The Beshara Lecture 2017: Nothingness and Gratitude
July 22, 2017 (3pm)
Speaker: George Pattison, 1640 Chair of Divinity, University of Glasgow.
Location: St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation & Peace, London, UK.
Course Description
Nothingness is one of the key terms of the Western mystical tradition. Mystical texts portray the self as called upon to become or to recognise that it is nothing before God, who is all in all. Yet, at the same time, Christianity, like other monotheistic faiths, calls on humans to ‘give thanks always’ (St Paul), suggesting that, in some way, we stand over against God and are free to accept or refuse the gifts God bestows upon us. Nothingness and gratitude in this way illustrate two different aspects or movements of spiritual life and the lecture will explore the relationship between them with reference to major figures of the Abrahamic traditions.
Speaker
George Pattison is a theologian and an Anglican priest with particular interests in philosophy – notably Kierkegaard, Heidegger and Dostoyevsky – and the theology of art and film. He has held the 1640 Chair of Divinity at the University of Glasgow since 2103. Before this, he was the Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford from 2004 to 2013 and a Canon of Christ Church Cathedral.
A recent interview with George Pattison can be found here:
https://besharamagazine.org/metaphysics-spirituality/george-pattison-mysticism-in-comparative-perspective/
Booking
Booking: https://beshara-lecture.eventbrite.co.uk
For further details, please contact: trust@beshara.org
Course / Event location
St Ethelburga’s Centre for Peace & Reconciliation
78 Bishopsgate
London
EC2N 4AG
