Lesson XXVII. MEDIAEVAL CONCEPTIONS OF GOD
LESSON XXVII. (Scripture Reading Exercise.)
MEDIAEVAL CONCEPTIONS OF GOD. ANALYSIS. REFERENCES.
I. The Mediaeval „ _, , . Period and Schools The works ^Lessons xxv citedxxvlin and of Thought. will be helpful in this Lesson under the topics TT J.X. npfi-n i.rt; itiATK uiuii ! uub. °f th® analysis; and of course the notes cited in the authorities of this III. Representative Doctors of the Va- lesson. rious Schools of Thought: 1. Erigena, Extreme Realist. 2. Roscelina, of Compiegne, Extreme Nominalist. 3. Anselm, Realist. 4. Thomas .Iquinas, Properly Neither Realist nor Nominalist, Scholastic. 5. Eckhart, Mystic.
SPECIAL TEXT: "And tvithout controversy, great is the mystery of Godliness." I. Tim. Hi, 16.
NOTES.
- The Mediaeval Period: Ttie Patristic Period, according to our announced grouping of the Chiristian Fathers, extended to 750 A. D. and included in the enumeration of the fathers John of Damascus. The Mediaeval Period will extend from the above date to the middle of the sixteenth century, which brings us to the establishment of Protestantism, and the commencement, theologically, of the modern world. This gives us a period of eight hundred years. "Of this period," says Shedd, "not more than four centuries witnessed any great activity of the theological mind." The "Orthodox Christian" doctrine of God for this period, and for matter of that, for all subsequent periods, was fixed by the Nicene Creed and the creed of St. Athanasius, quoted in Lesson 26. The effort of the
Christian scholars of the Mediaeval Period was to maintain, first, the truthfulness of these creeds against skepticism and doubts within the Church itself; and, second, to reconcile the creeds with reason, and develop patristic philosophy intp something like system (History of Philosophy— Elmendorf — p. 102). "Sowever, "As there is never a proper end to reasoning which proceeds on a false foundation," to quote Cicero, the efforts of the schoolmen w^e not very.stiGcessful, anfi resulted in multiplying systems of philosophy, rather than in bringing the patristic doctrine into harmony with reason. The systems of thought? developed by these efforts may be classed under three heads: Realism, Nominalism, £ind Mysticis,in, 4 brief definition of each will be n^cessarA^ aolqoJ sriJ •\oi>iiu u ■^ ' ^^^,^^»^-,JJIeffnTl3o'ns— -^'Realism:'' Realism divides into two classes,! extreme and moderate.' (1) "Extreme realism taught that universals -.were substances or things, existing independently of and sep9.ra,te from particulars; this was the essence of Plato's ideas." (Cent. Dict.t) The thinking process of the realist is admirably depicted in Note 5, Lessen xxvi, where St. Augustine describes his rise from the conception of the "changeable" to the "Unchangeable," and "thus with the flash of one ti*em1}ling glance," arrived at the conception of "that which is"— to the real— to the uni- versal-to the apprehension of "God." .gjifiaa ,ml9gaA . "Moderate Realism also taught that universals were substances, but only as dependent upon and inseparable from 4&ifvidtials, in which each
under it. that inhered; Thisis,was eachtheuniversal inhered theory of in e^ch Aristotle, who i6f''the'^particulars ranged hfeld that the individual thing was the first essence, while universals were oiUy second essences, real in a less complete sense than first essences. He thus reversed the Platonic doctrine, which attributed the ^fullest reality to .universals only, and a participative reality .to individual." (CeiLt'Dict.j^^ ''"'' v. Elmendorf represents moderate realism as recognizmg that the universal has objective reality, as to its contents, in individuals" — (i. e., the universal is expressed through individuals).
rjr Npn;\in^|ism: Nom,^hal|sm. >aJsot diyides into t^wo classes, .extreme ^I^^ moderate^ "Extrepie ..nominalism taught that:univers9,,ls had jiosub- i^.^^ptive or,9,l?Jeptiy;e je;^^teiice ;P,t all, but, we^re m©^eJ^y empty n^m^s or ■wr^rds. Mpd^ra,te jioniina^isiw or ,'oonceptuaUsm' ta;ught that unjy.ersals h^ye.no substai^4;ive existe;ace at all, but yet are n3(o;re than mere nam§s signifying nothing; au4, that they exist really, thpugh.o^y subjectivplyi as, concepts ip.;t^e.i^jLni^ Df,j^hiql^'naiPjeS)-iarj^,,th Diet). ,,. ,- ,r. ,., .,;■■;-,;;;., V , -, .- - , : ■ ] ■ r ; . . r^' ^ ~ ' . i' ; H ^■ / ., ■^ ,;../ Mjji?) e-roat Mysticism: "Mysticism is a phase of thought, or rather perhaps or feeling, which from its very nature is hardly susceptible bf exact definition-"' It appears in connection with the endeavor of the human mind to grasp the divine essence or the ultimate reality of things, and to enjoy the blessedness of actual communication with the Highest. More specifi-
cally, a form of religious belief which is founded upon mysticism, spiritual experience, not discriminated or tested and systematized in thought. 'Mysticism and rationalism' represent opposite poles of theology, rationalism regarding the reason as the highest faculty of man and the sole arbiter in all matters of religious doctrine; mysticism, on the other hand, declaring that spiritual truth cannot be apprehended by the logical faculty, nor adequately expressed in terms of the understanding." (Cent. Diet.). Mysticism may also be regarded as the result of "a despair of reason, a refuge in higher intuitions." (Elmendoi'f.) These definitions may be regarded as difficult, but I know of no way by which the ideas considered can be more simply explained. The definitions should be discussed until mastered. Perhaps they will grow in clearness after considering the rest of the notes of this lesson.
i 3. Explanatory:, liiipiting 9)ir incijairy concerning the philosophy of this mediaeval period to the doctrine of God, and selecting an expression of that doctrine from an illustrious representative of each school of thought, may be of assistance in forming a clearer understanding of the definitions given in previous notes, and likewise represent the leading conceptions of God that obtained in the period under consideration.
''; r4V 'JoJw^^Scqtus Erigen Extreme realist, and sotnething of a Mystic; ""iVIan finds not Goi^rbut God finds himself in man," (Blmendorf) is flie keynote of this philosopher's teaching. Erigena was born in Ireland, 800 A. D. Made a pilgrimage to the birthplace of Plato and Aristotle A. D. 825; "and indulged the hope of uniting philosophy and religion in the manner proposed by the ecclesiastics who were studying in Spain." "From Eastern sources, John Erigena had learned the doctrines of the eternity of matter, and even of the creation, with which, indeed, he confounded the Deity Himself. He was therefore a Pantheist, accepting the Oriental ideas of emanation and absorption, not ohly as respects the 6bul of man, but likewise all material things'. In his work 'On the Nature 6f" things,' his doctrine is, 'That, as all things were originally contained ffi'God, and proceeded from Him into the different classes by whicli they aire now distinguished, so shall they finally return to Him, and be absorbed in the source from which they came; in other words, that as, before the world was created, there was no being T)ut God, and the causes of all things were in Him, so after the end of the world, there will be no being but God, and the causes of all things in Him.' "This final resolu- tloh he denominated deification, or theosis. He even questioned the Eternity of hell, saying, with the emphasis of a Saracen, "There is nothrng eternal but God.' Jt' was impossible uhd^r such circumstances, that he should not fall under the tebukebf thfe Church.'' (Dra^eV's "Intellectual Development ' Vol II; pr&;y' '^- 'S^i-^o ....^n-rra. uu :oxi .v:j. ao-idi ?,rri7/Mi ^'ur:^: g io sovisoiioo Ylcfejivsni if .aabia seidi igabrsd e-nj-gl' 5. Roscelin of CompJ«gn'e: Extreme Noinlhaffst.'Solfletim'es credfted ,ii^h, being the originator of the system; but he was "not the originator I, \o £9bi OB 'lo 90Ct9JaixD s»xIJ :>^n'J ai iaioq aiBoi tJ&oiLv .olmi/jj-O lo -u' a
of the system," says Elmendorf, "but its clearest exponent and sharpest defender in the eleventh century." The same authority says that he regarded "universals" as "merely universal names." A title "for the totality of things. This be applied to the doctrine of the Trinity in the form of tritheism. There are three divine essences or substances, like one another; for only individuals have a real existence" — (Hist, of Philosophy — Elmendorf — pp. 105-6.) "Roscellinus taught that whatever exists as a real thing or substance, exists as one self-identical whole, and is not susceptible of division into parts. This was the part of his teaching which created so much scandal when applied to the doctrine of the Trinity. Roscellinus maintained that it is merely a habit of speech which prevents our speaking of the three persons as three substances, or three Gods. If it were otherwise, and the three persons were really one substance or thing, we should be forced to admit that the Father and the Holy Spirit became incarnate along with the Son. Roscellinus seems to have put forward this doctrine in perfect good faith, and to have claimed for it at first the authority of Lanfranc and Anselm. In :i 092, however, a council convoked by the Archbishop of Rheims, condemned his interpretation, and Roscellinus, who was in danger of being lynched by the orthodox populace, recanted his error. As his enforced penitence did not prove lasting, his opinions were condemned by a second council (1094), and he himself fled to England. Forced by a fresh persecution to return to France at a later date, he taught at Tours and Loc-menach in Brittany (where he had Abelard as a pupil), and resided latterly as canon at Be- sancon." (Ency. Brit.).
- St. Anselm, Realist: Born at or near Aosta, Italy, 1033, A. D.; died at Canterbury, 1109. Credited with being the founder of scholastic theology. He held that faith is not the pre-requisite, and the regulator of knowledge, but leads to it. Also that "God can be known through reason, attempts ontological, apriori proof, from the concept of the objective existence. That than which a greater cannot be conceived cannot exist in intellect alone; for then a greater can be conceived." His doctrine is set forth in detail by Shedd: "The human mind possesses the idea of the most perfect Being conceivable. But such a being is necessarily existent; because a being whose existence is contingent, who may or may not exist, is not the most perfect that we can conceive of. But a necessarily existent Being is one that cannot be conceived of as nonexistent, and therefore is an actually existent Being. Necessary existence implies actual existence. In conceiving, therefore, of a being who is more perfect than all others, the mind inevitably conceives of a real, and not an imaginary, being; in the same manner as in conceiving of a figure having three sides, it inevitably conceives of a figure having three angles." (History of Christian Doctrine — Shedd — Vol. I, pp. 231-2.) This argument of Anselm's was attacked by a Catholic Monk of the name of Gaunilo, whose main point is that the existence of an idea of a
thing does not prove the existence of the thine it^Pif qi. ^a ■
Ansefm: "I have the idea of the most perfect being conceivable."
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He is "In God is no composition of matter or form, nor any other. potentia lity, in any sense, would imply an actuatin g cause. actuality; for pure "In Him essence and being are one. perfections "In Him is no imperfection, because no potentiality; all possess , being from Him. are in Him. one and which ble.earthly things indivisi the concept "From God as Absolute Intelligence, follows, necessarily, He wills what is not Himself freely, because of God as Absolute Will. not necessa ry to His perfect ion and beatitu de. From this follows it is His Omnipotence. al and "His Providence is the ordering of all things, both univers ce to an end. for it extends as far as His knowle dge singular and y. referen , with causalit the universal. "The casual is with respect to a particular cause, not to lar things, con- "Ills corruptions, defects, are permitted in particu whole." (Histor y of Philos ophytothe greater good of the Elmendorf tributing — p. 121.) of St. "The system of philosophical theology set forth in the writings not of supreme importa nce in Ecclesia stical History, Thomas Aquinas, is of the Scholast ic only as intellectually perhaps the most perfect work d of as the authori tative standar age but because it has been adopted nence is reported doctrine in the Roman Catholic Church. Such pre-emi great master. to have been assigned to Thomas by the saying of his he had "put an end to all labor oven unto the worlds Albert, that Bud " * * *
""In the great controversy of the schools, Aquinas cannot be ranked position has been strictly with either the Realists or the Nominalists; his in general he described as an Aristotelian ReaUst. Like the orthodox who while holdranged himseK with the modern section of the Realists, more than mere ing that Universals-namely. genera and species-are them to an mental abstractions, and have a real existence, yet limited attribute to them any anteexistence in the individual, and refused to cedent or independent existence." * * * * ing "In this work of buttressing authority by philosophy, and vindicat as the way was led by Albert, so his orthodoxy by the light of nature, on to perfecti on; and the consequ ence has been greater pupil carried it the Church of that the stately edifice of Systematic Theology, reared in the labors of the Schools, repose on the foundati on laid by the West by the great Vol. Pagan Greece." (Smith's Students' Ecclesiastical luminary of512-515.) History, II, pp. 1250 A. D. Eckhart, Mystic: Born, it is thought, at Strasburg, and preache d through German y. Follows to some extent Engena Taught "The inner ground tending, unconsciously, to emanistic pantheism.
of man's soul is Divine, a 'spark' of Deity ; knowledge is a real union of or tne Godhead transcending the determinate. Ti::ToL:li'1- ^'^ T'^ '^^^^^^ ^°-^^ ^^ an'immediate TuiUon 'rr.1^^1 Absolute is impersonal. ,Qoncealed even from thought- of the Godhead' no predicates may be used; it is hidden in eternal darkness of cLt . ''''■^^^^''^^^' God is developed as the Trinity, the form of Godhead' whic^.beholds itsejf .with Iftve;.-the subject is the Fathe^ the object is the Son, the love is the Holy Spirit. * * *% '
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