Misplaced Pages

#637362

83-471: While general theosophy concerns the universal aspects of diverse esoteric traditions, including Hinduism and Buddhism, Christian theosophy is limited to Jewish and Christian elements. The founding of Christian theosophy is usually attributed to the German philosopher Jakob Böhme . Jewish Kabbalah was also formative for Christian theosophy from Böhme on. In 1875, the term theosophy was adopted and revived by

166-419: A virgin . This virgin is therefore a mirror of God's wisdom and knowledge . Böhme follows Luther in that he views Mary within the context of Christ. Unlike Luther, he does not address himself to dogmatic issues very much, but to the human side of Mary. Like all other women, she was human and therefore subject to sin. Only after God elected her with his grace to become the mother of his son, did she inherit

249-557: A 1621 paper on sympathetic principles, may have contributed to his prosecution, and subsequent house arrest several years later, in 1634, which lasted a few weeks. The trial, however, never came to a conclusion. He was neither sentenced nor rehabilitated. In 2003, the historian Lisa Jardine proposed that a portrait held in the collections of the Natural History Museum, London , traditionally identified as John Ray , might represent Robert Hooke . Jardine's hypothesis

332-933: A Christian tradition. He has in turn greatly influenced many anti-authoritarian and mystical movements, such as Radical Pietism (including the Ephrata Cloister and Society of the Woman in the Wilderness ), the Religious Society of Friends , the Philadelphians , the Gichtelians , the Harmony Society , the Zoarite Separatists , Rosicrucianism , Martinism and Christian theosophy . Böhme's disciple and mentor,

415-636: A Will, and would willingly do Good, but the earthly Flesh which I carry about me, keepeth me back, so that I cannot; yet I shall be saved by Grace, for the Merits of Christ. I comfort myself with his Merit and Sufferings; who will receive me of mere Grace, without any Merits of my own, and forgive me my Sins . Such a one, I say, is like a Man that knoweth what Food is good for his Health, yet will not eat of it, but eateth Poison instead thereof, from whence Sickness and Death, will certainly follow. Another place where Böhme may depart from accepted theology (though this

498-473: A concept of the conservation of mass. He was an early experimenter in seeking to determine how plants gain mass. For Van Helmont, air and water were the two primitive elements. Fire he explicitly denied to be an element , and earth is not one because it can be reduced to water. Van Helmont is regarded as the founder of pneumatic chemistry , as he was the first to understand that there are gases distinct in kind from atmospheric air and furthermore invented

581-476: A considerable extent by the works of Paracelsus (1493–1541). The term had not yet reached a settled meaning, however, as the mid-16th century Theosophia by Johannes Arboreus provided a lengthy exposition that included no mention of esotericism. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Christian theosophy and Pietism arose in response to the orthodoxy of the Lutheran Reformation . I do not write in

664-402: A corrupted form of Böhme's surname, the term Behmenism has retained a certain utility in modern English-language historiography, where it is still occasionally employed, although often to designate specifically English followers of Böhme's theosophy . Given the transnational nature of Böhme's influence, the term at least implies manifold international connections between Behmenists. In any case,

747-757: A faithful Catholic, he incurred the suspicion of the Church by his tract De magnetica vulnerum curatione (1621), against Jean Roberti , since he could not explain the effects of his 'miraculous cream'. The Jesuits therefore argued that Helmont used 'magic' and convinced the inquisition to scrutinize his writings. It was the lack of scientific evidence that drove Roberti to this step. His works were collected and edited by his son Franciscus Mercurius van Helmont and published by Lodewijk Elzevir in Amsterdam as Ortus medicinae, vel opera et opuscula omnia ("The Origin of Medicine, or Complete Works") in 1648. Ortus medicinae

830-510: A family. In 1610 Böhme experienced another inner vision in which he further understood the unity of the cosmos and that he had received a special vocation from God. The shop in Görlitz, which was sold in 1613, had allowed Böhme to buy a house in 1610 and to finish paying for it in 1618. Having given up shoemaking in 1613, Böhme sold woollen gloves for a while, which caused him to regularly visit Prague to sell his wares. Twelve years after

913-562: A gnostic perspective. But he says there are also differences, since they do not actually rely on the same reference works; and their style is different. The referential corpus of earlier theosophy "belongs essentially to the Judeo-Christian type", while that of modern Theosophy "reveals a more universal aspect". Although there are many differences between Christian theosophy and the Theosophical movement begun by Helena Blavatsky,

SECTION 10

#1732772939638

996-412: A good thing out of itself, but one evil thing generates another." Böhme did not believe that there is any "divine mandate or metaphysically inherent necessity for evil and its effects in the scheme of things." Dr. John Pordage , a commentator on Böhme, wrote that Böhme "whensoever he attributes evil to eternal nature considers it in its fallen state, as it became infected by the fall of Lucifer... ." Evil

1079-404: A long list of questions when he wanted to receive the sacrament. He died on 17 November 1624. In this short period, Böhme produced an enormous amount of writing, including his major works De Signatura Rerum ( The Signature of All Things ) and Mysterium Magnum . He also developed a following throughout Europe, where his followers were known as Behmenists . The son of Böhme's chief antagonist,

1162-663: A medical degree in 1599. He practiced at Antwerp at the time of the great plague in 1605, after which he wrote a book titled De Peste (On Plague), which was reviewed by Newton in 1667. In 1609 he finally obtained his doctoral degree in medicine. The same year he married Margaret van Ranst, who was of a wealthy noble family. Van Helmont and Margaret lived in Vilvoorde , near Brussels, and had six or seven children. The inheritance of his wife enabled him to retire early from his medical practice and occupy himself with chemical experiments until his death on 30 December 1644. Van Helmont

1245-428: A method of interpretation founded upon a specific myth or revelation, applying active imagination in order to draw forth symbolic meanings and further their pursuit of knowledge toward a complete understanding of these mysteries. In Athanasius Kircher 's Oedipus Aegyptiacus (1652), Kircher assigned the word theosophy to the metaphysics adhered to in ancient Egypt , and to Neo-Platonism , and thus he gave once again

1328-513: A new self-awareness by interacting with a creation that was both part of, and distinct from, Himself. Free will becomes the most important gift God gives to humanity, allowing us to seek divine grace as a deliberate choice while still allowing us to remain individuals. Böhme believed that the Son of God became human through the Virgin Mary . Before the birth of Christ, God recognized himself as

1411-459: A number of mystical experiences throughout his youth, culminating in a vision in 1600 as one day he focused his attention onto the exquisite beauty of a beam of sunlight reflected in a pewter dish. He believed this vision revealed to him the spiritual structure of the world, as well as the relationship between God and man, and good and evil. At the time he chose not to speak of this experience openly, preferring instead to continue his work and raise

1494-502: A reborn Christian, as in Mary, all that is temporal disappears and only the heavenly part remains for all eternity. Böhme's peculiar theological language, involving fire , light and spirit, which permeates his theology and Marian views, does not distract much from the fact that his basic positions are Lutheran. Böhme's writing shows the influence of Neoplatonist and alchemical writers such as Paracelsus , while remaining firmly within

1577-548: A single esoteric current among seven other esoteric currents in early modern Western thought (i.e., alchemy , astrology , Neo-Alexandrian Hermeticism , Christian Kabbalah , Paracelsism—that is, the studying of the "prognostications" of Paracelsus — philosophia occulta and Rosicrucianism ). Faivre noted that there are "obvious similarities" between earlier theosophy and modern Theosophy as both play an important part in Western esotericism and both claim to deal with wisdom from

1660-725: A source of devotional inspiration by a variety of groups. Böhme's views greatly influenced many anti-authoritarian and Christian mystical movements, such as the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), the Philadelphians, the Gichtelians , the Society of the Woman in the Wilderness (led by Johannes Kelpius ), the Ephrata Cloister, the Harmony Society, Martinism, and Christian theosophy . Böhme

1743-409: A state of divine grace to a state of sin and suffering, that the forces of evil included fallen angels who had rebelled against God , and that God's goal was to restore the world to a state of grace. There are some serious departures from accepted Lutheran theology, such as his rejection of justification by faith alone , as in this passage from The Way to Christ : For he that will say, I have

SECTION 20

#1732772939638

1826-523: A willow tree has been considered among the earliest quantitative studies on plant nutrition and growth and as a milestone in the history of biology. The experiment was only published posthumously in Ortus Medicinae (1648) and may have been inspired by Nicholas of Cusa who wrote on the same idea in De staticis experimentis (1450). Helmont grew a willow tree and measured the amount of soil, the weight of

1909-746: Is an under-researched area; a general history of it has never been written. The French scholar Antoine Faivre had a specific interest in the theosophers and illuminists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He wrote his doctoral thesis on Karl von Eckartshausen and Christian theosophy. Scholars of esotericism have argued that Faivre's definition of Western esotericism relies on his own specialist focus on Christian theosophy, Renaissance Hermeticism, and Romantic Naturphilosophie and therefore creates an "ideal" type of esotericism that does not suit all esoteric currents. Jakob B%C3%B6hme Jakob Böhme ( / ˈ b eɪ m ə , ˈ b oʊ -/ ; German: [ˈbøːmə] ; 24 April 1575 – 17 November 1624)

1992-463: Is no sorrowing. For sorrow is a thing that is swallowed up in death, and death and dying are the very life of the darkness." The Life and Legacy of Jacob Boehme . A documentary directed by Łukasz Chwałko. Premiered: June 2016, Zgorzelec (Poland). Jan Baptist van Helmont Jan Baptist van Helmont ( / ˈ h ɛ l m ɒ n t / HEL -mont , Dutch: [ˈjɑm bɑpˈtɪst fɑn ˈɦɛlmɔnt] ; 12 January 1580  – 30 December 1644)

2075-601: Is seen as "the disorder, rebellion, perversion of making spirit nature's servant", which is to say a perversion of initial Divine order. Böhme's correspondences in Aurora of the seven qualities, planets and humoral-elemental associations: In "De Tribus Principiis" or "On the Three Principles of Divine Being" Böhme subsumed the seven principles into the Trinity: In one interpretation of Böhme's cosmology , it

2158-493: Is the sensitive soul which is the husk or shell of the immortal mind. Before the Fall the archeus obeyed the immortal mind and was directly controlled by it, but at the Fall men also received the sensitive soul and with it lost immortality, for when it perishes the immortal mind can no longer remain in the body. Van Helmont described the archeus as "aura vitalis seminum, vitae directrix" ("The chief Workman [Archeus] consists of

2241-511: The Liegnitz physician Balthasar Walther , who had travelled to the Holy Land in search of magical, kabbalistic and alchemical wisdom, also introduced kabbalistic ideas into Böhme's thought. Böhme was also an important source of German Romantic philosophy, influencing Schelling in particular. In Richard Bucke 's 1901 treatise Cosmic Consciousness , special attention was given to

2324-577: The Martinist Order founded by Papus in 1891, followed the theosophical current closely linked to the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition and Western esotericism. Theosophers outside of the initiate societies included people such as Vladimir Solovyov (1853–1900), whose views have been described as follows: "although empiricism and rationalism rest on false principles, their respective objective contents, external experience, qua

2407-597: The Theosophical Society , an esoteric organization that spawned a spiritual movement also called Theosophy . In the 20th century, theosophy became the object of study for various scholars of Western esotericism. Theosophy comes from the Greek theosophia ( θεοσοφία ), which combines theos (θεός), "God" and sophia ( σοφία ), "wisdom". Its etymological meaning is thus "wisdom of God." The term theosophia appeared (in both Greek and Latin) in

2490-565: The Thirty Years' War . Once home, Böhme accepted an invitation to stay with Herr von Schweinitz, who had a country-seat. While there Böhme began to write his last book, the 177 Theosophic Questions . Böhme fell terminally ill with a bowel complaint forcing him to travel home on 7 November. Gregorius Richter, Böhme's adversary from Görlitz, had died in August 1624, while Böhme was away. The new clergy, still wary of Böhme, forced him to answer

2573-482: The trinity as truly existing but with a novel interpretation. God, the Father is fire, who gives birth to his son, whom Böhme calls light. The Holy Spirit is the living principle, or the divine life. It is clear that Böhme never claimed that God sees evil as desirable, necessary or as part of divine will to bring forth good. In his Threefold Life , Böhme states: "[I]n the order of nature, an evil thing cannot produce

Christian theosophy - Misplaced Pages Continue

2656-428: The "vis motus tam alterivi quam localis" ("twofold motion, to wit, locall, and alterative"), that is, natural motion and motion that can be altered or voluntary. Of blas there were several kinds, e.g. blas humanum (blas of humans), blas of stars and blas meteoron (blas of meteors); of meteors he said "constare gas materiâ et blas efficiente" ("Meteors do consist of their matter Gas, and their efficient cause Blas, as well

2739-611: The Divine Essence . It took him two years to finish his second book, which was followed by many other treatises, all of which were copied by hand and circulated only among friends. In 1620 Böhme wrote The Threefold Life of Man, Answers to Forty Questions on the Soul, The Incarnation of Jesus Christ, The Six Theosophical Points, The Six Mystical Points , the Mysterium Pansophicum and Informatorium novissimorum ( Of

2822-535: The Last Times ). In 1621 Böhme wrote De Signatura Rerum (relying in part on the doctrine of signatures ). In 1623 Böhme wrote On Election to Grace, On Christ's Testaments, Mysterium Magnum, Clavis ("Key"). The year 1622 saw Böhme write some short works all of which were subsequently included in his first published book on New Year's Day 1624, under the title Weg zu Christo ( The Way to Christ ). The publication caused another scandal and following complaints by

2905-557: The Motive, as the altering"). Van Helmont "had frequent visions throughout his life and laid great stress upon them". His choice of a medical profession has been attributed to a conversation with the angel Raphael , and some of his writings described imagination as a celestial, and possibly magical, force. Though Van Helmont was skeptical of specific mystical theories and practices, he refused to discount magical forces as explanations for certain natural phenomena. This stance, reflected in

2988-524: The clergy, Böhme was summoned to the Town Council on 26 March 1624. The report of the meeting was that: Jacob Boehme, the shoemaker and rabid enthusiast, declares that he has written his book To Eternal Life, but did not cause the same to be printed. A nobleman, Sigismund von Schweinitz, did that. The Council gave him warning to leave the town; otherwise the Prince Elector would be apprised of

3071-480: The conjoyning of the vitall air, as of the matter, with the seminal likeness, which is the more inward spiritual kernel, containing the fruitfulness of the Seed; but the visible Seed is onely the husk of this."). In addition to the archeus, van Helmont believed in other governing agencies resembling the archeus which were not always clearly distinguished from it. From these he invented the term blas (motion), defined as

3154-616: The contemporary English pronunciation of the German Böhme . Böhme had a profound influence on later philosophical movements such as German idealism and German Romanticism . Hegel described Böhme as "the first German philosopher". Böhme was born on 24 April 1575 at Alt Seidenberg (now Stary Zawidów , Poland ), a village near Görlitz in Upper Lusatia , a territory of the Kingdom of Bohemia . His father, George Wissen,

3237-455: The controversies of the time. He regularly prayed and read the Bible as well as works by visionaries such as Paracelsus , Weigel and Schwenckfeld , although he received no formal education. After three years as an apprentice, Böhme left to travel. Although it is unknown just how far he went, he went at least as far as Görlitz . In 1592 Böhme returned from his journeyman years. By 1599, Böhme

3320-661: The development of neologisms. More, for example, dismissed Opera Posthuma by Spinoza as a return to Behmenism . While Böhme was famous across Western Europe and North America during the 17th century, he became less influential during the 18th century. A revival occurred late in that century with interest from German Romantics , who considered Böhme a forerunner to the movement. Poets such as John Milton , Ludwig Tieck , Novalis , William Blake and W. B. Yeats found inspiration in Böhme's writings. Coleridge , in his Biographia Literaria , speaks of Böhme with admiration. Böhme

3403-518: The differences "are not important enough to cause an insurmountable barrier". Theosophists like Blavatsky and W.Q. Judge wrote about Jakob Böhme's philosophy. Böhme was also an important influence on the ideas of Franz Hartmann, the founder in 1886 of the German branch of the Theosophical Society. Hartmann described the writings of Böhme as “the most valuable and useful treasure in spiritual literature.” Theosophers engage in analysis of

Christian theosophy - Misplaced Pages Continue

3486-489: The facts. He thereupon promised that he would shortly take himself off. Böhme left for Dresden on 8 or 9 May 1624, where he stayed with the court physician for two months. In Dresden he was accepted by the nobility and high clergy. His intellect was also recognized by the professors of Dresden, who in a hearing in May 1624, encouraged Böhme to go home to his family in Görlitz. During Böhme's absence his family had suffered due to

3569-436: The foundation of natural science, and logical thought, qua the foundation of pure philosophy, are to be synthesized or encompassed along with mystical knowledge in 'integral knowledge,' what Solovyov terms 'theosophy. ' " Faivre stated that "Theosophy is a gnosis that has a bearing not only on the salvific relations the individual maintains with the divine world, but also on the nature of God Himself, or of divine persons, and on

3652-471: The founder in 1886 of the German branch of the Theosophical Society. Hartmann described the writings of Böhme as “the most valuable and useful treasure in spiritual literature.” I do not write in the pagan manner, but in the theosophical. — Jacob Boehme Behmenism, also Behemenism or Boehmenism, is the English-language designation for a 17th-century European Christian movement based on

3735-514: The hands of Gregorius Richter  [ de ] , the chief pastor of Görlitz, who attacked it as being heretical , speaking against it from the pulpit, and threatened Böhme with exile if he continued working on it. Richter also wrote a pamphlet denouncing Böhme and his work. As a result, Böhme did not write anything for several years; however, at the insistence of friends who had read Aurora , he started writing again in 1618. In 1619 Böhme wrote De Tribus Principiis or The Three Principles of

3818-551: The ideas of the English Romantic poet, artist and mystic William Blake . After having seen the William Law edition of the works of Jakob Böhme, published between 1764 and 1781, in which some illustrations had been included by the German early Böhme exegetist Dionysius Andreas Freher (1649–1728), William Blake said during a dinner party in 1825 " Michel Angelo could not have surpassed them". Despite being based on

3901-423: The natural universe, the origin of that universe, the hidden structures that constitute it in its actual state, its relationship to mankind, and its final ends." Theosophy actually designates a specific flow of thought or tradition within the modern study of esotericism. Thus, it follows the path starting from the more modern period of the 15th century onward. Faivre describes the "theosophic current" or theosophy as

3984-424: The pagan manner, but in the theosophical. — Jakob Böhme The work of the 17th-century German Christian mystic Jakob Böhme (1575–1624) strongly contributed to spread the use of the word "theosophy", even though Böhme rarely used the word in his writings. It is on account of the title of some of his works, but these titles appear to have been chosen more by the editors than by Böhme himself. Moreover, Böhme gave

4067-435: The pastor primarius of Görlitz Gregorius Richter, edited a collection of extracts from his writings, which were afterwards published complete at Amsterdam with the help of Coenraad van Beuningen in the year 1682. Böhme's full works were first printed in 1730. The chief concern of Böhme's writing was the nature of sin , evil and redemption . Consistent with Lutheran theology, Böhme preached that humanity had fallen from

4150-405: The profundity of Böhme's spiritual enlightenment, which seemed to reveal to Böhme an ultimate nondifference, or nonduality , between human beings and God. Jakob Böhme's writings also had some influence on the modern theosophical movement of the Theosophical Society. Blavatsky and W.Q. Judge wrote about Jakob Böhme's philosophy. Böhme was also an important influence on the ideas of Franz Hartmann,

4233-808: The publication of his books in England, Holland and Germany in the 1640s and 1650s. Böhme was especially important for the Millenarians and was taken seriously by the Cambridge Platonists and Dutch Collegiants . Henry More was critical of Böhme and claimed he was not a real prophet, and had no exceptional insight into metaphysical questions. Overall, although his writings did not influence political or religious debates in England, his influence can be seen in more esoteric forms such as on alchemical experimentation, metaphysical speculation and spiritual contemplation, as well as utopian literature and

SECTION 50

#1732772939638

4316-420: The smallest detail." The knowledge that is acquired through meditation is believed to change the being of the meditator. Faivre identified three characteristics of theosophy. The three characteristics of theosophy are listed below. Theosophy : The scholar of esotericism Wouter Hanegraaff described Christian theosophy as "one of the major currents in the history of Western esotericism". Christian theosophy

4399-472: The status of sinlessness. Mary did not move the Word, the Word moved Mary , so Böhme, explaining that all her grace came from Christ. Mary is "blessed among women" but not because of her qualifications, but because of her humility . Mary is an instrument of God; an example of what God can do: It shall not be forgotten in all eternity, that God became human in her. Böhme, unlike Luther, did not believe that Mary

4482-462: The subject, such as food being digested through the body's internal heat. But if that were so, he asked, how could cold-blooded animals live? His own opinion was that digestion was aided by a chemical reagent, or "ferment", within the body, such as inside the stomach. Harré suggests that van Helmont's theory was "very near to our modern concept of an enzyme". Van Helmont proposed and described six different stages of digestion. Helmont's experiment on

4565-572: The teachings of German mystic and theosopher Jakob Böhme (1575-1624). The term was not usually applied by followers of Böhme's theosophy to themselves, but rather was used by some opponents of Böhme's thought as a polemical term. The origins of the term date back to the German literature of the 1620s, when opponents of Böhme's thought, such as the Thuringian antinomian Esajas Stiefel, the Lutheran theologian Peter Widmann and others denounced

4648-555: The term Christian theosophy. The term theosophy was used as a synonym for theology as early as the 3rd century CE. The 13th-century work Summa philosophiae attributed to Robert Grosseteste made a distinction between theosophers and theologians. In the Summa , theosophers were described as authors only inspired by the holy books, while theologians like Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and Origen were described as those whose task

4731-545: The term is preferred to clumsier variants such as "Böhmeianism" or "Böhmism", although these may also be encountered. In addition to the scientific revolution, the 17th century was a time of mystical revolution in Catholicism , Protestantism and Judaism . The Protestant revolution developed from Böhme and some medieval mystics. Böhme became important in intellectual circles in Protestant Europe, following from

4814-570: The tradition of religious illumination from the religious system established in the late nineteenth century by Helena Blavatsky by referring to the latter with a capital letter as Theosophy, and the former with a lower-case letter as theosophy. Followers of Blavatsky's movement are known as Theosophists, while adherents of the older tradition are termed theosophers. Several Theosophists — such as C. C. Massey and Franz Hartmann — were also theosophers. Antoine Faivre suggested in 1998 that it be called "Boehmian theosophy", although he himself more often uses

4897-560: The tree and the water he added. After five years the plant had gained about 164 lbs (74 kg). Since the amount of soil was nearly the same as it had been when he started his experiment (it lost only 57 grams), he deduced that the tree's weight gain had come entirely from water. Van Helmont described a recipe for the spontaneous generation of mice (a piece of dirty cloth plus wheat for 21 days) and scorpions ( basil , placed between two bricks and left in sunlight). His notes suggest he may have attempted to do these things. Although

4980-491: The universe, humanity, divinity, and the reciprocal effects of each on the other. Their departure point therefore may be knowledge of external things in the world or inner experiences, and the theosopher's aim is to discover deeper meanings in the natural or divine realm. Antoine Faivre notes, "the theosophist dedicates his energy to inventing (in the word's original sense of 'discovering') the articulation of all things visible and invisible, by examining both divinity and nature in

5063-539: The vision in 1600, Böhme began to write his first book, Morgenröte im Aufgang ("Dawn of the Day in the East"). The book was given the name Aurora (sometimes translated into English as "The Day-spring") by a friend. Böhme originally wrote the book for himself and it was never completed. A manuscript copy of the unfinished work was lent to Karl von Ender, a nobleman, who had copies made and began to circulate them. A copy fell into

SECTION 60

#1732772939638

5146-474: The word " gas ". He derived the word gas from the Greek word chaos (χᾰ́ος). He perceived that his "gas sylvestre" ( carbon dioxide ) given off by burning charcoal, was the same as that produced by fermenting must , a gas which sometimes renders the air of caves unbreathable. Van Helmont wrote extensively on the subject of digestion. In Oriatrike or Physick Refined (1662, an English translation of Ortus medicinae ), van Helmont considered earlier ideas on

5229-663: The word "theosophy" a limited meaning, making it clear that he was not conflating nature with God . Böhme's work has been described as being "foundational" for Christian theosophy. There were relatively few theosophers in the 17th century, but many of them were prolific. Outside of Germany, there were also theosophers from Holland, England, and France. This group is represented by Jan Baptist van Helmont (1618–1699), Robert Fludd (1574–1637), John Pordage (1608–1681), Jane Leade (1623–1704), Henry More (1614–1687), Pierre Poiret (1646–1719), and Antoinette Bourignon (1616–1680). Theosophers of this period often inquired into nature using

5312-447: The word one of its most generally accepted meanings, that of divine metaphysics. In the 18th century, the word theosophy came into more widespread use among some philosophers. However, the term "theosophy" was still "practically absent" throughout the entire eighteenth century in dictionaries and encyclopedias, where it only appeared more and more frequently beginning in the second half of the nineteenth century. Theosophers themselves used

5395-398: The word theosophy sparingly, at least up until the middle of the nineteenth century. Johann Jakob Brucker (1696–1770) included a long chapter on theosophy in his monumental work Historia critica philosophia . (1741). He included theosophers alongside other currents in esotericism in what was then a standard reference in the history of philosophy. By the 18th century, the word theosophy

5478-496: The works of Boris Mouravieff and George Gurdjieff . In 2022, Jacob Boehme was officially added to the Episcopal Church liturgical calendar along with Johann Arndt with a feast day on 11 May. Cormac McCarthy 's 1985 novel Blood Meridian includes three epigraphs, the second of which comes from Jacob Boehme: "It is not to be thought that the life of darkness is sunk in misery and lost as if in sorrowing. There

5561-481: The works of early church fathers , as a synonym for theology : the theosophoi are "those knowing divine things". The term however acquired various other meanings throughout its history. The adjective "theosophos" (θεόσοφος) "wise in divine things" was applied by Iamblichus to the gymnosophists (Γυμνοσοφισταί), i.e. the Indian yogis or sadhus . Scholars of esotericism such as Godwin and Faivre differentiated

5644-511: The writings of Böhme and the Böhmisten . When his writings began to appear in England in the 1640s, Böhme's surname was irretrievably corrupted to the form "Behmen" or "Behemen", whence the term "Behmenism" developed. A follower of Böhme's theosophy is a "Behmenist". Behmenism does not describe the beliefs of any single formal religious sect, but instead designates a more general description of Böhme's interpretation of Christianity, when used as

5727-403: Was Lutheran, reasonably wealthy, but a peasant nonetheless. Böhme was the fourth of five children. Böhme's first job was that of a herd boy. He was deemed to be not strong enough for husbandry. When he was 14 years old, he was sent to Seidenberg , as an apprentice to become a shoemaker. His apprenticeship for shoemaking was hard; he lived with a family who were not Christians, which exposed him to

5810-472: Was a chemist , physiologist , and physician from Brussels . He worked during the years just after Paracelsus and the rise of iatrochemistry , and is sometimes considered to be "the founder of pneumatic chemistry ". Van Helmont is remembered today largely for his 5-year willow tree experiment, his introduction of the word " gas " (from the Greek word chaos ) into the vocabulary of science, and his ideas on spontaneous generation . Jan Baptist van Helmont

5893-438: Was a German philosopher, Christian mystic , and Lutheran Protestant theologian . He was considered an original thinker by many of his contemporaries within the Lutheran tradition, and his first book, commonly known as Aurora , caused a great scandal. In contemporary English, his name may be spelled Jacob Boehme (retaining the older German spelling); in seventeenth-century England it was also spelled Behmen , approximating

5976-443: Was a disciple of the mystic and alchemist , Paracelsus , though he scornfully repudiated the errors of most contemporary authorities, including Paracelsus. On the other hand, he engaged in the new learning based on experimentation that was producing men like William Harvey , Galileo Galilei and Francis Bacon . Van Helmont was a careful observer of nature ; his analysis of data gathered in his experiments suggests that he had

6059-413: Was also an important source of German Romantic philosophy, influencing Schelling and Franz von Baader in particular. In Richard Bucke 's 1901 treatise Cosmic Consciousness , special attention was given to the profundity of Böhme's spiritual enlightenment, which seemed to reveal to Böhme an ultimate nondifference, or nonduality , between human beings and God . Böhme is also an important influence on

6142-515: Was based on, but not restricted to, the material of Dageraad ofte Nieuwe Opkomst der Geneeskunst ("Daybreak, or the New Rise of Medicine"), which was published in 1644 in Van Helmont's native Dutch. His son Frans's writings, Cabbalah Denudata (1677) and Opuscula philosophica (1690) are a mixture of theosophy, mysticism and alchemy. Over and above the archeus , he believed that there

6225-462: Was highly thought of by the German philosophers Baader , Schelling and Schopenhauer . Hegel went as far as to say that Böhme was "the first German philosopher". Danish Bishop Hans Lassen Martensen published a book about Böhme. Several authors have found Boehme's description of the three original Principles and the seven Spirits to be similar to the Law of Three and the Law of Seven described in

6308-514: Was master of his craft with his own premises in Görlitz. That same year he married Katharina, daughter of Hans Kuntzschmann, a butcher in Görlitz, and together he and Katharina had four sons and two daughters. Böhme's mentor was Abraham Behem who corresponded with Valentin Weigel . Böhme joined the "Conventicle of God's Real Servants" - a parochial study group organized by Martin Moller . Böhme had

6391-401: Was necessary for humanity to return to God, and for all original unities to undergo differentiation, desire and conflict—as in the rebellion of Satan , the separation of Eve from Adam and their acquisition of the knowledge of good and evil—in order for creation to evolve to a new state of redeemed harmony that would be more perfect than the original state of innocence, allowing God to achieve

6474-402: Was often used in conjunction with pansophy . The term theosophy is more properly reserved for the reverse process of contemplating the divine in order to discover the content of the concrete universe. In England, Robert Hindmarsh , a printer with a Methodist background, formed a "Theosophical Society" in 1783, for translating, printing and distributing the writings of Swedenborg. This society

6557-527: Was open to question due to his somewhat obscure, oracular style) was in his description of the Fall as a necessary stage in the evolution of the Universe . A difficulty with his theology is the fact that he had a mystical vision , which he reinterpreted and reformulated. According to F. von Ingen, to Böhme, in order to reach God , man has to go through hell first. God exists without time or space , he regenerates himself through eternity . Böhme restates

6640-715: Was renamed in 1785 as "The British Society for the Propagation of the Doctrines of the New Church ", consisting of Swedenborgian based beliefs. In France, Denis Diderot gave the word theosophie more attention than other encyclopedias of this period by including an article on it in his Encyclopédie , published during the French Enlightenment. The article dealt mostly with Paracelsus and essentially plagiarized Brucker's "Historia". Groups such as

6723-477: Was the Ever Virgin . Her virginity after the birth of Jesus is unrealistic to Böhme. The true salvation is Christ, not Mary. The importance of Mary, a human like every one of us, is that she gave birth to Jesus Christ as a human being. If Mary had not been human, according to Böhme, Christ would be a stranger and not our brother. Christ must grow in us as he did in Mary. She became blessed by accepting Christ. In

6806-572: Was the youngest of five children of Maria (van) Stassaert and Christiaen van Helmont, a public prosecutor and Brussels council member, who had married in the Sint-Goedele church in 1567. He was educated at Leuven , and after ranging restlessly from one science to another and finding satisfaction in none, turned to medicine. He interrupted his studies, and for a few years he traveled through Switzerland , Italy , France , Germany , and England . Returning to his own country, van Helmont obtained

6889-538: Was to explain theosophy. Therefore, the terms denoted the opposite of the present-day meaning. During the Renaissance , use of the term diverged to refer to gnostic knowledge that offers the individual enlightenment and salvation through a knowledge of the bonds that are believed to unite her or him to the world of divine or intermediary spirits. Christian theosophy arose in Germany in the 16th century. Inspired to

#637362