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Through the Zohar, the major medieval kabbalistic work, the human body is used in order to symbolise the divine structure. Present throughout are also dire warnings against the dangers of the flesh – a sense of anxiety often surrounds matters of the body. This study examines how the central notion of the body as created in God’s image relates to the negative zoharic characterizations of the body and further, how notions of gender and Jewish religious affiliation are reflected in the zoharic views of the body. The results show that characterizations of the body can work to reinforce boundaries and define the own group. The female body is valued differently than the male, the Jewish differently than the non-Jewish body. The idealized human body belongs to the circumcised Jewish male who adheres to proper religious behaviour. The aim of this thesis is to enrich our understanding of the human body as depicted in the major kabbalistic tradition of the Zohar.

This study contains ideas, insights, and analysis from a diverse range of realms - theater, the science of religions, general and Persian literature, the classical world, and philosophy. I invite you to step into those realms, looking at the primal roots and processes that evolved into the different conceptions in them. Together we will stroll in the pathways carved in bygone ages, before the forming of stage performances, on the one hand, and of the mystical ceremony, on the other. In this study I do not intend to move historically between periods but to connect ideas and phenomena.

The fourteenth-century mystical text, The Cloud of Unknowing, has received much scholarly attention through the years, yet scholars rarely take notice of the role of gender in the Cloud-author's theology. The text may be written by a male priest to a presumably male novice, but we can in no way infer from these details that the text is thereby masculine. Quite the contrary, it is the purpose of this thesis to demonstrate that the Cloud-author rather openly locates his text on the feminine pole of the masculine/feminine binary system, and that he does so in order to define his approach to contemplation over and against those approaches considered dominant at the time. Rather than emphasizing reason and intellect as the primary means of achieving knowledge of the divine, the Cloud-author stresses the superiority of the will as the faculty in and through which divine union occurs, and he teaches that love alone makes this union possible. Because the faculty of will has long been associated with the feminine end of the binary, and reason, language, and intellect with the masculine end, the author of The Cloud of Unknowing thus not only privileges a feminine position but actively discounts traditionally masculine ways of knowing. / Master of Arts

This thesis examines the parallels between two distinct disciplines: Architecture and Roman Catholic Mysticism. The argument centers on these disciplines' connection to the world of corporeal things and examines the convergence and divergence of the disciplines in this respect It is argued that whereas the mystic is compelled by his vocation to simply notice the beauty and the truth and the goodness of things as the work of God, the architect is required to attempt to improve things through the craft of his occupation. The poetry of Michelangelo serves as a relevant case study. / Master of Architecture

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Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Este trabalho aborda a mística que subjaz a teologia de Martinho Lutero. Passando pela influência da mística medieval na teologia de Lutero, pelo embate com o movimento entusiasta, destacamos as nuances místicas da teologia de Lutero. Por meio de uma pesquisa bibliográfica, apresentam-se as tendências atuais em relação ao tema. Destaca-se a pesquisa realizada pela pesquisa finlandesa, iniciada por Tuomo Mannermaa que tem destacado a importância do conceito de unio mystica na teologia Lutero. Apresentaremos igualmente a diversificação desta pesquisa e sua recepção pelos teólogos alemães e norte-americanos. Também a contribuição de Lutero para a reflexão latino-americana é trazida à luz, destacando-se as convergências da mística de Lutero com a mística da Libertação. O primeiro capítulo deste trabalho aborda o contexto de Lutero. No segundo capítulo será abordada a crítica que Lutero faz à mística especulativa que influenciou o movimento entusiasta e a mística presente na teologia de Lutero. O terceiro capítulo apresenta o panorama atual da pesquisa da mística em Lutero. A contribuição finlandesa é a mais significativa nesta área. Na pesquisa finlandesa a presença de Cristo na fé é central. Sem esta presença real seria impossível falar de unio. Ademais, apresentaremos a diversificação da escola finlandesa e as recepções nos âmbitos da teologia alemã e norte-americana. O movimento final de nosso trabalho será refletir sobre as contribuições da mística de Lutero para a reflexão atual sobre mística cristã para nosso contexto. / The subject of this paper is the mysticism which underlies Martin Luthers theology. Passing through the influence of medieval mysticism in Luthers theology and through the confrontation with the enthusiast movement, we point out the mystical nuances of Luthers theology. Through bibliographic research, the current tendencies with regard to this theme are presented. We highlight the research carried out by the Finnish researchers, initiated by Tuomo Mannermaa who has pointed out the importance of the concept of unio mystica in Luthers theology. Likewise, we will present the diversification of this research and its reception by the German and North American theologians. Luthers contribution to Latin American reflection will be brought to light, highlighting the convergences of Luthers mysticism with the Liberation mysticism. The first chapter will deal with Luthers context. The second chapter will deal with the criticism which Luther made of the speculative mysticism which influenced the enthusiast movement and the mysticism present in Luthers theology. The third chapter presents the current panorama of the research on mysticism in Luther. The Finnish contribution is the most significant in this area. In the Finnish research the presence of Christ in the faith is central. Without this real presence it would be impossible to speak of unio. Besides this, we will present the diversification of the Finnish school and receptions in the areas of German and North American theology. The final movement of our paper will be to reflect on the contributions of Luthers mysticism for the current reflection on Christian mysticism for our context.