 previous article in this issue | next article in this issue  |
Preview first page |
Document Details : Title: 'We See But The Skirts Of God's Glory' Subtitle: Newman's Witness to the Revelation and Mystery of God Author(s): ROWELL, Geoffrey Journal: Louvain Studies Volume: 35 Issue: 3-4 Date: 2011 Pages: 419-429 DOI: 10.2143/LS.35.3.2157509 Abstract : In Tract 73 of the Tracts for the Times, 'On the introduction of Rationalist Principles in Religion', Newman criticised the theology of the Scottish lay theologian Thomas Erskine of Linlathen and the American Congregationalist Jacob Abbott. Having been sympathetic to Erskine in his early Evangelical days, as can be seen from some of his sermons from this period, Newman became convinced that revelation as 'manifestation' (Erskine’s term) made revelation subjective. Central for him was revelation as 'mystery', with the corollary that, although God did indeed make himself known in Christ, 'we see but the skirts of God’s glory'. God discloses himself by economy and there is a necessary reserve in God’s self-communication – 'we are allowed with the angels to obtain a glimpse of the mysteries of heaven'. This paper sets Tract 73 in the context of Newman’s theological development, and also shows the importance of Pusey’s Lectures on Types and Prophecies (1836) as exemplifying a similar theological understanding. The recovery of a theology which saw mystery and revelation as belonging together was important both in Newman’s theological development and in a Christian apologetic against subjective, rationalistic distortions of Christian theology. |
|
