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The Absolute of Plotinus and Sartre's Temporal Exstasis

  • Jesus and the woman at the well/Plotinus Ennead 3 tractate 8 (contemplation)

    Plotinus Paradigm on Creativity of God Similar to John 4-9...

    Saturday 04 of March, 2006

    This comparison of Plotinus' Ennead 3 tractate 8 section 9 with the comment Jesus made, or rather the dialogue that Jesus had with the women at the well in Samaria is from the publlic domain version of the enneads by McKenna and Page, I believe, and if not I will correct it.

    Ennead 3 tractate 8 is on 'contemplation' and is somewhat more difficult to locate on-line. The paradigms that Plotinus may have drawn from the New Testament are interesting. Jesus as 'The One' mentioning creativity from 'the source' corresponds to what Plotinus would logically infer a couple centuries later about the nature of God.

    Ennead Tractate 8-9 “9. Clearly a Being of this nature is not the primal existent; there must exist that which transcends it, that Being (the Absolute), to which all our discussion has been leading. In the first place, Plurality is later than Unity. The Intellectual-Principle is a number (= the expression of a plurality); and number derives from unity: the source of a number such as this must be the authentically One. Further, it is the sum of an Intellectual-Being with the object of its Intellection, so that it is a duality; and, given this duality, we must find what exists before it. “

    Ennead 3 Tractate 8-10 “The potentiality of the Universe: the potentiality whose non-existence would mean the non-existence of all the Universe and even of the Intellectual-Principle which is the primal Life and all Life.

    This Principle on the thither side of Life is the cause of Life- for that Manifestation of Life which is the Universe of things is not the First Activity; it is itself poured forth, so to speak, like water from a spring.

    Imagine a spring that has no source outside itself; it gives itself to all the rivers, yet is never exhausted by what they take, but remains always integrally as it was; the tides that proceed from it are at one within it before they run their several ways, yet all, in some sense, know beforehand down what channels they will pour their streams. “

    The Gospel of John 4 has a parallel paradigm about the everlasting water of life that flows from God. The ‘water’ is the absolute creativity of God that Plotinus mentioned above…

    John 4-9 “Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. 10Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 11The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 15The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. 16Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. 17The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 18For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. 19The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.”“

    Voted for by GaryCGibson.
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