St. Bonaventure: The Coincidence of Opposites and Christ the Center

Author

Andrew Coval, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University

Date of Award

2002

Document Type

Graduate Paper

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Systematic Theology

Department

School of Theology and Seminary

First Advisor

Helen Rolfson, OSF

Subject Categories

Christianity | History of Christianity | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Abstract

In this paper I establish what Ewert Cousins has cailed "the coincidence of opposites" as a window into the structure of St. Bonaventure's thought, which ultimately converges on Christ. By tracing this pattern of the coincidence of opposites through distinct areas of Bonaventure's theology, including the Trinity, Exemplarity, and the Incarnation, the Christocentrism of Bonaventure's thought emerges. Along the way, I also consider several arguments against the logic of the coincidence of opposites in Bonaventure. Ultimately, the Christological focus of the logic accomplishes Bonaventure's central goal of locating an experience of Christ within the ground of all reality, uniting a personal spirituality with a universal metaphysics.

Comments

Access restricted to College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University on-campus users.

Recommended Citation

Coval, Andrew, "St. Bonaventure: The Coincidence of Opposites and Christ the Center" (2002). School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses. 883.
https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/sot_papers/883