The Darkness of God: Negativity in Christian Mysticism

by Denys Turner

Overview

For the medieval mystical tradition, the Christian soul meets God in a 'cloud of unknowing', a divine darkness of ignorance. This meeting with God is beyond all knowing and beyond all experiencing. Mysticisms of the modern period, on the contrary, place 'mystical experience' at the centre, and contemporary readers are inclined to misunderstand the medieval tradition in 'experientialist' terms. Denys Turner argues that the distinctiveness and contemporary relevance of medieval mysticism lies precisely in its rejection of 'mystical experience', and locates the mystical firmly within the grasp of the ordinary and the everyday. The argument covers some central authorities in the period from Augustine to John of the Cross.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781139930253
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/05/1998
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; Introduction; Part I. Two Sources and a Synthesis: 1. The allegory and Exodus; 2. Cataphatic and the apophatic in Denys the Areopagite; 3. The God within: Augustine's Confessions; 4. Interiority and ascent: Augustine's De Trinitate; 5. Hierarchy interiorised: Bonaventure's Itinerarium Mentis in Deum; Part II. Developments: 6. Eckhart: God and the self; 7. Eckhart: detachment and the critique of desire; 8. The Cloud of Unknowing and the critique of interiority; 9. Denys the Carthusian and the problem of experience; 10. John of the Cross: the dark nights and depression; 11. From mystical theology to mysticism; Further reading; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"This book lives up to its dust-jacket billing as a ‘timely and important' and ‘exciting' book..." Theological Studies

"[Turner's] prose is clear and precise, and he has a gift for finding good analogical examples for explaining difficult distinctions." Kent Emery, Jr.; Speculum

"This book is rich in lucid exposition, critical analysis, and useful understanding. It is essential and enjoyable reading for anyone who wants to know more about medieval mysticism." Alan R. Perreiah, Lexington Theological Quarterly

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