The Radiance of Being: Dimensions of Cosmic Christianity

by Stratford Caldecott

The Radiance of Being offers nothing less than a portrayal of the full glory of Catholic tradition. From an initial engagement with the insights of the natural sciences emerges a spiritual vision of the metaphysical depth and dimension of mystery to the cosmos, allowing the reader's mind to awaken to the coherence, beauty, intensity of life, and depth of structure of the natural world--the holiness of creation and all contained therein.Conversant with Islam, Buddhism, non-dualist traditions, as well as myriad mystical elements and esoteric currents within Christianity, the author builds a brilliant symphonic work whose master theme is the Trinity. To the urgent questions asked--in response to the crises besetting the modern world--about the nature of reality and the meaning of existence, of what it means to be human, Stratford Caldecott puts forward a clear and compelling answer in language accessible to Being is radiant because it is a gift, not only from the Trinity, but also within the Trinity itself; and, in the end, the meaning of existence is love.

Genres: Theology, Philosophy, Faith, Catholic, Religion

304 pages, Paperback

First published April 26, 2013

About the author

Stratford Caldecott MA (Oxon.), STD, was a Senior Contributor at The Imaginative Conservative, editor of the Humanum Review (online book review journal of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute), and co-editor of Second Spring and the UK/Ireland edition of Magnificat.

He had served as senior editor at Routledge, HarperCollins, T&T Clark, Sophia Institute Press, and as a commissioning editor for the Catholic Truth Society in London. He served on the editorial boards of Communio, The Chesterton Review, and Oasis.

Dr. Caldecott was the G.K. Chesterton Research Fellow at St. Benet’s Hall, Oxford.

He received an honorary doctorate in Theology from the John Paul II Institute in Washington, D.C.

He blogged at:
http://thechristianmysteries.blogspot...
http://beauty-in-education.blogspot.com/

Reviews

[Iohannes]

if you want to OD on esoteric Balthasarian Thomism inject this in ur veins

[Julie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rereading and am still somewhat over my head but also still loving this book so much. My original review is below.

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The book is in three parts, concerned respectively with the nature of nature, the nature of God, and the nature of divine Wisdom. It opens in Part One with some reflections on the history of science and cosmology, using the metaphor of "light" to suggest a bridge between scientific and religious thought. Part Two, about our conceptions of God, is largely concerned with the notion of the Trinity, which makes Christianity so unique among the religions of the world. Part Three explores the intimate relationship between God and man — man viewed as the link or mediator between God and the rest of creation.

The doctrine of the Trinity ... makes sense of human life as a whole. It is the Key that opens every lock, an insight that reveals the center of the universe. It shows us the pattern that underlies physics, history, psychology, economics, and the arts. It is the most beautiful, elegant, and simple doctrine in the world — a true "theory of everything.

This is my latest book crush. The way that Stratford Caldecott honestly and unsparingly looks at the nature of science and world religions (which is as far as I've gotten) and sees where they might show us something new about the Catholic faith has been mind blowing. And, never fear, just when you think he's tipping over the edge into something that doesn't agree with the faith, he pulls up and reorients everything so that we see the orthodox faith shining through. Definitely over my head in places but I loved it. Really extraordinary.

[Rex · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Radiance of Being is my first foray into the oeuvre of the much-praised and well-remembered Stratford Caldecott. The topic--the fullness and manifestation of being--is one of great interest to me. Caldecott examines the topic in light of science, theology, and mysticism. Although his basic orientation is Christian and Catholic, Caldecott actively engages other religious viewpoints (including apparent heterodoxies) where he thinks they may be reconciled to Christian truth. That his meditations culminate in sophiological speculation indicates the kind of grand cosmic vision he is aiming for.

As one would hope from the blurbs by outstanding Christian thinkers, this is book has substance and scope. Every one of its fifteen chapters is meaty, and his arguments in each could receive their own book. In fact, that is The Radiance of Being's primary weakness, in my eyes. Areas where I was already familiar with his sources, I would nod in recognition and approval; areas where I was unfamiliar with his sources, I would think almost without exception, "That's an interesting idea, but it needs more development." Caldecott amasses a host of valuable (perhaps even vital) thoughts and perspectives from other authors, and although he suggests fundamental sympathies between them, he never really attempts an effective synthesis. And because he moves so rapidly through profound or weighty concepts of such diversity, one almost feels at times as if one is consuming a book-length introduction.

To be sure, there is a lot to explore here, and I made the acquaintance of a number of previously unfamiliar thinkers. But to appreciate everything Caldecott is doing here, one really needs to enter with an existing basic facility for scientific, theological, and philosophical thought, and be ready to follow up with a further investigation of his sources. The Radiance of Being may thus be seen as a kind of intellectual way station for students seeking further insight into the Wisdom that illuminates existence.

[mausoliam · Rating 5 out of 5]

my life is now pre and post caldecott

[Mary Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not what I expected, but it was an eye-opener just the same! This is metaphysics to the max. Not being a physicist or biologist, I learned something on every page. Will be re-reading soon with a pen in hand! My first read turned into a laying out of the landscape so I could get a feel for what the author was trying to convey and at least setting up a framework with which to return for another level of understanding. This is a book of essays. And not all of them seem to fit together into a coherent whole. The ideas expressed are enlivening and remarkable, but the topics so big (or so small) that pondering them became difficult at times. My general knowledge background was not sufficient to hold the author's ideas together for long. I am going to look at references and try again, however, as the coherence of Caldecott's ideas would be wonderful to understand.

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fascinating exploration into the more esoteric side of Christianity [specifically Catholicism] and world religions. The author does a good job of being honest as he tows the line between faithfulness to exoteric dogmas and integrating the dogmas of other wisdom traditions and even contemporary science too. He acknowledges when he maybe stretching it as well, but I was most happy to see how his esotericism didn't forsake the exoteric but deepened it. This book also covered Catholicism and Perennial Traditionalism too, I came to a similar conclusion he did that the Perennial Traditionalism was in fact Catholicism.