Bruno and Nicholas of Cusa

Giordano Bruno (1548–1600) and Nicholas of Cusa (1401–1464) provided a unique interpretation of God and the universe within their conceptual framework of time. Although some influences of Nicholas of Cusa upon Bruno's ideas are often ignored or misconstrued, together they reflect both the theological and philosophical turmoil that faced the Catholic Church in the 15th and 16th centuries. Advancements in science, philosophy, and the desire for freedom from dogmatic thought had brought serious consequences to these dynamic thinkers. Accusations ranging from heresy, apostasies, blasphemy, to the critical responses from known scientists and their accepted theories had brought periodic censure to Nicholas of Cusa and condemned Bruno to death. The commonalities and differences that can be seen in the fate of these two philosopher-theologians are due to the ideas within their embodied views.

The influence of Platonic and Neoplatonic thought found throughout the views of both Nicholas of Cusa and Bruno are expressed in the shared commonalities regarding the spatiotemporal nature of God and the universe. Infinite and eternal, the cosmos emanates and is constituted from the One (Absolute) in a materialistic interpretation of God. Mysticism, mathematics, and the unity of contradictions provided a comprehensive account of the diversity or plurality found in nature and was associated with the very nature of God; albeit, humankind can never fully understand God. In their theological and philosophical perspectives, not only is God constituted in the material of the known universe (monistic and pantheistic), but also God is indivisible.

Although such views are intriguing, at least from a philosophical perspective, these postulations regarding God, the universe, and humankind's place in nature directly challenged the philosophical underpinnings of Catholic theology and other theological denominations. As for the Catholic Church, the Christian interpretation of Aristotle as presented by Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) was dogmatically pervasive during this time, as it is today. The postulated views of Nicholas of Cusa and Bruno proved to negate basic church doctrine, especially the conceptual framework of time as represented in the church's divine revelation by God. Further implications regarding holy scripture, Christology, the Holy Trinity, and salvation and redemption are apparent. In regarding these issues, the differences between Nicholas of Cusa and Bruno become evident.

In the intellectual timeline, Nicholas of Cusa was a link between Aristotle and Bruno. He held that humankind is in a state of “learned ignorance” and is incapable of understanding the unity and infinity of the Absolute Maximum and Absolute Minimum of the One or from Absolute Necessity, that is, God within the conceptual framework of the Trinity. Within this framework, the coincidence of contradictions and opposites are united and embodied as One, which humankind can only perceive as separate and distinct. Infinity regarding these concepts was represented by analogies drawn from the mathematical properties of lines, triangles, circles, and spheres, and even motion. It is these analogies of mathematics that allow humankind to arrive at and differentiate divine truth and the infinity of truth.

The cosmos (which includes humankind), by its very nature, is only a “contracted” maximum, a reflection or mere copy of the Absolute Maximum. In this regard, the cosmos had a distinct beginning. The infinity and the eternal nature of the cosmos become the only significant link with the Absolute Maximum. For Nicholas of Cusa, Christianity was unique and paramount within the unification of [Page 112]the Absolute Maximum and Absolute Minimum within the contracted universe, for Christ Incarnate became a focal point within unity as depicted in the Trinity. Just as God is constituted and contrasted with humankind, Christ embodied both perspectives simultaneously. Christ's nature was both Absolute Maximum and Absolute Minimum within the contracted nature of the cosmos. This allowed Christ to transcend death and enabled humankind to know God. The mysteries of faith steeped in mysticism seek to provide individuals the path, via Christian love, toward the Church. This union of individuals, such as is expressed by the congregation, becomes united with Jesus Christ on whose existence humankind depends.

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