The Origins of the Christian Mystical Tradition: From Plato to Denys / Edition 2

by Andrew Louth

Overview

Scholars of the patristic era have paid more attention to the dogmatic tradition in their period than to the development of Christian mystical theology. Andrew Louth aims to redress the balance. Recognizing that the intellectual form of this tradition was decisively influenced by Platonic ideas of the soul's relationship to God, Louth begins with an examination of Plato and Platonism. The discussion of the Fathers which follows shows how the mystical tradition is at the heart of their thought and how the dogmatic tradition both molds and is the reflection of mystical insights and concerns. This new edition of a classic study of the diverse influences upon Christian spirituality includes a new Epilogue which brings the text completely up to date.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199291403
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	03/08/2007
Edition description:	REV
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	8.38(w) x 5.53(h) x 0.56(d)

About the Author

Andrew Louth is Professor of Patristic and Byzantine Studies, University of Durham.

Table of Contents

1. Plato2. Philo3. Plotinus4. Origen5. Nicene Orthodoxy6. The Monastic Contributions7. Augustine8. Denys the Areopagite9. Patristic Mysticism and St John of the Cross10. The Mystical Life and the Mystical Body11. Epilogue

Editorial Reviews

Praise for the first edition: "A book on spirituality which is trenchant and without any touch of sentimentality."—Henry Chadwick, TLS

"It is a great merit in this book that it is ready to talk about dogma and indeed tries to unite, in the spirit of the Fathers, doctrine and spirituality."—Journal of Theological Studies

"A splendid survey of patristic spirituality ... Here we find not merely the often-repeated statement that theology and spirituality are inseparable in the Fathers, but a careful demonstration of this."—New Fire

"The Origins of the Christian Mystical Tradition [is] a standard resource for students of this topic for a quarter of a century."—M. J. Edwards, The Classical Review

From the Publisher