Enemies of the Cross examines how suffering and truth were aligned in the divisive debates of the early Reformation. Vincent Evener explores how Martin Luther, along with his first intra-Reformation critics, offered "true" suffering as a crucible that would allow believers to distinguish the truth or falsehood of doctrine, teachers, and their own experiences. To use suffering in this way, however, reformers also needed to teach Christians to recognize false suffering and the false teachers who hid under its mantle. This book contends that these arguments, which became an enduring part of the Lutheran and radical traditions, were nourished by the reception of a daring late-medieval mystical tradition the post-Eckhartian which depicted annihilation of the self as the way to union with God. The first intra-Reformation dissenters, Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt and Thomas Müntzer, have frequently been depicted as champions of medieval mystical views over and against the non-mystical Luther. Evener counters this depiction by showing how Luther, Karlstadt, and Müntzer developed their shared mystical tradition in diverse directions, while remaining united in the conviction that sinful self-assertion prevented human beings from receiving truth and living in union with God. He argues that Luther, Karlstadt, and Müntzer each represented a different form of ecclesial-political dissent shaped by a mystical understanding of how Christians were united to God through the destruction of self-assertion. Enemies of the Cross draws on seldom-used sources and proposes new concepts of "revaluation" and "relocation" to describe how Protestants and radicals brought medieval mystical teachings into new frameworks that rejected spiritual hierarchy.
The present book argues that Martin Luther and his first allies and intra-Reformation critics (Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt and Thomas Müntzer) appealed to suffering to teach Christians to distinguish between true and false doctrine, teachers, and experiences. In so doing, they developed and deployed categories of false suffering, in which suffering was received or simply feigned in ways that hardened rather than demolished self-assertion. These ideas were nourished by the reception of teachings about annihilation of the self and union with God received from post-Eckhartian mysticism. Luther, Karlstadt, and Müntzer developed this mystical inheritance in different directions, each of which intended to shape Christians for differing forms of ecclesial-political dissent: Luther redefined union with God as a union through faith and the Word, and he counselled Christians to endure persecution as divine work under contraries; Karlstadt described union with God as "sinking into the divine will," and he upheld this union as a post-mortem goal that required, here and now, constant self-accusation and improvement on the part of the individual and the community; Müntzer looked for God to possess souls according to the created order, making Christians into actors for the execution of God's will on the earthly plane. The democratization of mysticism that so many scholars have attributed to these reformers' teachings involved a delimitation: mysticism joined to Reformation teaching was used to identify false experiences, false teachers, and ultimately false Christianity"--
Enemies of the Cross examines how suffering and truth were aligned in the divisive debates of the early Reformation. Vincent Evener explores how Martin Luther, along with his first intra-Reformation critics, offered "true" suffering as a crucible that would allow believers to distinguish the truth or falsehood of doctrine, teachers, and their own experiences. To use suffering in this way, however, reformers also needed to teach Christians to recognize false suffering and the false teachers who hid under its mantle. This book contends that these arguments, which became an enduring part of the Lutheran and radical traditions, were nourished by the reception of a daring late-medieval mystical tradition the post-Eckhartian which depicted annihilation of the self as the way to union with God. The first intra-Reformation dissenters, Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt and Thomas Müntzer, have frequently been depicted as champions of medieval mystical views over and against the non-mystical Luther. Evener counters this depiction by showing how Luther, Karlstadt, and Müntzer developed their shared mystical tradition in diverse directions, while remaining united in the conviction that sinful self-assertion prevented human beings from receiving truth and living in union with God. He argues that Luther, Karlstadt, and Müntzer each represented a different form of ecclesial-political dissent shaped by a mystical understanding of how Christians were united to God through the destruction of self-assertion. Enemies of the Cross draws on seldom-used sources and proposes new concepts of "revaluation" and "relocation" to describe how Protestants and radicals brought medieval mystical teachings into new frameworks that rejected spiritual hierarchy.
Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.
As America's economic and cultural influence grew in the 20th Century, the history of the literary arts in Europe cast a long shadow onto this burgeoning nation. And thus, the myth of the Great American Novel was born of a loaded question—would the United States ever produce a work to rival the accepted great works of Western Culture? Many tried. And, in the trying, many looked to model themselves after already extant writers and works which had gained positive notice (as standing on the shoulders of giants has always been one accepted route to success and acceptance). So herein this Megapack, Wildside press offers for you four also-rans of the early to mid 20th Century, four widely varied attempts to grab at that brass ring called The Great American Novel. YOUNG PEOPLE'S PRIDE, by Stephen Vincent Benet THE FUTURE MISTER DOLAN, by Charles Gorham PAPPY AND THE PROMISED LAND, by Jack Gotshall NIGHT OF FIRE AND SNOW, by Alfred Coppel If you enjoy this ebook, don't forget to search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Press Megapack" to see more of the 280+ volumes in this series, covering adventure, historical fiction, mysteries, westerns, ghost stories, science fiction -- and much, much more!
If you want to live in this tough world and still have some real faith and optimism, this book is for you." -- Norman Vincent Peale The many ills of the modern world can be debilitating. With so much seemingly senseless violence, pain, and destruction, we need a lot of inner strength to overcome cynicism and despair -- and to remain hopeful about the future. With Dr. Peale's careful guidance, you can achieve happiness and security by learning how to: • Conquer your fear • Free yourself of guilty feelings • Live well and prosper, personally and professionally • Become physically healthy -- the natural way • Stay enthusiastic even in poor circumstances • Tackle problems hopefully and creatively • Harness the power of prayer
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