The Fullness of God: Frithjof Schuon on Christianity

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It is a curious fact in the history of religions that Christianity, which took the form of a spiritual “way” (Acts 24:22) from its very beginning, and which continues to offer its initiates the means of seeing “the glory of God” (John 11:40) and of becoming “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4), should have become so adept at concealing the significance of its deepest and most transformative truths, “kept secret since the world began” (Romans 16:25), that serious Christian seekers in our day often forsake their religion in favor of such traditions as Yoga and Zen, where the promises of realization can be more easily discerned and where methods of spiritual development are often more accessible.…Most Christians…seem altogether unaware of the fact that such things are still possible and that the attainment of so exalted a station of knowledge and union is precisely the purpose of their tradition.

With these words Professor James Cutsinger begins his introduction to The Fullness of God: Frithjof Schuon on Christianity. In this volume, Professor Cutsinger presents 15 of Schuon’s essays that are most pertinent to the Christian tradition. He has mapped a current within Schuon’s work that is indispensable to anyone wishing to understand Christianity as a system of religious thought and an authentic path for the spiritual wayfarer. Christians will find here both support and challenges essential to strengthening and understanding their faith and, alongside non-Christian readers, will find a sustained depth of insight into the faith that is, unfortunately, increasingly rare. The common ground between Christianity and other faiths and the unique ‘perfume’ of the Christian form are both considered here, in a manner both profound and rigorous.

Of great interest to those familiar with Schuon’s work is the selection of previously unpublished material–and for the reader unfamiliar with certain details of the Christian tradition, Professor Cutsinger’s editorial notes will be indispensable.

This slideshow will explore and attempt to highlight a few of the very profound insights found in The Fullness of God. Almost all of the block quotations in this slideshow are from the writings of Frithjof Schuon and are taken from The Fullness of God (chapter titles and page citations are given in parentheses).