The works of Jacob Boehme and the currents of Christian theosophy and Pietism
Key points
Argues that Boehme's theosophy, expressed through an esoteric psychology of the soul's union with divinity via Sophia, represents a significant current within Western esotericism, emerging as a response to Lutheran orthodoxy.
Abstract
This chapter examines the works of Jacob Boehme on theosophy and its relation to the history of Western esotericism. During the 17th and 18th centuries, esotericism found particular expression in the currents of Christian theosophy and Pietism which arose in response to the hardening orthodoxy of the Lutheran Reformation. Boehme established early his reputation as a leading Protestant mystic. His works present an esoteric psychology of the individual soul and its union with divinity through the mediation of Sophia.