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Media Kit
The Fullness of God is the first in a new series of titles featuring the essential writings of Frithjof Schuon. Here for the first time in one volume are the most important of Schuon’s chapters on the Christian tradition. The book is edited by James Cutsinger, Antoine Faivre contributed a foreword.
the Fullness of God has been organized in such a way as to guide the reader from matters of metaphysical principle, through various theological and hermeneutical issues, to “operative” questions of spiritual practice and method. Specific topics include the relationship between Christianity and non-Christian religions; the divergence within Christianity between its main branches, Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant; the place of reason and faith and their connection to spiritual knowledge or gnosis; the principles and applications of a mystical exegesis of Scripture; the central dogmas of the Trinity and Incarnation, as well as Eucharistic and Marian doctrine; and Christian initiation, contemplative practice, and “prayer of the heart”.
The volume concludes with a short appendix of previously unpublished material, including samples from Schuon’s correspondence with Christian seekers. Editor’s notes, a glossary of foreign terms, and a comprehensive index are also included.
About the Author(s)
Frithjof Schuon
Frithjof Schuon (1907-1998) is best known as the foremost spokesman of the “Traditionalist” or “Perennialist” school and as a philosopher in the metaphysical current of Shankara and Plato. He wrote more than two dozen books on metaphysical, spiritual, artistic, and ethnic themes and was a regular contributor to journals on comparative religion in both Europe and America. Schuon’s writings have been consistently featured and reviewed in a wide range of scholarly and philosophical publications around the world, respected by both scholars and spiritual authorities. Besides his prose writings, Schuon was also a prolific poet and a gifted painter of images that always portrayed the beauty and power of the divine, and the nobility and virtue of primordial humanity.
World Wisdom features a series titled “The Writings of Frithjof Schuon”, which includes many new editions of classic books by Schuon in new translations and with additional materials. Our online Library contains many articles and poems written by Frithjof Schuon, allowing readers to see a representative sample of his remarkable body of work.
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James Cutsinger
James S. Cutsinger (1953-2020) was an author, editor, and teacher whose writings focus primarily on Perennialism and the theology and spirituality of the Christian East. He was professor of Theology and Religious Thought at the University of South Carolina for almost 40 years. Prof. Cutsinger edited a series of new editions of books by Frithjof Schuon.
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Antoine Faivre
Antoine Faivre is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études and Chair of the History of Esoteric Currents in Modern and Contemporary Europe (Sorbonne). Professor Faivre’s books in English include Access to Western Esotericism, The Golden Fleece and Alchemy, The Eternal Hermes, and Theosophy, Imagination, Tradition; he is editor (with Jacob Needleman) of Modern Esoteric Spirituality.Prof. Faivre contributed the foreword to The Fullness of God: Frithjof Schuon on Christianity .
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Reviews
- The Christian message could not be more misunderstood or distorted than it is at present, and Schuon, by returning it to its ‘Primordial’ and ‘essential’ roots, pours new wine into what can seem at times like a an exhausted vessel. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone, of any faith, who seeks both renewal and enlightenment.
Sir John Tavener, composer and author, from a review in Temenos
- …Schuon’s emphasis that God is the center and all paths lead to Him, reminds one of John Hick’s Copernican Revolution, moving from a Christocentric to a theo-centric understanding, by which the different religious traditions are all in some way or other related to the same God. Yet this selection of writings, ably assembled by James Cutsinger, Professor of Theology and Religious Thought at the University of South Carolina, is not so much about religious traditions outside Christianity, but focuses mainly on Christianity itself. Cutsinger calls Schuon “one of the greatest spiritual teachers of our time,” and “one of the twentieth century’s foremost authorities on the world’s religions” (xviii). He also considers Schuon rightly a man of prayer. Schuon was brought up as a Protestant, and then became a Roman Catholic, but was also friends with representatives from many other religious traditions, from Hinduism to native Americans and Shamans. Deeply steeped in the Christian religious tradition, Schuon has an amazing command of the Church Fathers and the Church’s artistic, spiritual, and liturgical traditions.… [Schuon] makes us look at our own tradition with different eyes, widening our view without becoming superficial. This book is worth reading even if one does not agree with some of the author’s assumptions.
Hans Schwarz, University of Regensburg, writing in the Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies
- For the first time, The Fullness of God collects from Schuon’s vast corpus his writings on Christianity, including selections from his personal correspondence and other previously unpublished materials. The inward, universal, and essential message of the nature of Christian spirituality shines through clearly on every page.
Banyen Books and Sound
- The gathering of the most important texts of Frithjof Schuon on Christianity (at least a third of his writings deal with this religion) is a very worthy project. It allows Christian readers, and others, to access spiritual materials that they would never have been able to access otherwise.
In The Fullness of God we can find an astonishing number of facets of Christianity whose meaning may seem obscure or contradictory; however, Schuon elucidates all with extraordinary clarity. For example, he demonstrates the riches of scriptural passages on Christ or the Blessed Virgin; offers keys to unlocking the profound meaning of prayers such as the Pater Noster, the Ave Maria, the Psalms, etc.; unravels complex theological issues that stand between fellow Christians; and explains why different denominations exist within the framework of a single religion.
One thing is certain: if readers want to ‘understand’ objectively what Christianity is and to rediscover its deepest meaning in order to love it and live it, the reading of these texts by Schuon will be a wonderful source of renewal and enlightenment.Jean-Pierre Lafouge, Marquette University
- This is “Understanding Christianity,” to parallel the title of Schuon’s best-selling classic on Islam. James Cutsinger has gathered a florilegium of Schuon’s illuminating insights into Christianity. The editor’s notes will be unobtrusively helpful to many readers. The Fullness of God is a must-read for any person who senses that something essential is lacking in most of what is routinely considered as Christianity today.
Patrick Laude, Georgetown University
- “God became man so that man might become God,” writes St Athanasius the Great. This great patristic voice, far from being radical or unique, as we moderns may think, really bespeaks of the essential purpose of the Christian faith: leading man towards mystical union with God in Christ. In The Fullness of God Professor James Cutsinger does a masterful job presenting us with Frithjof Schuon’s profound insights into the nature of Christianity. Schuon starts from a metaphysical understanding of Christ’s theandric reality and through this Christic prism Schuon leads the reader through a wide array of Christian themes. It seems that no stone has gone unturned for Schuon and his insights and approach into the Christian faith cannot but be refreshing, challenging, and inspiring for all serious seekers whether one agrees with all his assessments or not. I personally have been deeply moved by Schuon’s work and through it I have been aided towards a remembrance that goal of the Christian life is to live in ‘all the fullness of God.’
Rev. Fr. Mark T. Mancuso, a priest of the Orthodox Church
- Frithjof Schuon is undoubtedly one of the most penetrating exponents of the relationship between religion and metaphysics. Professor Cutsinger has done us a great service in bringing together Schuon’s widely scattered comments relative to Christianity. The insights of this wonderful book are essential for anyone who wishes to penetrate the depths of the Christian tradition.
Rama Coormaraswamy, author of The Invocation of the Name of Jesus: As Practiced in the Western Church and The Destruction of the Christian Tradition
- In these radiant essays the master metaphysician of our time expounds Christianity’s distinctive features and relates them to the immutable principles which comprise the essence of all integral traditions. At a time when the Christian message is more widely misunderstood and distorted than ever before, Schuon’s work beckons a return to the well-springs of an authentic Christian spirituality. Readers will find in this beautifully produced anthology a veritable treasure-house of Christian wisdom as well as practical guidance on the spiritual path.
Harry Oldmeadow, La Trobe University Bendigo, and author of Traditionalism: Religion in the light of the Perennial Philosophy
- The Fullness of God: Frithjof Schuon on Christianity is both a compelling and stimulating read for students (at any level) of theology and philosophy, and a source of quiet insights and ascetic discipline for those seeking spiritual guidance. That one book can offer such diversity is a witness to the skill not only of Schuon, whose work has inspired generations of seekers after truth in all cultures, but also to the Editor, James Cutsinger. His editorial additions and explanations provide an essential gloss on this challenging author’s writings, and the upshot is an accessible yet scholarly read.
Hannah Hunt, independent scholar working in Patristics and Early Church history in universities throughout England
- Frithjof Schuon is well known as one of the greatest metaphysicians of the twentieth century and as Traditionalism’s wisest and most profound exponent. This book, however, reveals something quite different. It shows that Schuon, the metaphysician, was also a Christian theologian of exceptional depth and understanding, one who was able to penetrate Christian dogma and mystery brilliantly from within. This is not a book ‘about’ Christianity; it is the very thing itself. It is a work of mystical theology of the highest order, sparkling with passionate feeling and continuously convincing the reader with the living truth and luminosity of its insights.
Christopher Bamford, author of The Voice of the Eagle: The Heart of Celtic Christianity and An Endless Trace: The Passionate Pursuit of Wisdom in the West
- One cannot recommend too strongly that all Christians and non-Christians who hope to go deeper into Christianity or who hope to open themselves to a universalistic perspective should undertake the reading of this remarkable summa of metaphysics.
Jean-Baptiste Aymard, writing in Connaissances des Religions
