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texts does not lead straight to radicalism. 220 Neander studied under Luther and Melanchthon in Wittenberg in 1543, before later gaining some considerable fame as a pedagogue and director of a school at Ilfeld, and as the editor of classical texts. 221 Although Neander is generally known for his knowledge of Greek and Hebrew, Neander’s Theologia Bernhardi ac Tauleri is motivated less by his scholarly interests and more by his devotion to Luther. The work was published in 1581 and appended to another work by Leander that lionizes Luther, lavishly praising him in the title as Theologia Megalandri Lutheri. That first work is a compendium of quotations from Luther’s work, both in Latin and in German, as well as small texts praising Luther, such as a small poem composed by Conrad Porta, an acrostic poem using the first letters of Luther’s names. 222 Like the Theologia Megalandri, the Theologia Bernhardi ac Tauleri is a florilegium of sorts, a compilation of the most attractive sentences from Tauler’s sermons. However, Neander’s text explicitly brings Tauler under Luther’s theological influence. On the title page are two quotations from “Theander Lutherus” (the God-man Luther, only one of Neander’s many affectionate epithets for his teacher) in which Luther praises each of the two medieval figures, presumably by way of authorizing or explaining Neander’s interest in them. For Bernard, Neander quotes Luther, who writes: “S. Bernhard ist ein Mann von grossem Geist gewesen / das ich in schier thürst uber alle Lerer setzen / die da berümpt sein / beide alte und newe.” As for Tauler, Neander quotes Luther’s praise for Tauler as offering a theology that seems beneficial and salubrious, and, 220 Koch, 1243. 221 Werner Raupp, “Neander, Michael”, Dictionary of the Reformation, 2002, 224. 222 “Mendacia Antichristi Refutavit Tribuit Iesu Nomen Unicum Salutis / Luce Veritatis Triumphauit Haereses Ecclesiae Romanae Verbo Superauit.” This is an acrostic for MARTINUS LUTHERUS. 82
more importantly, a theology that accords with Scripture (high praise indeed from Luther). 223 As for the text itself, Neander offers the reader the fruits of his reading of Tauler, juxtaposed with passages from Luther to interpret Tauler’s meaning. Neander used the 1522 Basel edition of Tauler (the same one that Weigel used), and has commented on the entire work, including the Eckhart sermons published in that edition. This means that Neander’s work can tell us something about the reception of Eckhart in more orthodox Lutheran theology as well, despite Eckhart’s name not appearing in the title of Neander’s work, or Neander being entirely aware that he was not always reading Tauler. What is most striking about Neander’s glosses on Tauler/Eckhart is what he does not say—the passages Neander cites from Eckhart do not express the more daring theological ideas that raised eyebrows amongst his medieval readers (about the uncreated spark of the soul in particular). Take, for instance, the lines he takes from the Basel Tauler edition, which read: “Alles das Gott gefelt, das gefellet im in seinem eingebornen Son, Und alles das Gott lieb hat, das hat er lieb in seinem eingebornen Sone. Nun sol der Mensch also leben, das er eins sey mit dem eingebornen Son, und das er der eingeborne Son sey.” 224 Neander explains this passage by appending two short quotations from Luther to emphasize the Lutheran position that this union is not essential but rather occurs by faith (“Lutherus: Per fidem Christi efficitur Christianus unus spiritus & unum cum Christo”), and that the union is not an unmediated identity, as Eckhart would claim, but rather more akin to the joining of bride and bridegroom (“Durch Christum ist die CHristenheit und GOTT also vereiniget, wie eine Braut mit ihrem Breutigam, das die Braut recht und macht habe, zu 223 “Ac de Tauleri concionibus: Necque ego nec in Latina, graeca aut hebraea, uel nostra lingua, Theologiam uidi salubriore[m] & cum Euangelio consonantiorem.” 224 BT, CCLXXXIVvb. 83
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MYSTICISM & CONFESSIONAL CONFLICT I
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ABSTRACT This dissertation investig
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INTRODUCTION • ES IST DIR NICHT B
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mostly undisturbed by his Lutheran
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yet have signalled his assent with
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in a context where action is expect
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Protestant Mysticism: Not a Contrad
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interest, 31 and praised the Theolo
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one can observe the texture of the
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discourse and reasoned debate, or t
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with fragments of Eckhart and Taule
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Dionysius and Eckhart (for differen
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movement, but also profound shifts
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schools, as well as universities wh
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allowed them to cooperate effective
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made clear, would result in dismiss
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and in these external dealings, the
Page 35 and 36: same laws of physics, but while 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: that salvation can be attained thro
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
Page 101 and 102: e “as it was when it was not.”
Page 103 and 104: Eckhart agree that spiritual povert
Page 105 and 106: one-of-a-kind thing, or the best ki
Page 107 and 108: einvaltig stille), an uncreated lig
Page 109 and 110: e as free of willing and desiring a
Page 111 and 112: nestling inside the soul, but rathe
Page 113 and 114: Gelassenheit, das ist, das er nicht
Page 115 and 116: (necessarily inferior) knowledge pr
Page 117 and 118: context is that he picks up on Eckh
Page 119 and 120: he begins to steer the discussion a
Page 121 and 122: further proof for Weigel’s theory
Page 123 and 124: understood that the mind cannot pos
Page 125 and 126: wait in stiller Gelassenheit, recei
Page 127 and 128: truth as an educated theologian or
Page 129 and 130: ungewisser”) and finds that his f
Page 131 and 132: die Blinden an ein ander gehetzett,
Page 133 and 134: gesagett das ist er selber und ist
Page 135 and 136: 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
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and all the more so since he saw li
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the strength of the intellectual re
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CHAPTER 3 • DIONYSIUS, WHOEVER HE
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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
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freedom, but rather obedience. 468
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The primary piece in the compilatio
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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
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presses in Spain (his first publica
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growing body of evidence suggesting
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Weigel concludes that, precisely be
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apart, he suggested that true Chris
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and so did not dwell on the fact th
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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
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Dionysius writes that the summit of
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leibet er illimitatus.” 658 Weige
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work, Weigel had written explicitly
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Luther did not ever use the exact p
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as opposed to an office-holder, an
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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
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Appendix • The Works of Valentin
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Abad, J. M. (1999). Th
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Chenu O.P., M.-D. (1968). In M.-D.
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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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