John of the Cross

In this essay, David Perrin shows how a comparison between the writings of twentieth century philosopher Emmanuel Lévinas and sixteenth century mystical theologian John of the Cross on God and life can lead to theological insights about God beyond traditional abstract formulations. Here is the essay's abstract:

John of the Cross (1542-1591), a Christian theologian and Catholic priest born in Spain, lived through the worst of the Spanish Inquisition. Emmanuel Lévinas (1906-1995), a Jewish philosopher and layman born in Lithuania, lived through the 1917 Russian Revolution and the collapse...

SSCS member David Perrin's article appears in a volume of the open access journal Acta Theologica titled "In the Divine presence. Essays in honour of Kees Waaijman on his 80th birthday," Here is the article's abstract:

John of the Cross (1542-1591), a Christian theologian and Catholic priest born in Spain, lived through the worst of the Spanish Inquisition. Emmanuel Lévinas (1906-1995), a Jewish philosopher and layman born in Lithuania, lived through the 1917 Russian Revolution and the collapse of the old regime. What, then, brings these two eminent thinkers together: one from the...

Dr. Zinia Pritchard, Contemplative Practical Theologian and Practice Director, Provincial Spiritual Care at Alberta Health Services, drew on the mystical theology of St. John of the Cross in her dissertation to create an assessment model for identifying the kind of suffering that is spiritually transfomative in palliative cases. Here is the dissertation's abstract: 

This practical theology dissertation is grounded in palliative care practice, comprising an introduction, six articles, and implications. The main research question is: What is the spiritual experience of dying? Each article...

Does identifying the genre of a spiritual work simply place it in a literary category where it can be compared to other works in the same genre? Or does knowing the genre help the reader come to a deeper understanding of the work than she would have if genre were ignored? David Perrin explores this latter possibility in this essay appearing in an essay collection honoring Bernard McGinn’s contributions to the study of mysticism. Here is the essay’s abstract:

Sensitivity to the literary genre of the Spiritual Canticle of John of the Cross is important, since genre research indicates that...