Mysticism and the Inner Light in the Thought of Rufus Jones, Quaker

Erscheinungsjahr 2021
ISBN: 978-90-04-46945-7
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 28, 232 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 238 mm, Gewicht: 499 g

Reihe: Studies in Theology and Religion

Rufus Jones’ promotion of mysticism and his novel formulation of the Inner Light, which saw God as an inherent part of human nature, were sweepingly influential within liberal Quakerism in the early 20th century and have had long-lasting effects on Quaker faith and practice. In spite of the importance of his ideas, however, they have received little critical attention. In Mysticism and the Inner Light, Helen Holt provides a systematic analysis of Jones’ thought in historical context, showing how he attempted to synthesize his own experience with aspects of the psychology of William James, the idealism of Josiah Royce, and liberal Christianity. She finds that because Jones presented his ideas informally, he is sometimes misinterpreted, especially regarding his views on Christ and humanism. The book draws on Jones’ extensive corpus and on unpublished archived letters.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Holt, Helen

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christliche Kirchen, Konfessionen, Denominationen Andere und Moderne Christliche Glaubensgemeinschaften

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

1 A Quaker Life from Quaker Roots

1 Quakerism and Rufus Jones

2 A Quaker Education

3 Conclusion

2 Encounters with Modern Thought

1 The Manchester Conference

2 The Influence of Psychology

3 Lessons from Harvard: Philosophical Idealism and the Social Gospel

4 Conclusion

3 God: Integrating Quakerism and Modern Thought

1 The Character of God

2 The Transcendence and Immanence of God

3 Knowing God and Proving That God Exists

4 Conclusion

4 Human Nature: Integrating Quakerism and Psychology

1 Consciousness

2 The Subconscious

3 Sin

4 Salvation

5 Habit

6 Conscience

7 The Role of Christ

8 Conclusion

5 The Inner Light: Integrating God and Human Nature

1 A Brief History of the Concept of the Light

2 The Inner Light in Social Law

3 The Inner Light in Jones’ Wider Corpus

4 Conclusion

6 Mysticism: Integrating the Inner Light and Social Action

1 Mysticism in Historical Context

2 Jones and Contemporary Scholars of Mysticism

3 Jones’ Understanding of Mysticism

4 Conclusion

7 Assessing the Weave: Diverse Interpretations of Jones

1 The Initial Reception of Social Law

2 Personal Letters

3 Quaker Engagement with the Inner Light in Relation to Christian Doctrine

4 Later Reception of Jones’ View of Human Nature

5 Conclusion

8 Conclusion: Dissolving Dichotomies and Creative Practices

1 Dissolving Dichotomies

2 The ‘Mastery’ of Theology and the ‘Unmastery’ of Contemplation

3 Creativity

Appendix A

Appendix B

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Helen Holt holds PhDs in plasma physics (University of St Andrews, 1992) and Quaker studies (University of Edinburgh, 2019). She is an independent scholar interested in Quaker approaches to science in the 20th century.