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Summary: classic teaching of mysticism
Review: Draws its sources from neoplatonic thought. Classic of Christian mysticism. In this book you will find the source of where most mystical theology has sprung. Not something to read for leasure or meditation, but something for a student of theology or philosophy might find good to read.
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Summary: The True Christian cabbala
Review: I'd like to begin by saying that Bertrand Russell was dogmatically anti-Christian, so anyone who trusts in him to dispute anything having to due with Christianity is raising Russell to the status of a demigod. Atheists attempt to take faith away, yet insist on giving it to men like Russell. That is folly. David Hume was no different, a demigod for atheists. "The human being who identifies him/herself with the objectively existing world comes to construct a personality, a sense of self, that is, at base, fully dependent upon the ever-changing structure of temporal existence. The resulting lack of permanence, of autonomy, leads such an individual to experience anxieties of all kinds, and eventually to shun the mysterious and collectively meaningful patterns of human existence in favor of a private and stifling subjective context, in the confines of which life plays itself out in the absense of any reference to a greater plan or scheme. Hopelessness, atheism, despair, are the results of such an existence." The Classics of Western Spirituality series "Pseudo-Dionysius The Complete Works" wipes away in one fair swoop the temporal illusions of empericists. "The Divine Names" begins by explaining God to be "Good," then descends to the lower tier of "divine names." Once again, rising to the "Good" or "One." It raises the mind to the pinnacle of Gnostic-Christian Neo-Platonism. "The Mystical Theology" is utterly mind boggling--equivocally, univocally, literally--whatever way you gaze upon it. It describes God as beyond being, and even the so-called known is unknown. A beatific masterpiece, to say the least. "The Celestial Hierarchy" and "The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy" deal respectively with the three triads or orders of angelic beings with their earthly counterparts. "The Letters" are a fascinating, insightful journey into the mind and spirit of the Areopagite. A well-written Foreward, Preface, and Introductions by leading scholars. I highly recommend this volume, as well as the other volumes in the series, especially the selections by Nicholas de Cusa.
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Summary: Foundational work for much Christian spirituality
Review: The Classics of Western Spirituality Series (Paulist Press) is an amazing undertaking, and every volume becomes the standard for primary sources for the religious thinkers covered. This certainly holds true for this complete volume of the works of Pseudo-Dionysius (anonymous writer of the fifth or sixth-century C.E.). Beautiful translations from the Greek of "The Divine Names," "The Mystical Theology," "The Celestial Hierarchy," "The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy," and all ten extant letters, three essay-introductions by Jaroslav Pelikan, Jean Leclercq, and Karlfried Froehlich, an exhaustive bibliography, and complete biblical and textual indices make this a volume that will last more than one lifetime and serve as the finest authority on Pseudo-Dionysian theology available. No understanding of twelfth and thirteenth-century theology is complete without an acquaintance with Dionysius's work--this includes Aquinas. Covering prayer, religious epistemology, and biblical interpretation, Pseudo-Dionysius always makes for enlightening reading and deeper appreciation of the often overlooked aspects of Christian theology: its mystical or "immediate" side. For the price, this book cannot be beaten. Buy it and read it, you might be suprised at what you'll learn.
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Summary: The Real Deal On Western Mysticism
Review: Until the publication of this book, Pseudo-Dionysius, a major influence on Meister Eckhart and John of the Cross, among others, was like a tantalizing mirage, frequently referred to but generally not seen in full. Finally, here he is. The book contains "The Divine Names", "The Mystical Theology", "The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy", "The Celestial Hierarchy", and letters. In addition, there are three (!) introductions, to tell us about Pseudo-Dionysius in later antiquity, the middle ages, and the reformation. The translations are modern, well-annotated, and clear inasmuch as this is possible. One of the introductory writers comments that many readers are surprized at how short these works are, because they may seem long due to the dense writing style. As for content, Pseudo-Dionysius attempted to wed the Neoplatonism of Plotinus and Proclus with the Bible and Christian practice. The reader will have to judge how successful this effort actually is, but it probably helps account for the survival of these works through many heresy purges. The result translated here is interesting in a historical sense and useful in a spiritual sense. The discussion of evil in "The Divine Names" is particularly fascinating, if difficult. And for those who wonder about angel theory, well, "The Celestial Hierarchy" has it all. It is very good to finally be able to read these works in their entirety.
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Summary: Can you say forger? liar? or thief?
Review: Whoever wrote this turgid stuff -- well, that person
was born some four or five hundred years after Christ.But he lied -- he put the name of Dionysius the Areopagite
in the place where he should have written his own name. For shame. Everyone knows this fraud by the name
of "Pseudo-Dionysius." Why? See Bertrand Russell or Anthony
Gottlieb for the details. They all agree that, without
the supreme marketing ploy of the false name, the writings
of this dude would have been forgotten hundreds of years ago. There is nothing memorable here, except one more example of
that great Arab thinker's saying: "Blind trust in tradition
is an inherited trait in mankind." Utterly disposable. Not recommended at all, except for
people who are seeking the cure for this disease.
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