Date of Award
8-30-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Sacred Theology (STM)
Department
Historical Theology
Scripture References in this Resource
Matthew 13:16; Luke 10:23; John 3:11; 2 Corinthians 3:18
Abstract
Reifsteck, Joshua P. “Contemplative Vision: Visual Language in the Sermons of Johannes Tauler.” STM Thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2022. 91 pp.
Johannes Tauler conceives of thought, contemplation, and mystical experience in visual ways, and this conception manifests in visual language and metaphor throughout Tauler’s preaching corpus. This visual language is influenced heavily by Neoplatonic conceptions of contemplation and the One, and by an interior-exterior tension within Tauler’s anthropology which is especially significant for his portrayal of the senses. This thesis focuses especially upon a group of Middle High German words related to the verb schoͮwen. These words are technical terms, describing a contemplative vision which is for Tauler an integral part of the life of faith. Through this contemplative vision, the individual turns within, gazes into the ground of the soul, and attempts to see God himself. In the practice of this inward gaze, the individual finds and clears away that which is not God, in the hopes of not only seeing God, but uniting with him in the abyss, where all sense and self is lost.
Recommended Citation
Reifsteck, Joshua P., "Contemplative Vision: Visual Language in the Sermons of Johannes Tauler" (2022). Master of Sacred Theology Thesis. 535.
https://scholar.csl.edu/stm/535
Creative Commons License
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Included in
Biblical Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, History of Christianity Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons
