얀 반 뤼스브룩의 신비신학의 형성

초록

This is an interpretative study of the mysticism of the fourteenth century Christian mystic and mystical author Jan van Ruusbroec. It focuses on the origin and formation of Ruusbroec's mystical theology that was articulated in his first work The Realm of Lovers. It investigates into especially the ways in which Ruusbroec appropriated theological and mystical works in Christian tradition to deal with the problem of the pseudo-mysticism in his days so as to establish his mystical theology. The study has two steps; a methodological clarification and a focused study according to a methodology adopted. First, since the project requires an overcoming of methodological limitations in Ruusbroec scholarship, it discusses methodological problems in Ruusbroec interpretation so far. It then comes up with hermeneutical viewpoints that are necessary for an appropriate interpretation of Ruusbroec's mysticism. Ruusbroec's mystical text, it argues, is multi-dimensional due to an interweaving of three different discourses that have to do with mystical theory (philosophical and theological thoughts), mystical praxis (prescriptions of ascetico-mystical practices), and mystical experience (phenomenological descriptions). Moreover, it argues for the necessity of contextual studies in mysticism in general and in Ruusbroec's mysticism in particular. It, therefore, identifies two contexts that are especially significant for deeper understanding of Ruusbroec as a vernacular mystical theologian: (1) the historical context - the problem of the heresy of the Free Spirit; (2) the theological context - Ruusbroec's sources in the history of theological and mystical ideas in Christian tradition. Second, this article, then, studies Ruusbroec's first work The Realm of Lovers in relation to its historical and theological contexts. It argues that Ruusbroec attempted to create a vernacular theology for an authentic Christian mystical life while correcting the errors in the heresy of the Free Spirit with the help of his Christian sources. Hence, it shows how Ruusbroec modeled his first work on the masterpiece of the medieval Christian mysticism, namely, Bonaventure's The Itinerary of the Mind into God. It especially concerns with Ruusbroec's mystical hermeneutics of the nature of what he calls ‘natural contemplation’ that, he thought, was practiced by the Free Spirit. This study argues that the origin of that mystical hermeneutics is decisive in the origin and formation of Ruusbroec's mystical thought. It also attempts to show that he was able to come up with that mystical hermeneutics precisely in a creative dialogue with one of his main sources, that is, Bonaventure's The Itinerary of the Mind into God. This study has larger implications for studies of mysticism in general. It illustrates the necessity of contextual studies of mystical authors and that of recognition of the complex nature of mystical text.

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