The article analyzes the concept of universal scope of salvation in the thought of Friedrich Schleiermacher especially with the references to his early Speeches on Religion and the later treatise The Christian Faith. It moves from Schleiermacher’s understanding of religion per se to his soteriological and eschatological theories. It can be said that he understands the nature of religion apophatically as the feeling and intuition and points to an aspect of mystery, which religion contains. He rejects in the Speeches on (...) Religion the anthropomorphic understanding of God and speaks of God-universum. Finally, in the treatise Christian Faith, he reinterprets the theological concept of the original sin and depravation, and points to a natural process of development of humankind from the Godless-consciousness to the God-consciousness. This leads the German thinker to universalistic beliefs. From the Protestant-reformed tradition Schleiermacher adopts the concept of predestination. However, he rejects the so called “double predestination” to salvation and condemnation. According to him, all people are chosen to be saved “in Christ”. This way, Schleiermacher continues the Reformed tradition, however he understands the election in the universal categories. He rejects the God, who choses for salvation only some people, but accepts God-universum, who maintains the unity of humanity and leads people to the perfect, eschatological communion. In the convictions pointing to the final unity of humankind, Schleiermacher exposes his deep humanism. He assumes that it is impossible to reconcile the traditional view of the eternal hell with God’s love. Divine punishment can serve as an aspect of overall paidagogia, leading to the maturing of humanity. However, it cannot be understood as a retribution, based on God’s wrath and cruel lex talionis. Such an understanding of God is for Schleiermacher unacceptable. (shrink)

The paper presents the theological and philosophical category of Deus absconditus and shows it in the perspective of Nicholas of Cusa’s ideas contained in his dialogue De Deo Abscondito. The hidden God is the totally transcendent God that is beyond creation both ontologically and logically. Deus absconditus is God that cannot be the object of rational cognition and positive knowledge, hence the only way to acquire any knowledge of him is the method of negative theology. Therefore, the hidden God is (...) the subject of mystical epistemology. Cusanus’s Deus absconditus is also called Truth and as such he is not only incomprehensible, but also incommunicable. God’s transcendence, rational unintelligibility and inexpressibility are the aspects which the considerations presented in this paper build on. (shrink)

This article charters the history and work of the Society for the Promotion of Eriugenian Studies (SPES), which celebrated its 50-year jubileum in 2020. After a brief introduction to the thought of John Scottus Eriugena (815–877), with emphasis on his primary text (in five volumes), Periphyseon, written between 864 and 866 and condemned as heretical in 1050, 1059, 1210 and finally in 1225, the development of SPES over the past five decades is surveyed in detail and connected to an outstanding (...) work published in the Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition series in Leiden (2020), under the editorship of Adrian Guiu (A Companion to John Scottus Eriugena). The article is descriptive and analytical in its presentation of the relevant history of ideas and synthetical in its attempt to coherently integrate the most recent secondary texts on the relevant philosophical themes in Eriugena research. Contribution: The article contributes to the Society for the Promotion of Eriugenian Studies’ 50-year jubileum by summarising its conference outputs over the past five decades in an extensive overview as well as connecting its work to A Companion to John Scottus Eriugena (Brill, Leiden, 2020), thereby furthering the society’s efforts and specialist research outputs to a broader, non-specialised readership. (shrink)

Rozważania nad ludzkim życiem prowadziły często do wniosku, że w człowieku istnieje pierwiastek życia, który nazwano duszą. Koncepcję człowieka, złożonego z duszy i ciała, przyjęły różne religie i systemy filozoficzne. Z tej koncepcji wynika problem animacji duszy, czyli próba określenia momentu, w którym dusza łączy się z ciałem, tworząc człowieka. W tym kontekście pojawia się również kwestia pochodzenia ludzkiej duszy. Na pytania o pochodzenie duszy i moment jej syntezy z materią ciała w ludzkiej matce proponowano w historii filozofii różne odpowiedzi. (...) W systemie filozoficznym Eriugeny człowiek jest bytem, złożonym z duszy i ciała. Dusza jest istotą człowieka. Istotą duszy jest intelekt. Przejawem aktywności intelektu jest ludzki rozum. Istnienie duszy powoduje, że człowiek odkrywa, iż został stworzony do poznawania niepoznawalnego, własnego intelektu i Boga. Ludzka dusza istnieje przed powstaniem ciała człowieka. Każdy człowiek od chwili poczęcia posiada duszę, a moment zejścia duszy w materię ciała wymyka się ludzkiemu poznaniu. Ten moment jest tajemnicą Stwórcy. --------------- Zgłoszono: 07/08/2020. Zrecenzowano: 11/10/2020. Zaakceptowano do publikacji: 24/03/2021. (shrink)