The great Franciscan theologian St. Bonaventure (c.1217-74) engaged in philosophy as well as theology, and the relation between the two in Bonaventure's work has long been debated. Yet, few studies have been devoted to Bonaventure's thought as a whole. In this survey, Christopher M. Cullen reveals Bonaventure as a great synthesizer, whose system of thought bridged the gap between theology and philosophy. The book is organized according to the categories of Bonaventure's own classic text, De reductione artium ad theologiam. Cullen follows Bonaventure's own division of the branches of philosophy and theology, analyzing them as separate but related entities. He shows that Bonaventure was a scholastic, whose mysticism was grounded in systematic theological and philosophical reasoning. He presents a fresh and nuanced perspective on Bonaventure's debt to Augustine, while clarifying Aristotle's influence. Cullen also puts Bonaventure's ideas in context of his time and place, contributing significantly to our understanding of the medieval world. This accessible introduction provides a much-needed overview of Bonaventure's thought. Cullen offers a clear and rare reading of "Bonaventurianism" in and for itself, without the complications of critique and comparison. This book promises to become a standard text on Bonaventure, useful for students and scholars of philosophy, theology, medieval studies, and the history of Christianity.

"Bibliographical notations": p. xvii-xviii.

'But if you wish to know how these things come about ask grace not instruction, desire not understanding, the groaning of prayer not diligent reading, the Spouse not the teacher, God not man, darkness not clarity, not light but the fire that totally enflames and carries us into God by ecstatic unctions and burning affections. This fire is God and his furnace is in Jerusalem...' --Bonaventure, 1217-1274

Bonaventure was a great pastor and preacher, and also a very effective teacher. His writing shows clarity and conviction, and his authority arose from his profound grasp of Scripture and patristic monastic tradition. The force behind how he wrote sprang from his keen sense of the significance of Francis and Clare and all that flowed from them, not least into his own spiritual life and experience as a person of deep contemplative and mystical prayer. Way Back to God is a comprehensive conspectus and study of how Bonaventure taught Christian theology and applied it to spiritual life. It is intended to be a guide through most of his writings (though not as a substitute for reading them). It provides a bridge into his thought, and also a remarkable hand-book of Christian theology in its bearing upon spiritual life. Douglas Dales' new work enables Bonaventure's distinctive spiritual theology to be seen as a whole, as well as making his writings, in Latin or English, accessible and attractive.

Although Bonaventurian scholarship has seen a great expansion in the past forty years, there remains no English volume that provides a general yet detailed study of Bonaventure for scholars. The Companion to Bonaventure provides an invaluable guide to understanding him. Together the essays deliver a critical overview of the current research, the major themes in Bonaventure’s life and writings, and how they are being reinterpreted at the start of the twenty-first century. As a great 13th century scholastic luminary, Bonaventure exists as a vital contributor to the early Franciscan movement that swept across the theological and spiritual landscape of the High Middle Ages. The paradoxical simplicity and complexity of Bonaventure’s synthesis has made, and will continue to provide, a profound contributions to Franciscan and Christian reflection. This Companion will help in understanding why this is the case. Contributors include: Joshua Benson, Jacques Bougerol, Ilia Delio, Christopher Cullen, Jared Goff, Jay M. Hammond, Zachary Hayes, J. A. Wayne Hellmann, Kevin L. Hughes, Timothy J. Johnson, David Keck, Gregory LaNave, Pietro Maranesi, Dominic V. Monti, and Marianne Schlosser.