (optional) Rousseau, Confessions, Book I available at
http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/r/rousseau/jean_jacques/r864c/book1.html Locke, http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/locke/locke1/Book4b.html#Chapter%20XIX (Option) Derrida, Circumfession, in Jacques Derrida, Geoffrey Bennington and Jacques Derrida (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1993), pp 1-31 (Preface and Ch 1-5 and pp 220-223, Ch 42 of Circumfessions)
Thomas Merton, ”The Sleeping Volcano,” Seven Storey Mountain (Optional) Possible theme considerations
– Source of illumination– Role of family (especially mother) and friends– Relation of author to God