Hildegard of Bingen

[p0lar_bear]

Two notes: the Barbarossa mentioned above is the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

Also: This discussion is going to be quite long (though I will break it up). Because this is such a touchy subject, it is important to be clear.



While Hildegard’s writings do have contradictions, overall they also have an incredible unity. Perhaps the central theme of all her work is the Incarnation. Hildegard understood the Incarnation as the center of all of history. The Incarnation was not a divine after-thought to deal with sin, it is the reason for creation in the first place. The world was created for the sake of the Incarnation. All of creation is, in a sense, viewed through the lens of the Incarnation (making her's a Incarnation spirituality rather than a creation spirituality as claimed by Matthew Fox). All the implications of this are beyond the scope of this discussion. However, in regard to the feminine divine, this Incarnation-centered view affects Hildegard’s understanding of the nature of humanity, the relationship between God and humanity, and the relationship between man and woman.

Another significant force in Hildegard’s writing and thought is Scripture. A large portion of her visions included exegesis of several different passages of Scripture. Since she was a young girl in Jutta’s care, Hildegard had learned, read, and sung Scripture. Her words often echo the words of Scripture, at times almost exactly. This deep knowledge of Scripture formed and informed all of her thought.

While a discussion on the feminine Divine in the writings of Hildegard of Bingen could easily include extensive treatment on her understanding of the Incarnation, man as a microcosm, and the importance of Mary, there is simply not room here to address all these areas. I am going to focus on Hildegard's understanding of humanity in light of the [i]imago dei[/i] and her use of Scripture in relation to her understanding of the feminine divine.

[Extra ecclesiam nulla salus]

im doing a music project on her and i saw ur post. She has great music and is a Great saint!


sam

[phatcatholic]

interesting......

[p0lar_bear]

[quote name='phatcatholic' date='Apr 28 2005, 03:54 AM'] interesting...... [/quote]
good interesting or bad interesting?

[phatcatholic]

[quote name='p0lar_bear' date='Apr 28 2005, 07:06 AM'] good interesting or bad interesting? [/quote]
"peaking-my-interest" interesting

i think i would have to see her statements about the "divine feminine" in context before i could really make a judgment about them. maybe you can provide some?

[p0lar_bear]

[quote name='phatcatholic' date='Apr 29 2005, 01:23 AM'] "peaking-my-interest" interesting

i think i would have to see her statements about the "divine feminine" in context before i could really make a judgment about them. maybe you can provide some? [/quote]
I'm getting there.

[p0lar_bear]

Throughout history, there have been a number of ways the [i]imago Dei [/i]and the nature of man and woman were understood. The basis of teachings on the imago Dei is, of course, found in the first creation account of Genesis. “God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27, RSV–CE). Every major Christian writer throughout history readily acceded that man was created in the image of God. Woman, however, was another question. In his letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul wrote: “[Man] is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man.” This has been interpreted by some to mean that woman was only a reflection of a reflection; she lacked the direct contact with God which man enjoyed. St. John Chrysostom, for example, maintained that the [i]imago Dei [/i]was in man only. St. Augustine maintained that woman was only in the image of God when united with her husband. Alone, she did not truly reflect the [i]imago Dei[/i]. In the 12th century, it was common to say that both man and woman reflected the [i]imago Dei[/i], but only in their rationality, not in their bodies. Taking what was still a rather revolutionary position, Hildegard maintained that man [i]and[/i] woman were directly and equally created in the image and likeness of God. In her view, woman reflected God no less than did man. In addition, this image was reflected in the entire person, body [i]and[/i] soul.

Aside from the understanding of the [i]imago Dei[/i], though often flowing from it, was the relationship between man and woman. Sr. Prudence Allen discusses the history of the understanding of this relationship in her work [u]The Concept of Woman[/u]. Before the coming of Christ, there were two primary ways of viewing man and woman in relation to each other. The first, sex unity, maintains that gender differences are purely physical, that the soul itself was without gender. This is seen particularly in the writings of Plato. The second, sex polarity, holds that there was a substantial difference between man and woman, and that man was superior to woman. Aristotle and the Jewish philosopher Philo both presented that view. With the Christian belief in the resurrection of the body and St. Paul’s teaching that in Christ there is neither male nor female, this position was tempered. Many presented an concept of sex unity in regard to heaven and sex polarity on earth. St. Augustine was, perhaps, the first to hint at a concept of sex complimentarity (that man and woman are distinct but equal), but this was only in regard to heaven.

In the Judeo-Christian tradition, this inferiority of woman was based on the [i]imago Dei[/i], as discussed above, and Eve’s role in the Fall. Woman’s inferiority was seen, in part, as her punishment for sinning and leading man into sin. For centuries, Scripture scholars and religious thinkers had placed the blame for the Fall squarely, at times exclusively, on Eve. Woman was presented as a temptress, leading man away from God into sin. This stigma stayed on woman even after Mary’s fiat, which was a reversal of Eve’s sin.


Next: Hildegard's concept of woman, and her take on the Fall.

[p0lar_bear]

Now where was I....right


Contrary to these positions, Hildegard presented a radical concept of sex complementarily. Man and woman needed each other and were created for each other. Since both man and woman were created in the imago Dei, both had dignity. In one of her medical texts, Cause et Cure, Hildegard discusses humanity as containing the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water). Aristotle maintained that man was primarily the higher two elements (fire and air), while woman was the lower two (water and earth). This, of course, played into his view of sex polarity. Hildegard alters Aristotle’s model significantly. For her, man is made primarily of the highest element (fire) and the lowest element (earth). Woman is made from the central two elements (air and water). In this view, neither man nor woman was fully superior or inferior to the other. Cause et Cure is not one of Hildegard’s visionary texts; she does not claim direct inspiration for it. Her anthropology was not based solely on visions, but also on her own observations and experiences.

Another source of Hildegard’s anthropology was the centrality of the Incarnation to history. All of creation was brought into being for the sake of the Incarnation. Woman was created from the beginning to give flesh to the Son of God. Eve was formed from the flesh of Adam, but in turn all of humanity came from Eve. This is expressed in one of her first visions. Hildegard quotes and provides and exegesis of I Corinthians 11:12, though she alters it some:

[quote]"As the woman is of the man, so is the man for the woman; but all are from God.” Which is to say: Woman was created for the sake of man, and man for the sake of woman. As he is from the man, the man is also from her (Scivias I, 2). [/quote]

That vision, which was of the creation and fall of man, also illustrates Hildegard’s rather unique view of the Fall. In the vision Eve is portrayed as a white cloud with many stars. She is portrayed this way because Eve “was invaded by the Devil through the seduction of the serpent.” While Eve did lead Adam to sin, she is portrayed as a victim used by the devil rather than a temptress in herself. In addition, the devil chose her not only because of her susceptibility, but also because he envied her for her fertility. While Hildegard doesn’t deny the guilt of Adam and Eve in the Fall, she places most of the responsibility for it on Satan.

While Hildegard’s view of woman was much more positive than other theologians, we should not take an overly utopian view of sex complementarity in her writings. According to Allen, she held to a fractional complementarity, in which “one sex necessarily had one aspect, and the other had the complement aspect.” Often with this fractional complementarity, one gender tends to have the less prestigious aspects. While Hildegard complements man’s strength with woman’s skill, woman is still to be subject to man:

[quote]Woman is weak and looks up to man to provide for her, just as the moon receives its strength from the sun. For this reason she is subject to man and should always be prepared to serve him (Book of Divine Works IV, 65).[/quote]

Here and in a number of other places, Hildegard reinforces the notion that woman should always be subject to man. In addition, when she castigates the clergy, it is often by accusing them of being “womanly” rather than fulfilling their office as God has ordained. Be that as it may, Hildegard’s sex complementarity foreshadowed the theological anthropology of Edith Stein and Pope John Paul II.

[p0lar_bear]

While Hildegard’s understanding of man and woman was without any real precedent, her use of the feminine divine was not. The wisdom literature of the Old Testament praised Sophia (wisdom) using the feminine. This is in part due to the fact that the word sophia is feminine. Unlike English, most Western languages assign gender to every noun. The praise of Wisdom in the feminine is, in part, an accident of grammar. However, tradition maintained a perception of Lady Wisdom. In Proverbs 8 Wisdom describes herself as eternal. Later, in the Wisdom of Solomon, Solomon describes her in images evocative of Christ. Wisdom is portrayed as being with God throughout history, playing a central and vital role. She is described as saving the world, as delivering those who trust in her and revealing the kingdom of God to them. She is also credited with bringing the Israelites through the Red Sea. In Ecclesiasticus, Wisdom provides a praise of herself, a praise befitting the divine.

In addition to the wisdom literature, God is portrayed in the feminine in many ways throughout the Scriptures. Notwithstanding the revelation of God as Father, God is repeatedly portrayed as a mother, particularly by the prophet Isaiah. In reference to Yahweh’s endless love for Israel, Isaiah speaks the words of God, “Does a woman forget the baby at the breast, or fail to cherish the son of her womb?” He likens God bringing the world into being to a woman giving birth. Later, Jerusalem is told to rejoice at being “suckled, filled, from [God’s] consoling breast.” In the book of Numbers, God is portrayed as conceiving, giving birth to, and nursing the nation of Israel.


(I can give citations and examples, but this is already really long, so I opted to leave them out.)

[p0lar_bear]

OK, so why did I just post a long discussion on Hildegard's theological anthropology and Scriptural references to the feminine divine?

Hildegard’s anthropology and the feminine images in Scripture provide us with a background for understanding her theology. In addition, it must be understood that Hildegard did not see her feminine images as in anyway negating or lessening the revelation of God as Father and Christ as Son. She had no intention of adding persons to the Trinity or setting up other gods. Her use of the feminine divine must be understood in the context of her whole theology, which had the Incarnation at its center and which repeatedly affirmed divine revelation as found in Scripture and in the Church. She used the feminine to describe God and to connect man and God. She did not advocate worship of a deity (feminine or otherwise) contrary to or apart from the Triune Christian God. In using the feminine, she did not intend to make these images into a person distinct from the God of Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac. These images are portrayals of that one God.

There is a strong correlation between Hildegard’s use of the feminine divine and her theological anthropology. As we have seen, Hildegard maintained that man and woman were equally created in the imago Dei. Femininity, then, no less than masculinity, must reflect something of the divine. It seems unclear which concept developed first or if they developed in conjunction with each other. However, it is clear that the two concepts are related. If there is something feminine in the divine, then woman must reflect God in a special way; if woman is made in the image of God, her femininity must be a reflection of something in God. One concept cannot fully exist without the other.

Hildegard uses both masculine and feminine images in reference to God. Barbara Newman explains that Hildegard tends to use the masculine when referring to unrepeatable events and the feminine when referring to eternal principles of interaction between God and humanity. “Where the feminine presides, God stoops to humanity and humanity aspires to God.” The primary example of God stooping to humanity is, of course, the Incarnation. The historical Christ is obviously referred to in the masculine, but the feminine refers to the eternal implications of that central Christ event. In general, Hildegard uses the masculine in reference to God's transcendence and the feminine in reference to God's immanence.



I'll give you some time to read and consider that...more later...

[phatcatholic]

yes, this will take much reading and considering......

[p0lar_bear]

You want the rest of it now or do you want me to wait?

[phatcatholic]

you can go ahead and post it

[p0lar_bear]

Hildegard uses a few different images for the feminine divine. The first image of the feminine divine presented in Hildegard’s visions is that of Mother. In Scivias I.4 Hildegard tells a parable of a soul and her search for her mother. Reminiscent of the Prodigal Son in the Gospel and the stories of Israel in the Old Testament, the soul had left her mother to follow the ways of evil and was seeking a way back home. She cries out “O mother, O mother Zion, what will become of me? And where is your noble daughter now? Oh how long, how long have I been deprived of your maternal sweetness.” Following the tradition of the Church Fathers, Hildegard also found the feminine divine in the parable of the woman with ten drachmas which appears between the stories of the good shepherd and the prodigal son. Hildegard refers to this woman as “sancta divinitas,” holy divinity. While others such as Augustine and Gregory the Great saw the woman as Sophia, Hildegard seems to view her more comprehensively as the feminine aspect of divinity. Both the image of mother Zion and sancta divinitas are obviously tied to Scripture. There are differences, but Hildegard’s interpretation of these feminine images does not significantly depart from the interpretations of earlier writers.

[p0lar_bear]

Aside from those examples, Hildegard’s use of the feminine divine generally centers around a figure portrayed alternatively as [i]Scientia Dei [/i](Knowledge of God), [i]Sapentia [/i](Wisdom–Sophia), and [i]Caritas [/i](Love). [i]Scientia Dei [/i]first appears in Scivias III, 4. The heavenly voice tells Hildegard:

[quote][S]he [[i]Scientia Dei[/i]] is incomprehensible to mortals, because of the dread radiance of divinity in her face. . . .She is with all and in all, and of beauty so great in her mystery that no one could know how sweetly she bears with people, and with what unfathomable mercy she spares them.[/quote]

[i]Scientia Dei[/i] is described by Newman as both providence and self-knowledge that comes from encounter with the divine.

When [i]Sapentia[/i] (Divine Wisdom) is introduced later in the [u]Scivias[/u], she is described in similar terms. The reader is reminded not only of [i]Scientia Dei [/i]but also of Wisdom-Sophia as portrayed in the Wisdom Literature.

[quote]And this figure represents the Wisdom of God, for through her all things are created and ruled by God. Her head shines like lightening with so much brilliance that you cannot look directly at it for . . . no human can understand fully the profound mystery of the Divinity. [/quote]

In this vision, [i]Sapentia[/i] is presented as the Divine Bride. This role is also assigned to [i]Caritas[/i] in [u]The Book of Life’s Merits[/u]. This marital image of the divine strongly corresponds to Hildegard’s understanding of the relationship between man and woman according to her theological anthropology, as discussed above. The love of husband and wife reflects the love within God.

While there are obviously references to the feminine divine in Hildegard’s first two volumes of visions, it would be fair to say that her strongest images are found in [u]The Book of Divine Works[/u]. The opening vision portrays a figure, who refers to herself in the feminine, saying:

[quote]I, the highest and fiery power, have kindled every spark of life. . . . I decide on all reality.

For I am life. I am also Reason, which bears inside itself the breath of the resounding Word, through which the whole of creation is made. [/quote]

This feminine figure is obviously presented as divine. Like the scriptural Sophia, she is also strongly associated with the Word, i.e. Christ. This association is reinforced later in [u]The Book of Divine Works[/u]:

[quote][T]he Word is found in Reason because Reason has the Word within itself. This is because Reason is already the Word and thus neither of them can be separate from the other.[/quote]

While this figure is referred to as Reason ([i]Rationalitas[/i]), it seems clear that she is identified with the figure of [i]Sapentia–Caritas.[/i]

It is common today to associate the feminine divine with the Holy Spirit or with a person or being separate from the revealed Trinity. Contrary to this concept, Hildegard’s concept of the feminine divine is inseparable from the Word and the event of the Incarnation. The feminine divine refers to the eternal predestination of the Son and to divine immanence, not a separate person or deity.