Mirrors of the Divine

Late Ancient Christianity and the Vision of God

Emily R. Cain (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

224 Seiten

2023
Oxford University Press Inc (Verlag)
978-0-19-766337-0 (ISBN)

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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.

Emily R. Cain received her Ph.D. in History of Christianity in 2016 from Fordham University, where she specialized in Christianity in Late Antiquity. She is currently an Assistant Professor of History of Christianities at Loyola University Chicago.

Preface and Acknowledgements
INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1: "Now We See": Scientific and Scriptural Sight
CHAPTER 2: Tertullian of Carthage: A Visual Hierarchy of Beards and Veils
CHAPTER 3: Clement of Alexandria: Seeing God Through a Cataract Darkly
CHAPTER 4: "Through a Mirror": (Im)Moral, Magical, and Metaphorical Mirrors
CHAPTER 5: Gregory of Nyssa: Perpetual Perception
CHAPTER 6: Augustine of Hippo: The Paradox of Perception
CHAPTER 7: "In an Enigma": Reflections on Reflection

CONCLUSION

Erscheinungsdatum	31.01.2023
Verlagsort	New York
Sprache	englisch
Maße	236 x 164 mm
Gewicht	481 g
Themenwelt	Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Vor- und Frühgeschichte
	Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Religionsgeschichte
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie ► Philosophie Altertum / Antike
	Religion / Theologie ► Christentum ► Kirchengeschichte
ISBN-10	0-19-766337-0 / 0197663370
ISBN-13	978-0-19-766337-0 / 9780197663370
Zustand	Neuware