Synopsis: In this engaging and provocative study, John Peter Kenney
examines the emergence of monotheism within Greco-Roman
philosophical theology by tracing the changing character of ancient
realism from Plato through Plotinus. Besides acknowledging the
philosophical and theological significance of such ancient thinkers
as Plutarch, Numenius, Alcinous, and Atticus, he demonstrates the
central importance of Plotinus in clarifying the relation of the
intelligible world to divinity. Kenney focuses especially on
Plotinus's novel concept of deity, arguing that it constitutes a
type of mystical monotheism based upon an ultimate and inclusive
divine One beyond description or discursive knowledge. Presenting
difficult material with grace and clarity, Kenney takes a
wide-ranging view of the development of ancient Platonic theology
from a philosophical perspective and synthesizes familiar elements
in a new way. His is a revisionist thesis with significant
implications for the study of Greco-Roman, Jewish, and Christian
thought in this period and for the history of Western religious
thought in general. Endorsements: "This book should be required
reading for all those seriously interested in the study of
religion, both ancient and contemporary. This is not only because
it presents, with up-to-date scholarship and great clarity and
elegance, a form of ancient monotheism which is not sufficiently
well known. It shows that there exist, firmly rooted in our common
tradition, not only one form of monotheism but two, not only the
exclusive one with which we are familiar, but an inclusive one,
which has had a great deal of influence on religious minds through
the centuries, and continues to do so. And this is a fact of
far-reaching contemporary importance." -- A. Hilary Armstrong "The
canon of western scholarship tends to skip cavalierly from the
classical Greek philosophers--Plato and Aristotle--to medieval
giants like Thomas Aquinas, quite oblivious of the fact that the
theological synthesis attributed to Aquinas would be inconceivable
without the work of intervening generations of scholars--pagan,
Jewish, Christian, and Muslim alike. Nor can we overlook the effect
of the writings of Plotinus on the giant bridge-figure, Augustine.
John Peter Kenney's remarkable work fills in this yawning gap by
providing us with stepping stones from the classical to the
medieval worlds, and reminding us in the process how much their
philosophy fulfilled the role of wisdom, providing a way of life
and so a 'mystical theology.'" -- David Burrell, C.S.C. "In
analyzing the development of the mystical monotheism that reached
its culmination in Plotinus, Kenney has made a major contribution
both to the study of ancient thought and to the renewal of
philosophical theology." -- Bernard McGinn Author Biography: John
Peter Kenney is Professor of Religious Studies at Saint Michael's
College of Colchester, Vermont.
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