Bonaventure ‘The Seraphic Doctor’ with Andrew Baker (2 Sessions)
Bonaventure was the great theologian of the early Franciscans. He was the last flowering of Christian-Platonism before new theology inspired by Aristotle began to dominate in the west. To Bonaventure Love took precedence over Knowledge.
In this talk we will introduce his two most important mystical texts: The Soul’s Journey into God, which affirms the value of Nature and shows how God can be known in Creation in many ways while leading the soul to Truth beyond the Cloud of Unknowing, and The Tree of Life, a series of carefully structured meditations on the Gospel that use imagination to help us find God in all things. Seen in Platonic terms, these texts have meaning today and affirm both images and imagination.
Andrew Baker is a retired librarian, a composer and historical researcher. He has spent many years investigating Thomas Anson of Shugborough Hall, Staffordshire, and his influence on the 18th century Greek Revival in the Arts. This has led him the rediscovery of Anson’s friend, the composer Antonin Kammell, and to the philosopher Floyer Sydenham. In his compositions Andrew explores the language of music, and he explores the Spirit of Place in films with music.
This is a 2-session Zoom course – Fee £20