Partakers of the Divine: Contemplation and the Practice of Philosophy

The integration of the mystical and the conceptual on the path to God— Exploring the meeting of mystical and philosophical theology, Partakers of the Divine shows that Christian philosophical and contemplative practices arose together and that throughout much of Christian history, philosophy, theology, and contemplation remained internal to one another. In this compelling volume, Jacob Holsinger Sherman demonstrates that the relation of philosophy, theology, and contemplation to one another provides theologians and philosophers of religion today with a way forward beyond many of the stalemates that have beset discussions about faith and reason, the role of religion in contemporary culture, and the challenges of modernity and postmodernity. Praise for Partakers of the Divine “In this timely and innovative study, Jacob Holsinger Sherman parses afresh the ancient idea of a philosophy which is also contemplative. Whilst Pierre Hadot recalled late twentieth-century readers to this rich tradition in late antique philosophy, Sherman now gives it fresh contemporary exemplification through incisive re-readings of Anselm and Cusanus and creative links to contemporary philosophy of religion, both continental and analytic. This is an important first book of impressive range and spiritual insight.” Sarah Coakley | University of Cambridge “In his impressive first book, Jacob Holsinger Sherman successfully shows that the main lines of Christian spiritual practice are inseparable from ascription to a metaphysics of participation and vice versa. Participation was experienced, while spiritual practice was interpreted as hierarchical ascent through grades of being towards final union with the Triune God.” John Milbank | University of Nottingham Religion / Philosophical Theology Jacob Holsinger Sherman is assistant professor of philo­ sophy and religion at the California Institute of Inte­ gral Studies in San Francisco. In addition to articles published in journals such as Modern Theology, Hey­throp Journal, and Religious Studies, he is coeditor of The Parti­cipatory Turn: Spirituality, Mysticism, and Religious Studies (2008). This volume is a revision of a dissertation completed at the University of Cambridge under the super­ vision of Douglas Hedley and Catherine Pickstock. Sherman Partakers of the Divine e m e r g i n g s c h o l a r s Partakers of the Divine Contemplation and the Practice of Theology Jacob Holsinger Sherman ...