Metaphysics, Theology, and the Mystical

Summary

The chapter examines how different understandings of the infinite have shaped the relationship between theology, metaphysics, and mysticism in Western thought. It argues that the Christian God is both infinite-incomprehensible and radically hidden, linking incomprehensibility to the incarnation and hiddenness to the cross. Both perspectives are presented as genuine Christian options suited to different contexts. The chapter contends that Western religious thought would be impoverished if either ethics or aesthetics, prophecy or mysticism were excluded from its evolving canon.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Using the pluriform concept of the infinite to investigate the evolving relationships between theology, metaphysics, and mysticism, the chapter creates a heuristic conversation between crucial representative thinkers, among them: Plato, Plotinus, Gregory of Nyssa, Aquinas, Duns Scotus, Descartes, Pascal, Fénelon, and Jeanne Guyon. In doing so, the chapter asserts that the Christian God is both infinite-incomprehensible and radically hidden and argues that one should allow each naming of God—incomprehensible or hidden—its Christological emphasis (incarnation for incomprehensibility; cross for hiddenness). Each serves as a genuine Christian option—open to different cultures, situations, and temperaments. Exploring the implicit mystical dimension of the Infinite allows us to see that Western religious thought, including theology, would be greatly impoverished if either ethics or aesthetics, prophecy or mysticism, were eliminated from the ever-changing canon of Western religious thought, including mystical theology.