Being and Creation in the Theology of John Scottus Eriugena

Despite his prominent role in the formation of Christian thought, John Scottus Eriugena still remains an enigmatic figure whose background and potential arouse a great deal of scholarly interest. This is true especially today, when faith seeks to regenerate: his honesty and profundity encourage us in our search for the authentic teaching of Christ. As a theologian who strongly believes in human dignity as equal to that of the imago dei, Eriugena helps us meet Christ again and follow him towards a new horizon of being. What makes Eriugena's theology unique is his innovative approach to theological thinking, which is to be properly understood, as argued in this book, in terms of the paradigmatic shift from metaphysics to dialectic. The way we think, while trying to adopt and follow the truth of revelation so as to get freed from the world of finite things, cannot actually dispense with a dialectical treatment of contradiction. And Eriugena is explicit about this, which allows him to win a reputation as the ""Hegel of the ninth century"" and to make us look at our faith anew in coherence with such pivotal ideas as the divine unity, right reason, and return to the reality of creation. ""Sergei Sushkov's book, for which we should be deeply grateful, is the result of meticulous scholarship and makes clear to the reader the thought of a major, and often unjustly neglected, figure in Christian theology, a careful thinker towards unity within broad reaches of culture that provides a model for reason in our present world, fragmented as it is by religious differences and intellectual incoherences."" --David Jasper, from the foreword ""With his deep appreciation of western philosophy, Dr. Sushkov has shown the ways in which John Scottus Eriugena may be located in a tradition of thought connecting Parmenides and Hegel. Providing a welcome addition to the philosophical literature on Eriugena, this study confirms the enduring significance of his work."" --David Fergusson, University of Edinburgh ""Sergei Sushkov's new study presents widely-neglected Eriugena as a thinker for our time, offering a holistic view of Christian faith that chimes with broad contemporary trends in spirituality. At the same time as drawing on Russian scholarship in the field, Sushkov also offers a fascinating insight into the possible links between Eriugena and Islamic philosophy, reinforcing his contemporary relevance."" --George Pattison, University of Glasgow, author of Kierkegaard's Upbuilding Dialogues Sergei Sushkov is a graduate of Moscow State University and University of Glasgow. For a number of years he taught (in English) Masters' courses at St. Tikhon's Orthodox University and Presidential Academy in Moscow. At present, he is working on the project of synthesis of philosophy and religion, bringing into focus of investigations the paradigmatic shift in theological thinking (from metaphysics to dialectic) concerned about knowing reality as creation.