Theolatry and the Making-Present of the Nonrepresentable
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20409031 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Elliot R Wolfson (1University of CaliforniaSanta Barbara, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 5-35 |
| Publication date | 2017-05-23 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1053-699X • E-ISSN: 1477-285X |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1163/1477285x-12341275 |
| OpenAlex | W2619654521 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 4 |
In this essay, I place Buber’s thought in dialogue with Eckhart. Each understood that the theopoetic propensity to imagine the transcendent in images is no more than a projection of our will to impute form to the formless. The presence of God is made present through imaging the real, but imaging the real implies that the nonrepresentable presence can only be made present through the absence of representation. The goal of the journey is to venture beyond the Godhead in light of which all personalistic depictions of the divine person are rendered idolatrous. Perhaps this is the most important implication of Eckhart’s impact on Buber, an insight that may still have theopolitical implications in a world where too often personifications of the God beyond personification are worshipped at the expense of losing contact with an absolute person that cannot be personified absolutely
Aesthetics · Epistemology · Politics · Theology · Computer Science · Karl Barth and Christian Theology · Law · Philosophy · Philosophy, Ethics, and Existentialism · Theology and Philosophy of Evil
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |