Meister Eckhart the Mystic

God Himself works [within]. 267. — 3. The moral person does not fulfill the commandments of God as if toward a Lord This reflects the mystic view that a truly spiritual person acts out of love and nature, not out of a sense of external legalistic obligation.. 268. — 4. The moral person may do as they will. 269. — 5. Morality is without struggle. 271. —

12. Education for Morality . . . . . . . . . 274

The ideal and actual imperfection. Practice in the good. 274. — Trained and untrained people. 275. — Imperfection of the saints. 275. — Temptation does not cease. 276. — The struggle against inclination 277. — Virtue of temperament. 278. — Self-observation. 278. — Gradual overcoming of "naturalness" The state of being driven by biological or worldly instincts rather than the spirit.. 279. — Love 280. — The seven deadly sins. 280. —

13. Instruction for the Blessed Life . . . . . . . . . 280

1. No opposition between the sacred and the profane. 281. — 2. Against self-mortification original: "Selbstpeinigung". 284. — 3. No external rules. 286. — 4. Against pious gestures and sentimental bliss. 287. — 5. Softening of Antinomianism (Antinomismus): The theological idea that the "saved" are not bound by moral laws, a view often attributed to radicals; the author here likely discusses how to balance spiritual freedom with moral order. 289. —

14. The Perfectly Sanctified . . . . . . . . . . 292

V. Revelation and the Church . . . . . . . . . . 295

1. Holy Scripture . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Authority of Scripture. 296. — Allegorical interpretation. 296. — Ambiguity. 297. — The condition for understanding is being filled with the Spirit of God. 298. — Scripture is not the highest source of truth. 298. — Visions are not a source of truth. 299. —

2. Sin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

1. Evil as negation. Sin as remaining in Selfhood (Eigenheit): Clinging to one's own individual will and ego rather than yielding to God. 301. — 2. The Fall of Man. Lucifer. Creationism (Creatianismus): The doctrine that God creates a new soul for every human being at birth, rather than souls being pre-existent or inherited. Original sin. 303. — 3. Sin as a means in the divine plan for the world. 306. — 4. Degrees of sin. 308. —

3. Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

1. Christ as creature. 309. — 2. Christ’s miraculous birth, his union with the Word original: "das Wort" (the Logos).. 310. — 3. Christ’s perfect virtue 313. — 4. Union of divine and human nature. 315. — 5. Christ as a moral example. 317. —

4. The Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

1. The Roman Church, Pope, Clergy, universal priesthood. 321. — 2. The saints, relics, Mary. 323. — 3. Sacraments. The number seven. The Lord's Supper. Confession. Baptism. Marriage. 325. — 4. Prayer 329. —

5. The Last Things . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

1. Blessedness The state of eternal joy in God.. 335. — 2. Hell. 337. — 3. Purgatory. The Last Judgment. Resurrection. 339. —

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341