Meister Eckhart on Divine Knowledge is not only the most profound study of the core theological and philosophical themes of Christianity’s greatest mystic ever written. It is also the greatest exegesis of Christian non-dualism ever published. Of all Christian mystical teachings, those of the Dominican theologian Meister Eckhart (c. 1260–c. 1328) are increasingly recognized as the most compatible with the non-dualistic traditions of Buddhism and Hinduism. Based on the author’s three decades of formal study and spiritual practice, this book offers a clear path to understanding the breadth and depth of Eckhart’s unique achievement. C.F. Kelley argues that the fundamental principle that elevates Eckhart above all other Western mystics, and links him to Eastern spiritual approaches, is his insistence that we “think principally” in divinis—that is, from within the mind or orientation of the Godhead or “Divine Knowledge” itself. “What is here presented to the reader supersedes all former interpretations of Eckhart’s teaching. It refuses to ignore what he precisely and repeatedly says cannot be ignored, that is, his exposition of the doctrine of Divine Knowledge in terms of the highest and most essential of all possible considerations.” —C.F. Kelley, from the Preface

In an original and compelling examination of traditional mathematics, this comprehensive study of the anonymous Manual of Mongolian Astrology and Divination (published by A. Mostaert in 1969) takes on the fundamental problem of the post-enlightenment categorization of knowledge, in particular the inherently problematic realms of religion and science, as well as their subsets, medicine, ritual, and magic. In the process of elucidating the rhetoric and logic shaping this manual the author reveals not only the intertwined intellectual history of Eurasia from Greece to China but also dismantles many of the discourses that have shaped its modern interpretations.

The problem of divine knowledge, focusing on questions of freedom and necessity, finds itself at the intersection of age-old discussions of logic, metaphysics, and ethics. The subject was discussed with particular clarity in the period 1250-1400. Many different solutions were put forward and criticized with an acuity and depth that was never reached again. One contributor to the discussion, Marsilius of Inghen (d. 1396), is of special importance. He assimilated not only the nominalism and theological developments of the 14th century, but also the ideas of Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure, resulting in the so-called via marsiliana. This study determines with great precision Marsilius's position in the debates in the period 1250-1400, often throwing new light on aspects of his philosophy and theology. The wide scope of his work makes it suitable as a general introduction to medieval thought. Specialists will find it useful for its detailed and in-depth analysis of both maiores and minores. By its clear style and structure, this study will prove useful in contemporary systematic discussions of the subject as well.

During a period of tumultuous change in English political, religious and cultural life, music signified the unspeakable presence of the divine in the world for many. What was the role of music in the early modern subject's sensory experience of divinity? While the English intellectuals Peter Sterry (1613-72), Richard Roach (1662-1730), William Stukeley (1687-1765) and David Hartley (1705-57), have not been remembered for their 'musicking', this book explores how the musical reflections of these individuals expressed alternative and often uncustomary conceptions of God, the world, and the human psyche. Music is always potentially present in their discourse, emerging as a crucial form of mediation between states: exoteric and esoteric, material and spiritual, outer and inner, public and private, rational and mystical. Dixon shows how Sterry, Roach, Stukeley and Hartley's shared belief in truly universal salvation was articulated through a language of music, implying a feminising influence that set these male individuals apart from contemporaries who often strictly emphasised the rational-i.e. the supposedly masculine-aspects of religion. Musical discourse, instead, provided a link to a spiritual plane that brought these intellectuals closer to 'ultimate reality'. Theirs was a discourse firmly rooted in the real existence of contemporary musical practices, both in terms of the forms and styles implied in the writings under discussion and the physical circumstances in which these musical genres were created and performed. Through exploring ways in which the idea of music was employed in written transmission of elite ideas, this book challenges conventional classifications of a seventeenth-century 'Scientific Revolution' and an eighteenth-century 'Enlightenment', defending an alternative narrative of continuity and change across a number of scholarly disciplines, from seventeenth-century English intellectual history and theology, to musicology and the social history of music.

The book organizes scriptural passages on wisdom and knowledge under various headings and subheadings of meaning, doctrine, acquisition, importance, necessity, blessings of wisdom and knowledge, and consequences of foolishness to aid understanding of the excellency of divine wisdom and knowledge (Phil. 3:8). This organized presentation is to help the reader derive much more from the scriptures cited by the guidance of the Holy Spirit without being limited by the authors concise explanations or interpretations.

Explores the significance of dreams in early Christian Egypt, using sources from Philo and Origen to Athanasius and early monks.