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Non-Dualism: Chenu & Aquinas on Passions as the Seat of Virtues 01/21/2023 |
We have been considering non-dualism as championed by MLK Jr and Pere Chenu, feminist writer Rosemary Ruether, Thich Nhat Hanh and many more. |
Non-dualism includes incorporating our desires (love) and moral outrage (anger) into our values and virtues, what we choose and what we stand for. Anything less than that is dualism and is, in Dr. King’s words, “strange and unbiblical.” | "Under Pressure" - anger and terror of witnessing the world's injustice, love "dar(ing) us to care for the people on the edge of the night." Queen and David Bowie, video by Nichts Nichts. |
As Rabbi Heschel teaches, “the source of evil is not in passion, the throbbing heart, but rather in hardness of heart, in
callousness and insensitivity.” Indeed, it is to passion that the prophets address themselves. We are stirred by their passion and enlivened imagination...It is to the imagination and the passions that the prophets speak, rather than aiming at the cold approbation of the mind. Chenu tells us how Aquinas insists that our passions are actually the subjects of virtues or the “seat of virtues” and calls this a “radical opinion on the nature of the human unity [that] was not popular in his day.” |
"... in the final analysis...our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional; every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole." Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech opposing
poverty, racism & militarism, one year before his assassination. Democracy Now! | In so doing, Aquinas took on St. Augustine and the entire dualistic tradition of the West. “Significantly, his opinion never wavered on this subject throughout his lifetime.” This non-dualism was at the heart of the three condemnations of Aquinas ten years after he died. |
The issue was “Aquinas’ position on the consubstantiality of soul and body, spirit and matter.” While his canonization in 1323 “removed the cloud of suspicion, intellectually Aquinas’ holism
never took hold.” The main issue, which is with us still today, was the oneness of human existence. This holism vigorously opposes the traditional position of a dualism of body and soul, a position originating with Saint
Augustine (you do not find it in the Bible) and in fact favorable to a certain Christian spiritualism which has endured right down to our own day. And, I would add, patriarchy. For dualists, one must “transcend matter with its limitations” to be spiritual. But, says Chenu, “to admit that God creates is implicitly to confess that matter is divinely willed and therefore good.” |
Thus, in the dynamic unity of the human reality, the instincts, the sensuality, and the tensions which are at the root of the passions are all authentic elements of the virtuous life; they share in the dignity of reason and love, and therefore in the human—and divine—value of our
lives. |
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Adapted from M. D. Chenu, “Body and Body Politic in the Creation Spirituality of Thomas Aquinas,” in Matthew Fox, ed., Western Spirituality: Historical Roots, Ecumenical Routes, pp. 194f.,
198-200.
And Fox, Christian Mystics, pp. 325, 332.
Banner Image: "If You Are Neutral in Situations of Injustice, You Have Chosen the Side of the Oppressor." Desmond Tutu quote on protestor's sign at Black Lives Matter protest, Manchester, England, 2020. Photo by Sushil Nash on Unsplash |
Queries for Contemplation Do you agree with Heschel that the source of evil is not in passion but in hardness and callousness of heart? And with Chenu and Aquinas that virtues are to be found in our passions for love and justice? What follows from that? |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, please click HERE
to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
Western Spirituality: Historical Roots, Ecumenical Routes In this book, Fox gathers scholars from various cultures and traditions such as Helen Kenik, Jon Sobrino, Nicolas Berdyaev, Rosemary Ruether, M. D. Chenu, Mary Jose Hobday, Ronald Miller, Monika Hellwig, James Kenney, Justin O’Brien and others to approach creation spirituality from many traditions and many angles.
“An
exciting and important book…a pleasant alternative to the oppressive burden of the fall/redemption tradition.” ~ New Review of Books and Religion | |
Christian Mystics: 365 Readings &
Meditations As Matthew Fox notes, when an aging Albert Einstein was asked if he had any regrets, he replied, “I wish I had read more of the mystics earlier in my life.” The 365 writings in Christian Mystics represent a
wide-ranging sampling of these readings for modern-day seekers of all faiths — or no faith. The visionaries quoted range from Julian of Norwich to Martin Luther King, Jr., from Thomas Merton to Dorothee Soelle and Thomas Berry. “Our world is in crisis, and we need road maps that can ground us I wisdom, inspire us to action, and help us gather our talents in service of compassion and justice. This revolutionary book does just that. Matthew Fox takes some of the most profound spiritual
teachings of the West and translates them into practical daily mediations. Study and practice these teachings. Take what’s in this book and teach it to the youth because the new generation cannot afford to suffer the spirit and ethical illiteracy of the past.” — Adam Bucko, spiritual activist and co-founder of the Reciprocity Foundation for Homeless Youth | |
See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE |
Join Matthew Fox as he speaks on “The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times” in a virtual event hosted by the Weber Retreat and Conference Center Thursday, January 26, 4:00pm-5:30pm PT. Register HERE. Join Matthew Fox for a lecture and Q&A on “The Reinvention of Work – A New Vision of Livelihood for Our Time” in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat. Thursday, March 16, 4:00-6:00 pm PT. Register HERE. Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Matthew Fox at the Center for Contemporary Mysticism discusses “Birthing a New World: Can Creation-Centered Spirituality Help Reclaim the Sacredness of the Earth?" | |
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