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namely Weigel’s decision to sign the Formula Concordiae despite his many reservations. Weigel’s decision-making process and ultimately the decision to keep quiet grows out of his reading practice—and so it is to this question of reading and decision making that I now turn. Of the thousands of decisions a person must make each day, most normally involve a relatively limited set of options to choose from (writing this dissertation vs. going to the movies; eating chips vs. going for a run), and are geared toward simple goals (professional success; healthy living). In such cases, decision-making is governed by single factors (cost, pleasure, effort) and the evidence needed to decide between the options is easy to assess. Other decisions are more difficult: inscrutable evidence and uncertain outcomes get in the way of clear choices that would leave the conscience unburdened. Making decisions in a complex system proves difficult because complex systems produce unintended consequences, there might not exist a single good or bad outcome, and it is often necessary to make trade-offs between priorities. Observing decisions at the level of individual agency and choice is perhaps not a useful way of analyzing what have been termed “messy” or “wicked” problems. Wicked problems are “unbounded in scope, time and resources,” such that it is difficult even to describe the problem, and therefore even more difficult to gather and evaluate evidence that would guide problem solving or decision making. No doubt any individual decision has an impact on the system as a whole, but it is impossible to say just what that impact might be, since the effect is distorted and filtered through all the other agents operating within the system. One writer has compared simple and complex systems to the difference between throwing a rock and throwing a live bird. Both rock and bird are subject to the 30
same laws of physics, but while the trajectory of the rock is predictable, the bird’s trajectory is not, because the bird is an agent in the system as well; it is not simply acted upon. 83 Considering Weigel’s decision to speak out (or not) in this light, Weigel viewed his decision to testify in the context of the religious system as a whole, taking into account the intended and unintended consequences of his actions, not only for himself, but also for the other agents in the system, such as his parishoners. Weigel, of course, did not treat decision making in the abstract, but rather within the context of his life as a practicing Christian, for whom the related behavioural ideals of discipleship or witnessing serve as guidelines for right action. Matthew, for instance, dwells upon the instruction that Christ gives to go out into the world and preach the Gospel: “gehet hin zu den verloren Schafen, aus dem Hause Israel...Gehet aber und predigt und sprecht: Das Himmelreich ist nahe her bey kommen.” 84 In carrying out this proselytizing mission, the apostles should expect to be disliked and even persecuted, but should persist to the end (even facing death, if necessary) and, above all, should never conceal their message even in dangerous circumstances, at risk of jeopardizing their salvation: “Darumb wer mich bekennet fur den Menschen, den will ich bekennen fur meynem vatter ym hymel, wer mich aber verleugnet, fur den menschen, den will ich verleugnen fur meynem vatter ym hymel”. 85 This obligation to publicly acknowledge one’s beliefs before others is central to the early Christian martyr stories (and to the saints’ 83 Jake Chapman, "System failure: Why governments must learn to think differently," Demos, 2004, http://www.demos.co.uk/publications/systemfailure2 (accessed November 20, 2012): 19-20. See also Horst W. J. Rittel and Melvin W. Webber, "Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning," Policy Sciences 4 (1973): 155-169; Russell Ackoff, "Our Changing Concept of the World," in Ackoff's Best: His Classic Writings on Management, 3-26 (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1999). 84 Matthew 10: 6-7. 85 Matthew 10: 22 “Es wird aber ein Bruder den andern zum Tod uberantworten, und der Vater den Son, und die Kinder werden sich empören wider ire Eltern, und inen zum tode helffen, Und müsset gehasset werden von jederman umb meines Namens willen. Wer aber bis an das Ende beharret, der wird selig.” Matthew 10: 32-33. 31
Page 1 and 2: MYSTICISM & CONFESSIONAL CONFLICT I
Page 3 and 4: ABSTRACT This dissertation investig
Page 5 and 6: INTRODUCTION • ES IST DIR NICHT B
Page 7 and 8: mostly undisturbed by his Lutheran
Page 9 and 10: yet have signalled his assent with
Page 11 and 12: in a context where action is expect
Page 13 and 14: Protestant Mysticism: Not a Contrad
Page 15 and 16: interest, 31 and praised the Theolo
Page 17 and 18: one can observe the texture of the
Page 19 and 20: discourse and reasoned debate, or t
Page 21 and 22: with fragments of Eckhart and Taule
Page 23 and 24: Dionysius and Eckhart (for differen
Page 25 and 26: movement, but also profound shifts
Page 27 and 28: schools, as well as universities wh
Page 29 and 30: allowed them to cooperate effective
Page 31 and 32: made clear, would result in dismiss
Page 33: and in these external dealings, the
Page 37 and 38: Tertullian’s De Fuga in Persecuti
Page 39 and 40: as a martyr. Moreover, Holy Scriptu
Page 41 and 42: Alternatively, the so-called four-f
Page 43 and 44: tzeyger und unterrichter ist ynn di
Page 45 and 46: fellow Lutherans in studying books
Page 47 and 48: provoked into action unnecessarily,
Page 49 and 50: masses for the dead (for instance)
Page 51 and 52: traditional proof texts about the o
Page 53 and 54: positive understandings of indiffer
Page 55 and 56: insofar as their imperfection is ra
Page 57 and 58: Of these forms of indifference, I f
Page 59 and 60: to Dionysius’ authority. Two grou
Page 61 and 62: PART I • VALENTIN WEIGEL AND MEIS
Page 63 and 64: investigating his early modern read
Page 65 and 66: was a devilish heretic to others (
Page 67 and 68: his neglect of Eckhart. 158 For ins
Page 69 and 70: “unheilvolle Kompliziertheit”).
Page 71 and 72: and Jerome (wearing what looks like
Page 73 and 74: title page, as mentioned above, des
Page 75 and 76: of a respectable though not fanatic
Page 77 and 78: himself, but rather cultivated part
Page 79 and 80: church that Luther, Melanchthon and
Page 81 and 82: kan”), and specifically the role
Page 83 and 84: soul become convinced that nothing
Page 85 and 86:
that salvation can be attained thro
Page 87 and 88:
more importantly, a theology that a
Page 89 and 90:
Mit Recht der Meister genannt: Mode
Page 91 and 92:
These role-reversal dialogues were
Page 93 and 94:
As this chapter has shown, Eckhart
Page 95 and 96:
philosophers from Hegel and Schopen
Page 97 and 98:
CHAPTER 2 • GELASSENE GELASSENHEI
Page 99 and 100:
the relationship between Tauler and
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e “as it was when it was not.”
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Eckhart agree that spiritual povert
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one-of-a-kind thing, or the best ki
Page 107 and 108:
einvaltig stille), an uncreated lig
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e as free of willing and desiring a
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nestling inside the soul, but rathe
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Gelassenheit, das ist, das er nicht
Page 115 and 116:
(necessarily inferior) knowledge pr
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context is that he picks up on Eckh
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he begins to steer the discussion a
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further proof for Weigel’s theory
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understood that the mind cannot pos
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wait in stiller Gelassenheit, recei
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truth as an educated theologian or
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ungewisser”) and finds that his f
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die Blinden an ein ander gehetzett,
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gesagett das ist er selber und ist
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Gelassenheit for the Bible, which i
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that the kind of Gelassenheit Weige
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indifference that allows Weigel to
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teacher. 366 However, the turning p
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Weigel gives the passage an unexpec
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Murren”)—and they do this “in
Page 147 and 148:
and all the more so since he saw li
Page 149 and 150:
the strength of the intellectual re
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CHAPTER 3 • DIONYSIUS, WHOEVER HE
Page 153 and 154:
demonstrated for Eckhart, I will de
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destroyer that Dionysius is most of
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ears good news to the church.” 39
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points out, with a purification, a
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served as cornerstones in defences
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(Acts 17: 15-34), one of the skepti
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to make the interpretation of these
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Outside the universities, Dionysius
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defiled the “sacred things” by
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other leaders of the Protestant Ref
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valorization of hierarchy per se in
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as well as the with the arguments u
Page 177 and 178:
freedom, but rather obedience. 468
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The primary piece in the compilatio
Page 181 and 182:
It is hardly surprising that Cochla
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it does during the Council of Trent
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for a hierarchical church, seizing
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the ancient teaching”) that “be
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Dionysiacum. For Lefèvre d’Étap
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Aristotle would have been glad to h
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enlightens all great thinkers in ev
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offered Dionysius to the Gelehrtenr
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nine distinct editions of Dionysius
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editions of Greek and Latin classic
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(Turin), and is a reprint of Lefèv
Page 203 and 204:
presses in Spain (his first publica
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growing body of evidence suggesting
Page 207 and 208:
Weigel concludes that, precisely be
Page 209 and 210:
apart, he suggested that true Chris
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and so did not dwell on the fact th
Page 213 and 214:
Names, as the title suggests, is ba
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animals, through plants and non-liv
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of being.” 580 As we will see lat
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(“God is a rock”) or even a neg
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This is admittedly a nonsensical as
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compositions, most likely dating to
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Dionysius to show that, just as God
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efer to Greek and Hebrew, the bibli
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argues that there cannot be more th
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dicitur una.” 616 The stress that
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Weigel suggests will allow the soul
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saving sacraments by means of which
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Melanchthon’s Defence of the Augs
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alternative—namely prayer. 643 We
Page 241 and 242:
Dionysius writes that the summit of
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leibet er illimitatus.” 658 Weige
Page 245 and 246:
work, Weigel had written explicitly
Page 247 and 248:
Luther did not ever use the exact p
Page 249 and 250:
as opposed to an office-holder, an
Page 251 and 252:
writing. By calling his Layman der
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Others are loyal to mere men (the P
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zuerzeigen einen rechtschaffen vnd
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and ceremonial ones at that. 694 Th
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himself returning gloriously from H
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all being. In relinquishing any cre
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improve appearances but, because it
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than resolve it, because the proble
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parcels God, who by rights is supre
Page 269 and 270:
Appendix • The Works of Valentin
Page 271 and 272:
BIBLIOGRAPHY Abad, J. M. (1999). Th
Page 273 and 274:
Chenu O.P., M.-D. (1968). In M.-D.
Page 275 and 276:
Eckhart, M. (1993). Werke I (Vol. 1
Page 277 and 278:
Israel, A. (1888). M. Valentin Weig
Page 279 and 280:
MacCulloch, D. (2010). Christianity
Page 281 and 282:
Payne, R. J. (Ed.). (1981). Meister
Page 283 and 284:
Schindling, A., & Ziegler, W. (1990
Page 285 and 286:
Verkamp, B. J. (1975). The Limits u
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