This paper aims to situate St. Gerard of Cenad's position in apocalyptic millenarianism as differentia specifica in genus proximum of the doctrinal position of the Church, subscribing to the thesis that Gerard's position constituted an attempt to connect the Jewish apocalyptic literature and the Christian millennarialism. It argues that St. Gerard of Cenad used the hymnal poetry of the prophet Daniel not only in order to invocate as theological argument "the inter-Testamentary unit"the fact that, in hermeneutic terms, the Old Testament announces the New Testament or "the coming of Jesus" -, but also to criticize the arbitrary and unbelieving power and to transmit to it and to all those who "rise" against the faith, alike Nebuchadnezzar in olden times, an apocalyptic admonishment.
The paper aims to circumscribe, through a specific history of ideas approach, the relevance of Benedict Spinoza’s theological rationalism to the major debate which generated the Early Enlightenment, the radical conception on the new status of philosophy in relation to theology, on libertas philosophandi and rational philosophizing. The main lines of Spinoza’s theological rationalism are sustained as being inspired and encouraged by Hobbes’ “negative theology,” the only theology considered consonant with the “true philosophy.” The paper also indicates the originality of Spinoza’s theological criticism and the reasons under which Hobbes—despite the radicalism of his biblical interpretation and of his thesis of separating the philosophy (natural science) from theology—Hobbes enjoyed an attenuated critical reception compared to that one applied to Spinoza and the “acute” tone of which was set by Leibniz.
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