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1. Begriff, Typen und religiös kulturelle BedeutungUnter einem G. versteht man einen rein rationalen Beweis der Existenz Gottes, ohne Rückgriff auf (etwa religiöse) Autoritäten als Erkenntnisquellen. Die Tradition der G., die im abendländischen Denken mit Platon und Aristoteles einsetzte, fand in der ma. Scholastik in den sog. quinque viae (»fünf Wegen«) des Thomas von Aquin einen ersten Höhepunkt. Auch in der (den christl. Theologen bekannten) ma. jüd. und in der frühen islam. Theologie wurde die antike Tradition fortentwickelt. Doch viel wichti…

1. Definition, types, and religio-cultural significance By a proof of God, we mean a purely rational proof of the existence of God, without appeal to authorities (e.g. religious authorities) as sources of knowledge. The tradition of proofs of God goes back in Western thought to Plato and Aristotle; it reached an initial high point in medieval scholasticism in the so-called  quinque viae (“five ways”) of Thomas Aquinas. The classical tradition also underwent further development in medieval Jewish and early Islamic theology, which Christian theologians we…

[English Version] Seuse, Heinrich (21.3.1295/1297 in oder um Konstanz – 25.1.1366 Ulm), OP, christl. Mystiker, neben J. Tauler der bedeutendste Schüler Meister Eckharts, den er am Kölner Studium generale zw. 1323/24 und 1326/27 kennenlernte. Nach seiner Rückkehr in seinen Heimatkonvent in Konstanz bekleidete er das Lektorenamt und erlebte mit ca.40 Jahren eine für sein geistl. Leben entscheidende Wende, die ihn mit der Einsicht in die Heilsnotwendigkeit alleine des von Gott gegebenen Leidens von se…

[German Version] (Chalcidius), Christian philosopher, whose dates are disputed. Either in the first half or at the end of the 4th century, he composed a Latin translation of the first, cosmological section of Plato's Timaios 17A–53C and a corresponding commentary, in which – with reference to Middle Platonic sources in particular (Numenius) – he drew up a hierarchy of metaphysical entities in which divine Providence was identified with divine Will and Reason and made superior to Fate, which rules all things, including the world soul, though humans, gifted with reason, do not nec¶ essari…

[German Version] (c. 50 ce, Hierapolis, Phrygia – c. 130 ce, Nicopolis, Epirus), a philosopher and a freed slave, along with Seneca and Marcus Aurelius the foremost exponent of the Stoa (Stoics) in the time of the Roman Empire. A disciple of Musonius Rufus in Rome, he was expelled to Epirus in 94 ce, where he founded a philosophical school. His only student known by name, Arrianus, published four books containing his “teachings” ( diatribai) as well as a “booklet” ( encheiridion) summarizing the diatribai that was extensively commentated upon by the neo-…

[German Version] (Mar 21, 1295/1297 in or near Constance – Jan 25, 1366, Ulm), OP, Christian mystic; alongside J. Tauler the most important student of Meister Eckhart, whom he came to know at the studium generale in Cologne between 1323/1324 and 1326/1327. After returning to his home convent in Constance, he held the office of lector. At around the age of 40, he experienced a turning point that was to be crucial for his spiritual life: recognizing that all that was necessary for salvation was the suffering sent by God, he discontinued the excessive …