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On behalf of The Eckhart Society, I would like to welcome you to Medieval Mystical Theology 29.2. This issue comprises papers that were presented at the 32nd Annual Eckhart Conference on the theme ...

This article explores how Meister Eckhart's understanding of Christ is necessarily connected to his approach to biblical exegesis. So much so that it is argued that the two cannot be separated. The article begins by broadly outlining modern historical and literal approaches to biblical exegesis shared by both faith-based and rational accounts of Christianity. I then discuss why Eckhart's hermeneutics differ radically from these modern interpretations, before elucidating the nature and scope of his spiritual interpretation of scripture. Developing this further I demonstrate how, for Eckhart, Christ is found in and through the spiritual sense of scripture, so that the scriptures are not merely about Christ but are the source in which to find him as him. The significance and implications of this are then examined and Eckhart's interpretation of Christ established.

This paper identifies five different uses of the word ‘nothing’ in the work of Meister Eckhart. These senses of nothing are understood to function within an ontological hierarchy, beginning with the understanding that all nothings are things, and moving in ascending order to the assertions that all things are nothing, that things are nothing but God, nothing but God, and finally God as Nothing. This scale of degrees is ultimately understood to mean that the nothings are nothinged by the nothinger nothinged. The mystical, theological, and philosophical implications of this are then discussed. Accordingly, the metaphysical significance of the word ‘nothing’ as relative rejection, rather than absolute denial, is seen to point to a grammatical ground as opposed to a grammatical fiction.

With individual and institutional subscriptions steadily increasing world-wide and a healthy stock of papers constantly being received from international authors, the journal’s reputation appears to be growing positively. With this in mind, and to help with the added pressure, I am delighted to welcome three associate editors to the team. These are, Dr Joseph Milne, Dr Rico Monge, and Dr Rebecca Stephens. Both Joseph and Rebecca are stalwarts and long-serving trustees of The Eckhart Society, and possibly share the record for contributions to the journal when it was under the name of the Eckhart Review. Both bring with them a wealth of academic and editorial experience. Joseph is also the editor of a journal for the Henry George Foundation called Land and Liberty, while Rebecca is also a novelist. Rico previously served as a guest editor for volume 21, number 1, of Medieval Mystical Theology, a process made that much easier by his enthusiasm, organization, and professionalism. Rico is based in the US and will represent the journal at conferences while also looking out for quality papers. In July 2014, I was pleased to organize with my colleagues, David Lewin and Simon Podmore, an enjoyable and successful conference titled, Mystical Theology and Continental Philosophy: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. This collaboration between the Mystical Theology Network and the Association for Continental Philosophy of Religion was held at Liverpool Hope University, and attracted a strong international delegation of speakers bringing with them a thought-provoking array of papers. Prominent at the conference were our publishers, Maney, and I would like to thank Liverpool Hope University, The Eckhart Society, and Ashgate for generously sponsoring different aspects of the event. Selected proceedings from the conference will be published as part of an ongoing series by Ashgate, while a good number of authors have also expressed an interest or have already sent their papers to MMT for consideration. I hope you enjoy the papers in this present issue as well as the introduction from Martin Ganeri, who was responsible for first gathering the authors together for this comparative theme that comprised the 26 Annual Eckhart Society Conference. medieval mystical theology, Vol. 23 No. 2, November, 2014, 99