Jaarboek Thomas Instituut 2006 - Thomas Instituut te Utrecht

More documents

Recommendations

Info

14 HENK J.M. SCHOOT intended for the service of God, such as the sacred vessels or a sacred building. People can be called holy; Thomas regards holiness in this sense as a virtue which people have to practice in order to direct their lives to the will of God. Two words are central to Thomas' explanation: purity, munditia, and constancy, firmitas. Here, Thomas directs himself towards two key passages in the scriptures." He bases purity on Heb 12,14: "strive for peace with all men, and for the holiness without which no-one will see the Lord." In order to unite itself with God, the human spirit has to withdraw from what is lower, and direct itself to what is higher; sin and guilt have to be washed away. Firmitas is an interesting word. Thomas relates it to the holy things that, in antiquity, were protected by law and must not be violated. Thus, firmitas stands for inviolability. But Thomas associates this firmitas with Rom 8,38-39, so that it appears in a somewhat different light. In Thomas' shortened version: "For I am sure that neither death nor life will be able to separate us from the love of God." Thus, from a legal matter, firmitas becomes a fruit of the love of God, reaching beyond death. Just as love is directed towards eternity, and nothing of love may be lost, so is it equally valid for the holiness that people receive from God, and in which they direct their lives towards God and prepare for the divine worship.i" Thomas speaks of constancy, because it is precisely in the 23 STh II-II, q. 81 a. 8 c: "Nomen sanctitatis duo videtur importare. Uno quidem modo, munditiam: et huic significationi competit nomen graecum, dicitur enim agios quasi sine terra. Alio modo importat firmitatem: unde apud antiquos sancta dicebantur quae legibus erant munita ut violari non deberent; unde et dicitur esse a!iquid sancitum quia est lege firmaturn. Potest etiam secundum Latinos hoc nomen sanctus ad munditiam pertinere: ut intelligatur sanctus quasi 'sanquine tinctus', eo quod antiquitus illi qui purificari volebant sanguine hostiae tingebantur, ut Isidorus dicit, in !ibro Etymol." The pair of concepts mundari, confirmari appear frequently in Thomas: e.g. I SN lOA ad 4; 3 SN 3.l.l.c; 3 SN 3.1.2.l.c; 4 SN 7.1.2.1 ad I. 24 The question in which Thomas comes to discuss sancti/as, is that of whether religio is the same virtue as sanctitas. For Thomas, religio does not mean religion, but the virtue with which man fulfills his duty to give God reverence to which he has a right as creator and ruler. As a moral virtue this falls into the category of the cardinal virtue of iustitia. Thomas answers that the two are related, but that religio is principally ordered towards liturgical
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY 15 unchangeable beginning and end of all things, God, that the greatest possible immobilitas is found." And this brings us to holiness as a property, as a name of God. Those who want to discover what Thomas thinks about this, will find it difficult. Although there is absolutely no doubt that Thomas also regards holiness as a divine property, there is almost nowhere where he explains its significance. When Thomas explains the threefold holy in Isaiah, he does not discuss the significance of sanctus. Other theologians close to him state emphatically that God is called holy here, because he calls on people to lead a holy life." However, nothing of this kind can be found in Thomas. Together with the rest of the passage in Isaiah, 'holy' forms part of a heavenly song of praise, raised by the angels who sing it to God.27 It is unclear whether, for Thomas, this gives holiness an aspect of hidden-ness, sovereignty and inaccessibility, as holiness is often interpreted." However, there is, of course, one divine name that is very relevant in this respect, and that is the name 'Holy Spirit'. And it is precisely when Thomas explains this name that we find an explanation of divine holiness. According to Thomas, the Spirit is called Holy - but acts, while sanctitas is to do with directing all the virtuous acts of man towards God or the divine service (ibidem). 25 Unchangeableness as a name of God - in this context I take immutabilitas and immobilitas as synonymous - does not refer to a condition, such as that of a rock or something similar. Unchangeableness is the antithesis of changeability, of decay, of unfaithfulness. In fact, Thomas teaches that people should not behave as if they know what it means, as if they could describe it. As soon as one attempts to do that, ascribing unchangeableness to God loses its significance and turns into its opposite. "Nothing and nobody can separate us from the love of God" (Rom 8, 39) is in fact a wonderful, but also negative, indication of unchangeability and constancy. 26 E.g. Hugh of St.-Cher (t 1263), Super Apocalypsum 'Vidit Jacob', eh. IV (to be found in the writings added by R. Busa as material for comparison to Thomas' Opera omnia; see www.corpusthomisticum.org.). Thomas himself might have felt more at home with Lev 11,44: "Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am holy." 27 Thomas specified the song of praise as praise for the three persons of the Trinity (trinitas personarum), for the sublimity of the one divinity that has precedence over everything (majestas unitatis), and for the generosity of God's caring for the whole world (liberalitas provision is); In Is. VI, I, J. 28 G.-L. Müller, Heiligkeit, in Lexikon fûr Theologie und Kirche", Vol. IV, 1326.
Page 2 and 3: Thomas Instituut te Utrecht Boàrd
Page 4 and 5: Editorial Board Prof. dr. H.J.M. Sc
Page 6 and 7: Rudi te Velde OVER GOD ALS PERSOON.
Page 8 and 9: 6 INTRODUCTION A second contributio
Page 10 and 11: 8 HENK J.M. SCHOOT us of the rise a
Page 12 and 13: 10 HENK lM. SCHOOT [...]."(6,5) The
Page 14 and 15: 12 HENK J.M. SCHOOT All of those wh
Page 18 and 19: 16 HENK J.M. SCHOOT the Father and
Page 20 and 21: 18 HENK J.M. SCHOOT also called 'th
Page 22 and 23: 20 HENK J.M. SCHOOT to Jesus: the f
Page 24 and 25: 22 HENK J.M. SCHOOT consists fundam
Page 26 and 27: 24 HENK 1.M. SCHOOT The analysis of
Page 28 and 29: 26 HENK J.M. SCHOOT are the mediato
Page 30 and 31: 28 HENK J.M. SCHOOT Finally, it is
Page 32 and 33: 30 HENKJ.M.SCHOOT being taken serio
Page 34 and 35: 32 HENK 1.M. SCHOOT When I started
Page 37 and 38: NICHOLAS OF CUSA AND THE RELATION B
Page 39 and 40: NICHOLAS OF CUSA 37 possibilities i
Page 41 and 42: NICHOLAS OF CUSA 39 Readers of this
Page 43 and 44: NICHOLAS OF CUSA with reverence." I
Page 45 and 46: NICHOLAS OF CUSA 43 God and believe
Page 47 and 48: NICHOLAS OF CUSA 45 So, on the one
Page 49 and 50: NICHOLAS OF CUSA 47 So, Saint Paul
Page 51 and 52: NICHOLAS OF CUSA 49 Word of God. Ev
Page 53 and 54: NICHOLAS OF CUSA 51 theology of rel
Page 55 and 56: NICHOLAS OF CUSA 53 Cusanus as a Ch
Page 57 and 58: NICHOLAS OF CUSA 55 work, Nicholas
Page 59 and 60: NICHOLAS OF CUSA 57 The ambiguity o
Page 61 and 62: NICHOLAS OF CUSA 59 Beginning and i
Page 63: NICHOLAS OF CUSA 61 5. Work, insofa
Page 66 and 67:
64 FRANS J.H. VOSMAN betrifft nicht
Page 68 and 69:
66 FRANS J.H. VOSMAN Wahrheit, die
Page 70 and 71:
68 FRANS J.H. VOSMAN entnommenen Vo
Page 72 and 73:
70 FRANS J.H. VOSMAN Hinblick auf G
Page 74 and 75:
72 FRANS lH. VOSMAN begegnen Gut un
Page 76 and 77:
74 FRANS J.H. VOSMAN wie zwischen H
Page 78 and 79:
76 FRANS J.H. VOSMAN eine Logik des
Page 80 and 81:
78 FRANS J.H. VOSMAN Schrecken der
Page 83 and 84:
OVER GOD ALS PERSOON Kuitert, De Di
Page 85 and 86:
OVER GOD ALS PERSOON van de eerste
Page 87 and 88:
OVER GOD ALS PERSOON 85 bepaald soo
Page 89 and 90:
OVER GOD ALS PERSOON 87 voortkomt u
Page 91 and 92:
OVER GOD ALS PERSOON 89 De diepere
Page 93 and 94:
OVER GOD ALS PERSOON 91 Persoon-zij
Page 95 and 96:
OVER GOD ALS PERSOON 93 waardig per
Page 97 and 98:
OVER GOD ALS PERSOON 95 'goddelijke
Page 99 and 100:
OVER GOD ALS PERSOON 97 mogen wij d
Page 101 and 102:
OVER GOD ALS PERSOON 99 zijnde uit
Page 103 and 104:
OVER GOD ALS PERSOON 101 vindt in z
Page 105 and 106:
OVER GOD ALS PERSOON 103 identifice
Page 107 and 108:
TRANSCENDENTALE NOTIES VAN WERKELIJ
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
Page 139 and 140:
Page 141:
Page 144 and 145:
142 HENK J.M. SCHOOT islamitisch-ch
Page 146 and 147:
144 HENK lM. SCHOOT verschijnen van
Page 148 and 149:
146 HENK J.M. SCHOOT bedoelt schijn
Page 150 and 151:
148 HENK J.M. SCHOOT van de erfzond
Page 152 and 153:
150 HENK J.M. SCHOOT Ik noem nu in
Page 154 and 155:
152 HENK J.M. SCHOOT God door Mosli
Page 157 and 158:
ANNUAL REPORT 2006 Cristina M. Pump
Page 159 and 160:
ANNUAL REPORT 2006 157 member of th
Page 161 and 162:
Radboud University Nijmegen Utrecht
Page 163 and 164:
Individual projects ANNUAL REPORT 2
Page 165 and 166:
ANNUAL REPORT 2006 163 Valkenberg,
Page 167 and 168:
ANNUAL REPORT 2006 165 Goris, H.J.M
Page 172:
0 0 p 0 ,0 if "0 8 0 \l ~
show all

Jaarboek Thomas Instituut 2006 - Thomas Instituut te Utrecht

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?