James Cutsinger

James Cutsinger
Born	(1953-05-04)May 4, 1953
Died	February 19, 2020(2020-02-19) (aged 66)
Title	Professor of Theology and Religious Thought
Academic work
Discipline	Religious studies
Institutions	University of South Carolina

James Sherman Cutsinger (May 4, 1953 – February 19, 2020) was an author, editor, and professor of religious studies (emeritus) at the University of South Carolina, whose works focused primarily on comparative religion, the modern Traditionalist School of perennial philosophy, Eastern Christian spirituality, and the mystical tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Early and personal life

Cutsinger earned his bachelor's degree in Political Theory, Russian Language and Literature at Cornell College in 1975 and his doctorate in Theology and Religious Thought at Harvard University in 1980.

Cutsinger died on February 19, 2020.

Career

Traditionalism

Cutsinger served as secretary to the Foundation for Traditional Studies and was a widely recognized authority on the Sophia Perennis, the traditionalist school, and comparative religion – subjects on which he wrote extensively. His works also focused on the theology and spirituality of the Christian East. He is perhaps best known however, for his work on Swiss philosopher and traditionalist, Frithjof Schuon.

Teaching

Cutsinger was a professor of Theology and Religious Thought at the University of South Carolina and an advocate of Socratic Teaching. The recipient of three University of South Carolina Mortar Board Excellence in Teaching awards, he was also named a Distinguished Honors Professor and was selected as one of his university's Michael J. Mungo Teachers of the Year (2011). He also served as director of three National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminars.

Bibliography

Books

• ; Foreword by Owen Barfield
• Reclaiming the Great Tradition: Evangelicals, Catholics, and Orthodox in Dialogue, ed. (InterVarsity Press, 1997)
• Not of This World: A Treasury of Christian Mysticism (World Wisdom, 2003)
• The Fullness of God: Frithjof Schuon on Christianity (World Wisdom, 2004)
• Prayer Fashions Man: Frithjof Schuon on the Spiritual Life (World Wisdom, 2005)

Translations of works by Frithjof Schuon

• Spiritual Perspectives and Human Facts (World Wisdom, 2007)
• Christianity/Islam: Perspectives on Esoteric Ecumenism (World Wisdom, 2008)
• Logic and Transcendence (World Wisdom, 2009)

Selected articles

• "Femininity, Hierarchy, and God", Religion of the Heart: Essays Presented to Frithjof Schuon, ed. Nasr and Stoddart (Foundation for Traditional Studies, 1991)
• "Listening More Closely to Schuon", ARIES: Association pour la Recherche de l'Information sur l'Esoterisme, 14 (1992)
• "The Mystery of the Two Natures", Sophia: Journal of Traditional Studies, 4:2 (1998) - also published as "Le Mystère des Deux Natures", Connaissance des Religions (Numero Hors Serie, 1999)
• "On Earth as It Is in Heaven: A Metaphysical Cosmogony", Sacred Web: A Journal of Tradition and Modernity, 1:1 (1998)

See also

• Christianity and other religions
• Christian mysticism
• Christian philosophy
• Ecumenism and interfaith dialogue
• Esoteric Christianity
• Orthodox Christian theology
• Philosophy of religion
• Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Further reading

• Real Audio clips of Hesychia: An Eastern Orthodox Opening to Esoteric Ecumenism (2001 Paths to the Heart Conference) Archived 2008-10-06 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Personal websute
• James Cutsinger’s life and work