Prisca theologia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisca_theologia

Create account

Log in

Article Talk

Read Edit Vi

Search

Prisca theologia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia Interaction Help About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact Wikipedia Toolbox Print/export Languages Nederlands Edit links Contents [hide] 1 History 2 See also 3 Notes 4 Further reading

Prisca theologia is the doctrine within the field of comparative religious studies that asserts that a single, true, theology exists, which threads through all religions, and which was given by God to man in antiquity. [1][2]

History

[edit]

The term prisca theologia appears to have been first used by Marsilio Ficino in the fifteenth century. Ficino and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola endeavored to reform the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church by means of the writings of the prisca theologia, which they believed was reflected in Neoplatonism, Hermeticism, and the Chaldean Oracles, among other sources. [3] The Enlightenment tended to view all religion as cultural variations on a common anthropological theme;[4] however, the Enlightenment, which tended to deny the validity of any form of revealed religion, held in very little esteem the idea of a prisca theologia. The doctrine (if it may be called that) of a prisca theologia is held by, among others, Rosicrucianism. [5] Prisca theologia is distinguishable from the related concept of the so-called perennial philosophy , although some inadvertently use the two terms interchangeably. An essential difference is that the prisca theologia is understood as existing in pure form only in ancient times, and has undergone a process of continuous decline and dilution throughout modern times. In other words, the oldest religious principles and practices are held to be, in some sense, the purest. The perennial philosophy theory does not make this stipulation, and merely asserts that the 'true religion' periodically manifests itself in different times, places, and forms. Both concepts, however, do suppose that there is such a thing as a 'true religion', and tend to agree on the basic characteristics associated with this true religion.

See also
Perennial philosophy Ecumenism Hermeticism Pre-Adamite Syncretism

[edit]

Notes

[edit]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisca_theologia[5/4/2013 3:30:17 PM]

Prisca theologia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 1. ^ Yates, F., Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition, Routledge, London, 1964, pp 1418 and pp 433434 2. ^ Hanegraaff, W. J., New Age Religion and Western Culture, SUNY, 1998, p 360. 3. ^ Heiser, James D., Prisci Theologi and the Hermetic Reformation in the Fifteenth Century , Repristination Press, 2011. ISBN 978-1-4610-9382-4 4. ^ Natural Religion and the History of Priestcraft 1660-1722 Chapter 5 from, The Pillars of Priestcraft Shaken: The Church of England and its Enemies, 1660-1730 (1992), by Justin Champion, ISBN 0-52140536-X 5. ^ Hegel and the Hermetic Tradition by Glenn Alexander Magee

Further reading
Hanegraaff, Wouter J. "Tradition". In: Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism (Wouter J. Hanegraaff, ed.), pp.11251135. Brill, 2006. ISBN 90-04-15231-8. Hankins, James. Plato in the Italian Renaissance , 2 vols. Brill, 1990. ISBN 90-04-09161-0. Categories: Religious comparison

[edit]

This page was last modified on 21 March 2013 at 21:03. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Contact Wikipedia Mobile view

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisca_theologia[5/4/2013 3:30:17 PM]