Mirrors of the Divine: Late Ancient Christianity and the Vision of God

ISBN-10: 0197663397
ISBN-13: 9780197663394
Category: Religion
Pages: 225
Language: English
Published: 2023-01-30
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Author: Emily R. Cain

Description

Mirrors of the Divine brings into focus how four influential authors of the late ancient world--Tertullian of Carthage, Clement of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa, and Augustine of Hippo--employ language of vision and of mirrors in their discursive struggles to construct Christian agency, identity, and epistemology. Early Christian authors described the vision of God through the Pauline verse 1 Corinthians 13:12: "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face." Yet each author interpreted this verse differently, based on a diverse set of assumptions about how they understood seeing and mirrors to function: does vision occur by something leaving or entering the eye? Is one impacted by seeing or by being seen? Do mirrors offer trustworthy knowledge? Spanning the second through fourth centuries CE in both Eastern and Western Christianity, Mirrors of the Divine analyzes these four authors' theological writings on vision and knowledge of God to explore how contradictory theories of sight shaped their cosmologies, theologies, subjectivities, genders, and discursive worlds. As Emily R. Cain demonstrates, how the authors portray eyes reveals how they envisioned one's relationship to the world, while how they portray mirrors reveals how they imagined the unknown. Both have dramatic impacts on how one interprets what it means to see God through a mirror dimly. She shows that arguments about the phenomenon of visual perception are deeply intertwined with broader debates about identity, agency, and epistemology, and uncovers some of the most self-conscious ways that late ancient Christians thought of themselves, their worlds, and their God.

Get the book

Similar books

An American Carpenter's Story: One baby boomers life changing spiritual journey
By William Darroch
After just a year or so, my father saw several lots for sale in the small village of Timberlake, Ohio, just thirty minutes from Cleveland.
Fear of the Other: No Fear in Love
By Bishop William H. Willimon
“Barack Obama,” “Hillary Clinton,” “Britney Spears,” and “Justin Timberlake” found their places somewhat to the left of the really, really good “Teresa” and ...
Running With The Horses: Living The Gospel
By William Mitchell
... Gregory Pritchard, Robert Clarke and Donald Wester of philosophy; from the religion faculty, James Timberlake, Rowena Strickland, Dan Holcomb, ...
Darkness is as Light
By EDITH ADHIAMBO, ANDREA BAILEY, CHRISTINA BAKER
walked over the frost-brittled grass, my long skirt swishing it dryly. I'd come to weep below the willows, to let the sound of the stream carry my lament ...
Women in New Religions
By Laura Vance
Frost, Gavin, and Yvonne Frost. The Good Witch's Bible. 7th ed. ... Gordon, Lynn D., ed. Gender and Higher Education in the Progressive Era.
The Making of a Mature Disciple
By Kenneth S. Todd
Kenneth S. Todd. Reasons. to. Obey. God. Let's discuss four reasons why we should obey God. The first two deal with how we personally deal with God.
Being God's Man by Pursuing Friendships
By Stephen Arterburn, Kenneth L. Luck, Todd Wendorff
God's word is clear about the importance of godly friendships. This edition shows men how valuable those friendships are to spiritual growth.
English Ministry Crisis in Chinese Canadian Churches: Towards the Retention of English-Speaking Adults from Chinese Canadian Churches through Associated Parallel...
By Matthew Richard Sheldon Todd
In 2011, Thom S. Rainer published some research project results in a volume ... projecting the top challenging issue they deal with in bicultural settings ...
Mastering the Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Non-Profit
By John Pearson
" Based on Pearson's 48-hour Management Buckets Workshop Experience, Mastering the Management Buckets offers detailed implementation tools, including 99 practical takeaways that a leader could implement immediately, plus nine management ...
Mastering the Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Non-Profit
By John Pearson
" Based on Pearson's 48-hour Management Buckets Workshop Experience, Mastering the Management Buckets offers detailed implementation tools, including 99 practical takeaways that a leader could implement immediately, plus nine management ...