The Role of the Jew in Franciscus Mercurius van Helmont’s Adumbratio kabbalae christianae
The Role of the Jew in Franciscus Mercurius van Helmont’s Adumbratio kabbalae christianae
Author(s): Sheila SpectorSubject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, Philosophy, Language and Literature Studies, Jewish studies, Studies of Literature, Theology and Religion, Comparative Studies of Religion, Jewish Thought and Philosophy, Sociology of Religion
Published by: Papieski Wydział Teologiczny
Keywords: Franciscus Mercurius van Helmont;Adumbratio kabbalae christianae;Judaizing;Kabbalism;conversionism
Summary/Abstract: While the use of the Jews as scapegoats is well documented, less noted is how they have provided a pretext for exploring and writing about heterodoxical ideas that otherwise might cause problems for the author. A case in point is the Adumbratio kabbalae christianae, by seventeenth-century esoteric thinker Franciscus Mercusius van Helmont. Although ostensibly designed to convert the Jews, a close examination reveals that the text was intended to inform like-minded Christians about an esoteric mode of thought that, at the time, was repudiated by Church authorities.
Journal: Wrocławski Przegląd Teologiczny
- Issue Year: 26/2018
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 33-40
- Page Count: 8
- Language: English