Is it possible to see, hear, touch, smell and taste God? How do we understand the biblical promise that the 'pure in heart' will 'see God'? Christian thinkers as diverse as Origen of Alexandria, Bonaventure, Jonathan Edwards and Hans Urs von Balthasar have all approached these questions in distinctive ways by appealing to the concept of the 'spiritual senses'. In focusing on the Christian tradition of the 'spiritual senses', this book discusses how these senses relate to the physical senses and the body, and analyzes their relationship to mind, heart, emotions, will, desire and judgement. The contributors illuminate the different ways in which classic Christian authors have treated this topic, and indicate the epistemological and spiritual import of these understandings. The concept of the 'spiritual senses' is thereby importantly recovered for contemporary theological anthropology and philosophy of religion.

“Oh Taste and See that the LORD is Good!” David’s ancient declaration in Psalm34:8 can have profound implications for us today. His reference to two of our five natural senses opens the door to a study of unique proportions. Think of it? Not only these two senses, but all five our physical senses in the Bible have spiritual depth and understanding. They cry out to us to explore them and learn their meaning. An Un-Common Sense is just such a study! This book will probe the depths of our five physical senses... Tasting... Seeing... Hearing... Smelling... Touching... And then seek to understand how these God-giving physical dynamics translate into our spiritual lives. Added to these five will also be a much-needed look at what could be called our “sixth sense” – the Spirit sense. In many respects it is the most remarkable one of all! It is what makes the other five work in the spiritual realm. Join author, pastor, and educator, Joe LoMusio on a journey engaging what David challenges us to do! Taste and See... have Ears to hear... share the Aroma of Christ... and Touch the hem of His garment!

This book is for scholars and students of the ideas, literatures, and cultures of early Christianity and late antiquity, ancient philosophers, and historians of theology. It offers new perspectives on early Christian modes of knowing and ordering knowledge in relation to changing discourses, institutions, and material culture of late antiquity.

Sensory language is commonly used to describe human encounters with the divine. Scripture, for example, employs perceptual language like 'taste and see that the Lord is good', 'hear the word of the Lord', and promises that 'the pure in heart will see God'. Such statements seem to point to certain features of human cognition that make perception-like contact with divine things possible. But how precisely should these statements be construed? Can the elusive notion of 'spiritual perception' survive rigorous theological and philosophical scrutiny and receive a constructive articulation? Perceiving Things Divine seeks to make philosophical and theological sense of spiritual perception. Reflecting the results of the second phase of the Spiritual Perception Project, this volume argues for the possibility of spiritual perception. It also seeks to make progress towards a constructive account of the different aspects of spiritual perception while exploring its intersection with various theological and philosophical themes, such as biblical interpretation, aesthetics, liturgy, race, ecology, eschatology, and the hiddenness of God. The interdisciplinary scope of the volume draws on the resources of value theory, philosophy of perception, epistemology, philosophy of art, psychology, systematic theology, and theological aesthetics. The volume also draws attention to how spiritual perception may be affected by such distortions as pornographic sensibility and racial prejudice. Since perceiving spiritually involves the whole person, the volume proposes that spiritual perception could be purified by ascetic discipline, healed by contemplative practices, trained in the process of spiritual direction and the pursuit of virtue, transformed by the immersion in the sacramental life, and healed by opening the self to the operation of divine grace.

This groundbreaking study offers fresh insight into the relationship between radical theology and gender radicalism in the seventeenth-century English Revolution. Examining published works and previously unexplored archival material, Sarah Apetrei shows the transformative role that women played in religious reform during the period.

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