Sophia and Sophiology: From Boehme to Schelling

"Sophia and Sophiology: From Boehme to Schelling," a discussion with philosopher Sean J. McGrath, is part of the CSWR's new initiative, "Transcendence and Transformation."
Jacob Boehme may have been the first to have developed the Old Testament figure of Sophia, Yahweh’s eternal partner of Proverbs 8, into a metaphysical doctrine of divine androgyny. Beginning in his 1809 Freedom Essay, and continuing through to his 1841 Philosophy of Revelation, Schelling repeatedly returned to the Boehmian figure of Sophia, insisting that she was more than a mere metaphor. Boehme's sophiology, according to Schelling, advanced a crucial metaphysical point, one that is as relevant to the philosophy of religion of today as it was 150 years ago.
This event took place on November 15, 2021.
Learn more: cswr.hds.harvard.edu/transcen...

[@kimfreeborn]

Excellent lecture.

[@CreatorOfAmoria-Rose]

Interesting presentation Sean!

[@theelectteacher6720]

Thank you

[@JohnPallas]

The Gnostic charge against Boehme, as it is against Jung, is that evil is inherent in the Godhead. To the extent that evil is a condition of wisdom, and God's untempered creative power cannot be properly called evil, the suggestion that wisdom is a principle separate from the Christ is the suggestion that evil is realized by God. You see this in the rejection of the doctrine of the summon bonum.

[@Kid_Ikaris]

Aren't there two Gods in Gnosticism? Both the Demiurge and some sort of original heavenly Father.

[@JohnPallas]

​@@Kid_Ikaris I think so, and I think that is why the kind of Sophiology in this video (Boehme through Schelling (and Jung)) can be distinguished from Gnosticism. For example, Jung's argument is that God is not the highest good, because there is a reality to evil. Highest good arguments are based on the idea that at the fulfillment of the material world, there will be no evil. So evil is transient relative to this final state. Jung, on my reading, rejects this (i.e., the second coming of Christ) as the end state of time or, if such an end state exists, it is not a purity of goodness (hence his arguments about Christ/Self in 9ii). My interpretation is that for him, the created world will always be this admixture of value. But the admixture is Wisdom, i.e., divine, so that it can be loved and not, as I think is suggested by (or at least about) the Gnostics, rejected as a flawed creation of the demiurge.

[@Kid_Ikaris]

​@@JohnPallas I think I basically agree with Jung on the nature of evil. Maybe it isn't inextricably present in the heavens but on Earth it certainly seems to have that quality. There doesn't seem to be any serious endeavor to do in this world that hasn't resulted in unattended negative consequences.

[@shanegfenwick]

Such a wonderfully fascinating lecture and conversation. Thank you.

[@SamuelJClark-dh1me]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="2820">47:00</a>

[@lessismore4470]

William Blake...

[@josephdavis6444]

9

[@davidwright8432]

'Transcendence and transformation - or TNT for short.' This TLA (three letter acronym) conversion of usually clunky portmanteau phrases is annoying and sometimes amusing. Is it really so much more effortful to say 'transcendence and transformation'', than 'TNT'? I might also point out there is already an acronym TNT - for trinitrotoluene, an explosive.

[@Tr.ll..n]

04.09.2022 My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. Psalm <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="2042">34:2</a> “My soul magnifies the Lord.” “Those who fear You will be glad when they see me, Because I have hoped in Your word.” “I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.” “I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.” “I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.” “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” “My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.” “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” “To you, God of my fathers, I give thanks and I give praise, because wisdom and heroic power you have given to me, and now you have shown me what we seek from you, and you have shown me the matter of the King!” “The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” “O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee.” “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His.” “With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding.” “He was showing you the secrets of wisdom, because there are inner chambers to wisdom, and you have known that God has forgiven you your sins.” “Have you heard the secret of LORD JEHOVAH, and is wisdom revealed to you?” “Come, hear, and I shall tell you all the works of God, that which he has done for my soul.” “Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.” “He shall be for a sanctuary and for a stone of offense and for a rock of stumbling to both the houses of Israel, for a trap and a net for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” Because of this, so says LORD JEHOVAH God: “Behold, I furnish in Zion a stone, an approved stone in the corner, precious, best, a wall of the foundation. He who believes shall not be afraid.” a stone אָ֑בֶן (’ā·ḇen) Noun - feminine singular Strong's 68: A stone Strong's Hebrew: 976. בֹּ֫חַן (bochan) - 1 Occurrence Isaiah <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1696">28:16</a> HEB: אָ֑בֶן אֶ֣בֶן בֹּ֜חַן פִּנַּ֤ת יִקְרַת֙ NAS: a stone, a tested stone, KJV: for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, INT: A stone stone A tested cornerstone A costly “For as for the stone which I have set before the face of Jesus, on the one stone are seven eyes: behold, I am digging a trench,” saith the Lord Almighty, “and I will search out all the iniquity of that land in one day.” BIDEN AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER Some may find it disturbing to note that in his book, Schwab coined the term “Build back better,” which was adopted by President Biden ahead of his inauguration as the name of his legislative framework. Like Schwab, Biden has a long history of openly advocating for new world order and noting that Biden has a long history of advocating for a New World Order. He recently went off script and called for a new world order at an address to the Business Roundtable’s CEO Quarterly Meeting. The Business Roundtable is a strong proponent of the Great Reset. Biden was immediately hustled off stage by his staff. Critics have claimed that Biden’s “Infrastructure Bill” is about advancing The Great Reset agenda by eliminating the private use of decentralized crypto to replace it with centralized, tracked, and traced “Central Bank Digital Currencies.”

[@EG-uv8fd]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="520">8:40</a> Ungrund: undifferentiated infinite (incommensurable / zéro) / la somme de tout les possibles / Magical consciousness / Unperspectival <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="555">9:15</a> <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="656">10:56</a> <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="677">11:17</a> Polarised messenger (Androgynous) : paradoxically internalised unity (both worlds) after the separation / differentiation which brought externality (Heaven and Earth / subject and object) <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="719">11:59</a> Gnosis: knowledge of the lost connection (unity / androgyny) / how to re-enter the world / penetralia <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="798">13:18</a> Commensurable / Annonciation <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="924">15:24</a> <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="995">16:35</a> Lapis / Prima materia

[@raycosmic9019]

Sophia = the Word of Truth that is ever faithful (isomorphic) with Reality (That which is). Since to seek Wisdom is the wisest thing we can do, Wisdom is the principle thing. Therefore, get Wisdom and with all thy getting, get Understanding. Embodiment = completion of joy in form. The abstract called Love can be expressed concretely as a hug, etc. The motivation for creation is not why, but rather, why not? One must have a world view to have a world to view, yet a world view defines and thus limits the kind of world there is to view. I am that I am = I am That which is. Jesus = Humanity Christ = awake to the (omni)presence of the Absolute Unity of Creative Intelligence underlying and permeating all relative diversity. Human = Humane

[@k.arlanebel6732]

Bohme is superior to Schelling. Bohme is not an idealist.

[@happychey13]

If Bohme is not an idealist, is he, on the contrary, a 'materialist'? Or something else entirely?

[@werdna7425]

Hegel proved that Bohme can be used for idealism

[@Eudaemoniac]

Neither is Schelling really