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Apophatic theology, also known as negative theology, is a form of theological thinking and religious practice which attempts to approach God, the Divine, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may not be said about the perfect goodness that is
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
. It forms a pair together with cataphatic theology, which approaches God or the Divine by affirmations or positive statements about what God ''is''. The apophatic tradition is often, though not always, allied with the approach of mysticism, which aims at the vision of God, the perception of the divine reality beyond the realm of ordinary perception.


Etymology and definition

"Apophatic", grc, ἀπόφασις ( noun); from ἀπόφημι ''apophēmi'', meaning 'to deny'. From '' Online Etymology Dictionary'': ''Via negativa'' or ''via negationis'' ( Latin), 'negative way' or 'by way of denial'. The negative way forms a pair together with the ''
kataphatic Cataphatic theology or kataphatic theology is theology that uses "positive" terminology to describe or refer to the divine – specifically, God – i.e. terminology that describes or refers to what the divine is believed to be, in con ...
'' or positive way. According to Deirdre Carabine,


Origins and development

According to Fagenblat, "negative theology is as old as philosophy itself;" elements of it can be found in
Plato's unwritten doctrines Plato's so-called unwritten doctrines are metaphysical theories ascribed to him by his students and other ancient philosophers but not clearly formulated in his writings. In recent research, they are sometimes known as Plato's 'principle theory' ( ...
, while it is also present in
Neo-Platonic Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some id ...
, Gnostic and early Christian writers. A tendency to apophatic thought can also be found in Philo of Alexandria. According to Carabine, "apophasis proper" in Greek thought starts with Neo-Platonism, with its speculations about the nature of the One, culminating in the works of Proclus. Carabine writes that there are two major points in the development of apophatic theology, namely the fusion of the Jewish tradition with Platonic philosophy in the writings of Philo, and the works of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, who infused Christian thought with Neo-Platonic ideas. The
Early Church Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical pe ...
were influenced by Philo, and Meredith even states that Philo "is the real founder of the apophatic tradition." Yet, it was with Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and
Maximus the Confessor Maximus the Confessor ( el, Μάξιμος ὁ Ὁμολογητής), also spelt Maximos, otherwise known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople ( – 13 August 662), was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In his earl ...
, whose writings shaped both Hesychasm, the contemplative tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the mystical traditions of western Europe, that apophatic theology became a central element of Christian theology and contemplative practice.


Greek philosophy


Pre-Socratic

For the ancient Greeks, knowledge of the gods was essential for proper worship. Poets had an important responsibility in this regard, and a central question was how knowledge of the Divine forms can be attained.
Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany season, or Epipha ...
played an essential role in attaining this knowledge.
Xenophanes Xenophanes of Colophon (; grc, Ξενοφάνης ὁ Κολοφώνιος ; c. 570 – c. 478 BC) was a Greek philosopher, theologian, poet, and critic of Homer from Ionia who travelled throughout the Greek-speaking world in early Classical ...
(c. 570 – c. 475 BC) noted that the knowledge of the Divine forms is restrained by the human imagination, and Greek philosophers realized that this knowledge can only be mediated through myth and visual representations, which are culture-dependent. According to Herodotus (484–425 BC), Homer and Hesiod (between 750 and 650 BC) taught the Greek the knowledge of the Divine bodies of the Gods. The ancient Greek poet Hesiod (between 750 and 650 BC) describes in his '' Theogony'' the birth of the gods and creation of the world, which became an " ur-text for programmatic, first-person epiphanic narratives in Greek literature," but also "explores the necessary limitations placed on human access to the divine." According to Platt, the statement of the Muses who grant Hesiod knowledge of the Gods "actually accords better with the logic of apophatic religious thought." Parmenides (fl. late sixth or early fifth century BC), in his poem ''On Nature'', gives an account of a revelation on two ways of inquiry. "The way of conviction" explores Being, true reality ("what-is"), which is "What is ungenerated and deathless,/whole and uniform, and still and perfect." "The way of opinion" is the world of appearances, in which one's sensory faculties lead to conceptions which are false and deceitful. His distinction between unchanging Truth and shifting opinion is reflected in Plato's
allegory of the Cave The Allegory of the Cave, or Plato's Cave, is an allegory presented by the Greek philosopher Plato in his work ''Republic'' (514a–520a) to compare "the effect of education ( παιδεία) and the lack of it on our nature". It is written as ...
. Together with the Biblical story of Moses's ascent of Mount Sinai, it is used by Gregory of Nyssa and Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite to give a Christian account of the ascent of the soul toward God. Cook notes that Parmenides poem is a religious account of a mystical journey, akin to the mystery cults, giving a philosophical form to a religious outlook. Cook further notes that the philosopher's task is to "attempt through 'negative' thinking to tear themselves loose from all that frustrates their pursuit of wisdom."


Plato

Plato (428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC), "deciding for Parmenides against Heraclitus" and his theory of eternal change, had a strong influence on the development of apophatic thought. Plato further explored Parmenides's idea of timeless truth in his dialogue '' Parmenides'', which is a treatment of the eternal forms, ''Truth, Beauty and Goodness'', which are the real aims for knowledge. The Theory of Forms is Plato's answer to the problem how one fundamental reality or unchanging essence can admit of many changing phenomena, other than by dismissing them as being mere illusion. In '' The Republic'', Plato argues that the "real objects of knowledge are not the changing objects of the senses, but the immutable Forms," stating that the '' Form of the Good'' is the highest object of knowledge. His argument culminates in the
Allegory of the Cave The Allegory of the Cave, or Plato's Cave, is an allegory presented by the Greek philosopher Plato in his work ''Republic'' (514a–520a) to compare "the effect of education ( παιδεία) and the lack of it on our nature". It is written as ...
, in which he argues that humans are like prisoners in a cave, who can only see shadows of the Real, the ''Form of the Good''. Humans are to be educated to search for knowledge, by turning away from their bodily desires toward higher contemplation, culminating in an intellectual understanding or apprehension of the Forms, c.q. the "first principles of all knowledge." According to Cook, the ''Theory of Forms'' has a theological flavour, and had a strong influence on the ideas of his Neo-Platonist interpreters Proclus and Plotinus. The pursuit of ''Truth, Beauty and Goodness'' became a central element in the apophatic tradition, but nevertheless, according to Carabine "Plato himself cannot be regarded as the founder of the negative way." Carabine warns not to read later Neo-Platonic and Christian understandings into Plato, and notes that Plato did not identify his Forms with "one transcendent source," an identification which his later interpreters made.


Middle Platonism

Middle Platonism Middle Platonism is the modern name given to a stage in the development of Platonic philosophy, lasting from about 90 BC – when Antiochus of Ascalon rejected the scepticism of the new Academy – until the development of neoplatonism u ...
(1st century BC–3rd century AD) further investigated Plato's "Unwritten Doctrines," which drew on Pythagoras' first principles of the
Monad Monad may refer to: Philosophy * Monad (philosophy), a term meaning "unit" **Monism, the concept of "one essence" in the metaphysical and theological theory ** Monad (Gnosticism), the most primal aspect of God in Gnosticism * ''Great Monad'', an ...
and the
Dyad Dyad or dyade may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dyad (music), a set of two notes or pitches * ''Dyad'' (novel), by Michael Brodsky, 1989 * ''Dyad'' (video game), 2012 * ''Dyad 1909'' and ''Dyad 1929'', ballets by Wayne McGregor Other uses ...
(matter). Middle Platonism proposed a hierarchy of being, with God as its first principle at its top, identifying it with Plato's ''Form of the Good''. An influential proponent of Middle Platonism was Philo (c. 25 BC–c. 50 AD), who employed Middle Platonic philosophy in his interpretation of the Hebrew scriptures, and asserted a strong influence on early Christianity. According to Craig D. Allert, "Philo made a monumental contribution to the creation of a vocabulary for use in negative statements about God." For Philo, God is undescribable, and he uses terms which emphasize God's transcendence.


Neo-Platonism

Neo-Platonism was a mystical or contemplative form of Platonism, which "developed outside the mainstream of Academic Platonism." It started with the writings of Plotinus (204/5–270 AD), and ended with the closing of the Platonic Academy by Emperor Justinian in 529 AD, when the pagan traditions were ousted. It is a product of Hellenistic syncretism, which developed due to the crossover between Greek thought and the Jewish scriptures, and also gave birth to Gnosticism. Proclus was the last head of the Platonic Academy; his student Pseudo-Dinosysius had a far-stretching Neo-Platonic influence on Christianity and Christian mysticism.


Plotinus

Plotinus Plotinus (; grc-gre, Πλωτῖνος, ''Plōtînos'';  – 270 CE) was a philosopher in the Hellenistic tradition, born and raised in Roman Egypt. Plotinus is regarded by modern scholarship as the founder of Neoplatonism. His teacher wa ...
(204/5–270 AD) was the founder of Neo-Platonism. In the Neo-Platonic philosophy of Plotinus and Proclus, the first principle became even more elevated as a radical unity, which was presented as an unknowable Absolute. For Plotinus, the ''One'' is the first principle, from which everything else emanates. He took it from Plato's writings, identifying the Good of the '' Republic'', as the cause of the other Forms, with the ''One'' of the first hypothesis of the second part of the '' Parmenides''. For Plotinus, the ''One'' precedes the
Forms Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens. Form also refers to: *Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data * ...
, and "is beyond Mind and indeed beyond Being." From the ''One'' comes the
Intellect In the study of the human mind, intellect refers to, describes, and identifies the ability of the human mind to reach correct conclusions about what is true and what is false in reality; and how to solve problems. Derived from the Ancient Gre ...
, which contains all the Forms. The ''One'' is the principle of Being, while the Forms are the principle of the essence of beings, and the intelligibility which can recognize them as such. Plotinus's third principle is Soul, the desire for objects external to itself. The highest satisfaction of desire is the contemplation of the ''One'', which unites all existents "as a single, all-pervasive reality." The ''One'' is radically simple, and does not even have self-knowledge, since self-knowledge would imply multiplicity. Nevertheless, Plotinus does urge for a search for the Absolute, turning inward and becoming aware of the "presence of the intellect in the human soul," initiating an ascent of the soul by
abstraction Abstraction in its main sense is a conceptual process wherein general rules and concepts are derived from the usage and classification of specific examples, literal ("real" or "concrete") signifiers, first principles, or other methods. "An abst ...
or "taking away," culminating in a sudden appearance of the ''One''. In the '' Enneads'' Plotinus writes: Carabine notes that Plotinus' apophasis is not just a mental exercise, an acknowledgement of the unknowability of the ''One'', but a means to ''
ecstasis Ecstasy (from the Ancient Greek ἔκστασις ''ekstasis'', "to be or stand outside oneself, a removal to elsewhere" from ''ek-'' "out," and ''stasis'' "a stand, or a standoff of forces") is a term used in existential philosophy to mean "ou ...
'' and an ascent to "the unapproachable light that is God." Pao-Shen Ho, investigating what are Plotinus' methods for reaching '' henosis'', concludes that "Plotinus' mystical teaching is made up of two practices only, namely philosophy and negative theology." According to Moore, Plotinus appeals to the "non-discursive, intuitive faculty of the soul," by "calling for a sort of prayer, an invocation of the deity, that will permit the soul to lift itself up to the unmediated, direct, and intimate contemplation of that which exceeds it (V.1.6)." Pao-Shen Ho further notes that "for Plotinus, mystical experience is irreducible to philosophical arguments." The argumentation about ''henosis'' is preceded by the actual experience of it, and can only be understood when ''henosis'' has been attained. Ho further notes that Plotinus's writings have a didactic flavour, aiming to "bring his own soul and ''the souls of others'' by way of
Intellect In the study of the human mind, intellect refers to, describes, and identifies the ability of the human mind to reach correct conclusions about what is true and what is false in reality; and how to solve problems. Derived from the Ancient Gre ...
to union with the One." As such, the ''Enneads'' as a spiritual or ascetic teaching device, akin to ''
The Cloud of Unknowing ''The Cloud of Unknowing'' (Middle English: ''The Cloude of Unknowyng'') is an anonymous work of Christian mysticism written in Middle English in the latter half of the 14th century. The text is a spiritual guide on contemplative prayer in th ...
'', demonstrating the methods of philosophical and apophatic inquiry. Ultimately, this leads to silence and the abandonment of all intellectual inquiry, leaving contemplation and unity.


Proclus

Proclus (412-485) introduced the terminology used in apophatic and cataphatic theology. He did this in the second book of his ''Platonic Theology'', arguing that Plato states that the ''One'' can be revealed "through analogy," and that "through negations 'dia ton apophaseon''its transcendence over everything can be shown." For Proclus, apophatic and cataphatic theology form a contemplatory pair, with the apophatic approach corresponding to the manifestation of the world from the ''One'', and cataphatic theology corresponding to the return to the ''One''. The analogies are affirmations which direct us toward the ''One'', while the negations underlie the confirmations, being closer to the ''One''. According to Luz, Proclus also attracted students from other faiths, including the Samaritan Marinus. Luz notes that "Marinus' Samaritan origins with its Abrahamic notion of a single
ineffable Ineffability is the quality of something that surpasses the capacity of language to express it, often being in the form of a taboo or incomprehensible term. This property is commonly associated with philosophy, aspects of existence, and similar ...
Name of God () should also have been in many ways compatible with the school's ineffable and apophatic divine principle."


Christianity


Apostolic Age

The
Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...
mentions "the silence of the perpetual choir in heaven." According to Dan Merkur,


Early Church Fathers

The
Early Church Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical pe ...
were influenced by Philo (c. 25 BC – c. 50 AD), who saw Moses as "the model of human virtue and Sinai as the archetype of man's ascent into the "luminous darkness" of God." His interpretation of Moses was followed by Clement of Alexandria,
Origen Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theolo ...
, the Cappadocian Fathers, Pseudo-Dionysius, and Maximus the Confessor. God's appearance to Moses in the
burning bush The burning bush (or the unburnt bush) refers to an event recorded in the Jewish Torah (as also in the biblical Old Testament). It is described in the third chapter of the Book of Exodus as having occurred on Mount Horeb. According to the bibl ...
was often elaborated on by the Early Church Fathers, especially Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335 – c. 395), realizing the fundamental unknowability of God; an exegesis which continued in the medieval mystical tradition. Their response is that, although God is unknowable, Jesus as person can be followed, since "following Christ is the human way of seeing God."
Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen an ...
(c. 150 – c. 215) was an early proponent of apophatic theology. Clement holds that God is unknowable, although God's unknowability, concerns only his essence, not his energies, or powers. According to R.A. Baker, in Clement's writings the term ''theoria'' develops further from a mere intellectual "seeing" toward a spiritual form of contemplation. Clement's apophatic theology or philosophy is closely related to this kind of ''theoria'' and the "mystic vision of the soul." For Clement, God is transcendent and immanent. According to Baker, Clement's apophaticism is mainly driven not by Biblical texts, but by the Platonic tradition. His conception of an ineffable God is a synthesis of Plato and Philo, as seen from a Biblical perspective. According to Osborne, it is a synthesis in a Biblical framework; according to Baker, while the Platonic tradition accounts for the negative approach, the Biblical tradition accounts for the positive approach. ''Theoria'' and abstraction is the means to conceive of this ineffable God; it is preceded by dispassion. According to
Tertullian Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of La ...
(c. 155 – c. 240), Saint
Cyril of Jerusalem Cyril of Jerusalem ( el, Κύριλλος Α΄ Ἱεροσολύμων, ''Kýrillos A Ierosolýmon''; la, Cyrillus Hierosolymitanus; 313 386 AD) was a theologian of the early Church. About the end of 350 AD he succeeded Maximus as Bishop of ...
(313-386), in his ''
Catechetical Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the re ...
Homilies A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ex ...
'', states:
Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...
(354-430) defined God ''aliud, aliud valde'', meaning "other, completely other", in '' Confessions'' 7.10.16, wrote ''Si nimcomprehendis, non est Deus'', meaning "if you understand omething it is not God", in ''Sermo 117.3.5'' ('' PL'' 38, 663), and a famous legend tells that, while walking along the Mediterranean shoreline meditating on the mystery of the Trinity, he met a child who with a seashell (or a little pail) was trying to pour the whole sea into a small hole dug in the sand. Augustine told him that it was impossible to enclose the immensity of the sea in such a small opening, and the child replied that it was equally impossible to try to understand the infinity of God within the limited confines of the human mind.


The Chalcedonian Christological dogma

The
Christological In Christianity, Christology (from the Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Christ", is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Differ ...
dogma, formulated by the
Fourth Ecumenical Council The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bithy ...
held in
Chalcedon Chalcedon ( or ; , sometimes transliterated as ''Chalkedon'') was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the city ...
in 451, is based on
dyophysitism In Christian theology, dyophysitism (Greek: δυοφυσιτισμός, from δυο (''dyo''), meaning "two" and φύσις (''physis''), meaning "nature") is the Christological position that two natures, divine and human, exist in the person of ...
and hypostatic union, concepts used to describe the union of humanity and divinity in a single hypostasis, or individual existence, that of Jesus
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
. This remains transcendent to our rational categories, a mystery which has to be guarded by apophatic language, as it is a personal union of a singularly unique kind.


Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

Apophatic theology found its most influential expression in the works of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (late 5th to early 6th century), a student of Proclus (412-485) who combined a Christian worldview with Neo-Platonic ideas. He is a constant factor in the contemplative tradition of the eastern Orthodox Churches, and from the 9th century onwards his writings also had a strong impact on western mysticism. Dionysius the Areopagite was a pseudonym, taken from
Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
chapter 17, in which
Paul Paul may refer to: * Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...
gives a missionary speech to the court of the Areopagus in Athens. In Paul makes a reference to an altar-inscription, dedicated to the Unknown God, "a safety measure honoring foreign gods still unknown to the Hellenistic world." For Paul, Jesus Christ is this unknown God, and as a result of Paul's speech Dionysius the Areopagite converts to Christianity. Yet, according to Stang, for Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite Athens is also the place of Neo-Platonic wisdom, and the term "unknown God" is a reversal of Paul's preaching toward an integration of Christianity with Neo-Platonism, and the union with the "unknown God." According to Corrigan and Harrington, "Dionysius' central concern is how a triune God, ... who is utterly unknowable, unrestricted being, beyond individual substances, beyond even goodness, can become manifest to, in, and through the whole of creation in order to bring back all things to the hidden darkness of their source." Drawing on Neo-Platonism, Pseudo-Dionysius described human ascent to divinity as a process of purgation, illumination and union. Another Neo-Platonic influence was his description of the cosmos as a series of hierarchies, which overcome the distance between God and humans.


Eastern Orthodox Christianity

In Orthodox Christianity apophatic theology is taught as superior to cataphatic theology. The fourth-century
Cappadocian Fathers The Cappadocian Fathers, also traditionally known as the Three Cappadocians, are Basil the Great (330–379), who was bishop of Caesarea; Basil's younger brother Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335 – c. 395), who was bishop of Nyssa; and a close friend, ...
stated a belief in the existence of God, but an existence unlike that of everything else: everything else that exists was created, but the Creator transcends this existence, is uncreated. The essence of God is completely unknowable; mankind can acquire an incomplete knowledge of God in His
attributes Attribute may refer to: * Attribute (philosophy), an extrinsic property of an object * Attribute (research), a characteristic of an object * Grammatical modifier, in natural languages * Attribute (computing) In computing, an attribute is a sp ...
(''propria''), positive and negative, by reflecting upon and participating in His self-revelatory operations (''energeiai''). Gregory of Nyssa (c.335-c.395),
John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος; 14 September 407) was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of ab ...
(c. 349 – 407), and
Basil the Great Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great ( grc, Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, ''Hágios Basíleios ho Mégas''; cop, Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ; 330 – January 1 or 2, 379), was a bishop of Cae ...
(329-379) emphasized the importance of negative theology to an orthodox understanding of God. John of Damascus (c.675/676–749) employed negative theology when he wrote that positive statements about God reveal "not the nature, but the things around the nature."
Maximus the Confessor Maximus the Confessor ( el, Μάξιμος ὁ Ὁμολογητής), also spelt Maximos, otherwise known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople ( – 13 August 662), was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In his earl ...
(580-622) took over Pseudo-Dionysius' ideas, and had a strong influence on the theology and contemplative practices of the Eastern Orthodox Churches.
Gregory Palamas Gregory Palamas ( el, Γρηγόριος Παλαμᾶς; c. 1296 – 1359) was a Byzantine Greek theologian and Eastern Orthodox cleric of the late Byzantine period. A monk of Mount Athos (modern Greece) and later archbishop of Thessaloniki, he ...
(1296–1359) formulated the definite theology of Hesychasm, the Eastern Orthodox practices of
contemplative prayer Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative presence of God" ...
and theosis, "deification." Influential 20th-century Orthodox theologians include the Neo-Palamist writers Vladimir Lossky, John Meyendorff, John S. Romanides, and Georges Florovsky. Lossky argues, based on his reading of Dionysius and Maximus Confessor, that positive theology is always inferior to negative theology, which is a step along the way to the superior knowledge attained by negation. This is expressed in the idea that mysticism is the expression of dogmatic theology '' par excellence''. According to Lossky, outside of directly revealed knowledge through
Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...
and
Sacred Tradition Sacred tradition is a theological term used in Christian theology. According to the theology of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Assyrian churches, sacred tradition is the foundation of the doctrinal and spiritual authority o ...
, such as the Trinitarian nature of God, God in His essence is beyond the limits of what human beings (or even
angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
s) can understand. He is transcendent in essence ('' ousia''). Further knowledge must be sought in a direct experience of God or His indestructible energies through '' theoria'' (vision of God). According to Aristotle Papanikolaou, in Eastern Christianity, God is
immanent The doctrine or theory of immanence holds that the divine encompasses or is manifested in the material world. It is held by some philosophical and metaphysical theories of divine presence. Immanence is usually applied in monotheistic, panth ...
in his hypostasis or existences.


Western Christianity

Negative theology has a place in the Western Christian tradition as well. The 9th-century theologian John Scotus Erigena wrote: When he says "''He is not anything''" and "''God is not''", Scotus does not mean that there is no God, but that God cannot be said to exist in the way that creation exists, i.e. that God is uncreated. He is using apophatic language to emphasise that God is "other". Theologians like Meister Eckhart and
John of the Cross John of the Cross, OCD ( es, link=no, Juan de la Cruz; la, Ioannes a Cruce; born Juan de Yepes y Álvarez; 24 June 1542 – 14 December 1591) was a Spanish Catholic priest, mystic, and a Carmelite friar of converso origin. He is a major figu ...
(San Juan de la Cruz) exemplify some aspects of or tendencies towards the apophatic tradition in the West. The medieval work, ''
The Cloud of Unknowing ''The Cloud of Unknowing'' (Middle English: ''The Cloude of Unknowyng'') is an anonymous work of Christian mysticism written in Middle English in the latter half of the 14th century. The text is a spiritual guide on contemplative prayer in th ...
'' and Saint John's ''
Dark Night of the Soul ''Dark Night of the Soul'' ( es, La noche oscura del alma) is a poem written by the 16th-century Spanish mystic and poet St. John of the Cross. The author himself did not give any title to his poem, on which he wrote two book-length commentar ...
'' are particularly well known. In 1215 apophatism became the official position of the Catholic Church, which, on the basis of
Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...
and church tradition, during the Fourth Lateran Council formulated the following dogma:


The ''via eminentiae''

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known w ...
was born ten years later (1225-1274) and, although in his '' Summa Theologiae'' he quotes Pseudo-Dionysius 1,760 times, stating that "Now, because we cannot know what God is, but rather what He is not, we have no means for considering how God is, but rather how He is not" and leaving the work unfinished because it was like "
straw Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has a number ...
" compared to what had been revealed to him, his reading in a neo-Aristotelian key of the conciliar declaration overthrew its meaning inaugurating the "analogical way" as '' tertium'' between ''via negativa'' and ''via positiva'': the ''via eminentiae'' (see also '' analogia entis''). According to Adrian Langdon, According to ''
Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
'', the ''Doctor Angelicus'' and the scholastici declare
hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
Since then Thomism has played a decisive role in resizing the negative or apophatic tradition of the magisterium.


20th century

Apophatic statements are still crucial to many modern theologians, restarting in the 1800s by Søren Kierkegaard (see his concept of the
infinite qualitative distinction The infinite qualitative distinction ( da, den uendelige kvalitative forskel; german: unendliche qualitative Unterschied), sometimes translated as infinite qualitative difference, is a concept coined by the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. ...
) up to Rudolf Otto, Karl Barth (see their idea of "Wholly Other", i.e. '' ganz Andere'' or ''totaliter aliter''), the Ludwig Wittgenstein of the '' Tractatus'', and Martin Heidegger after his '' Kehre''.
C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univer ...
, in his book ''
Miracles A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...
'' (1947), advocates the use of negative theology when first thinking about God, in order to cleanse our minds of misconceptions. He goes on to say we must then refill our minds with the truth about God, untainted by mythology, bad
analogies Analogy (from Greek ''analogia'', "proportion", from ''ana-'' "upon, according to" lso "against", "anew"+ ''logos'' "ratio" lso "word, speech, reckoning" is a cognitive process of transferring information or meaning from a particular subject (t ...
or false mind-pictures. The mid-20th century Dutch philosopher Herman Dooyeweerd, who is often associated with a neo-Calvinistic tradition, provides a philosophical foundation for understanding why we can never absolutely know God, and yet, paradoxically, truly know something of God. Dooyeweerd made a sharp distinction between theoretical and pre-theoretical attitudes of thought. Most of the discussion of knowledge of God presupposes theoretical knowledge, in which we reflect and try to define and discuss. Theoretical knowing, by its very nature, is never absolute, always depends on religious presuppositions, and cannot grasp either God or the law side. Pre-theoretical knowing, on the other hand, is intimate engagement, and exhibits a diverse range of aspects. Pre-theoretical intuition, on the other hand, can grasp at least the law side. Knowledge of God, as God wishes to reveal it, is pre-theoretical, immediate and intuitive, never theoretical in nature. The philosopher
Leo Strauss Leo Strauss (, ; September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was a German-American political philosopher who specialized in classical political philosophy. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, Strauss later emigrated from Germany to the United States. ...
considered that the Bible, for example, should be treated as pre-theoretical (everyday) rather than theoretical in what it contains. Ivan Illich (1926-2002), the historian and social critic, can be read as an apophatic theologian, according to a longtime collaborator, Lee Hoinacki, in a paper presented in memory of Illich, called "Why Philia?"


21st century

Karen Armstrong, in her book '' The Case for God'' (2009), notices a recovery of apophatic theology in
postmodern theology Postmodern theology, also known as the continental philosophy of religion, is a philosophical and theological movement that interprets theology in light of post- Heideggerian continental philosophy, including phenomenology, post-structuralism, ...
. Philosopher and literary scholar William Franke, particularly in his 2007 two-volume collection ''On What Cannot Be Said'' and his 2014 monograph ''A Philosophy of the Unsayable'', puts forth that negative theology's exploration and performance of language's limitations is not simply one current among many in religious thought, but is "a kind of perennial counter-philosophy to the philosophy of Logos" that persistently challenges central tenets of Western thought throughout its history. For Franke, literature demonstrates the "infinitely open" nature of language which negative theology and related forms of philosophical thought seek to draw attention to. Franke therefore argues that literature, philosophy, and theology begin to bleed into one another as they approach what he frames as the "apophatic" side of Western thought.


Islam

Various traditions and schools in Islam (see Islamic schools and branches) draw on sundry theologies in approaching God in Islam (''
Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", a ...
'', Arabic الله) or the ultimate reality. "Negative theology" involves the use of تَعْطِيل, '' ta'tīl'', defined as "setting aside", "canceling out", "negation", or "nullification". The followers of the
Mu'tazili Muʿtazila ( ar, المعتزلة ', English: "Those Who Withdraw, or Stand Apart", and who called themselves ''Ahl al-ʿAdl wa al-Tawḥīd'', English: "Party of ivineJustice and Oneness f God); was an Islamic group that appeared in early Islamic ...
school of Kalam, the spread of which is often attributed to
Wasil ibn Ata Wāṣil ibn ʿAtāʾ (700–748) ( ar, واصل بن عطاء) was an important Muslim theologian and jurist of his time, and by many accounts is considered to be the founder of the Muʿtazilite school of Kalam. Born around the year 700 in the ...
, are often called the ' ("cancelers" or "negators"), a description, sometimes employed derogatorily, deriving from the school's descriptions of the Islamic God. Rajab ʿAlī Tabrīzī, an Iranian and Shi'ite philosopher and mystic of the 17th century, is credited with instilling an apophatic theology in a generation of philosophers and theologians whose influence extended into the Qajar period. Mulla Rajab affirmed the completely unknowable, unqualifiable, and attributeless nature of God and upheld a general view concerning God's attributes which can only be negatively 'affirmed' (that is, by affirmingly negating all that is not God about God). Shia Islam largely adopts "negative theology". In the words of the Persian Ismaili missionary,
Abu Yaqub al-Sijistani Abu Ya'qub Ishaq ibn Ahmad al-Sijistani ( ar, أبو يعقوب إسحاق بن أحمد السجستاني) or al-Sijzi () was a 10th-century Persian Ismaili missionary active in the northern and eastern Iranian lands. His life is obscure, but h ...
: "There does not exist a tanzíh transcendence"more brilliant and more splendid than that by which we establish the absolute transcendence of our Originator through the use of these phrases in which a negative and a negative of a negative apply to the thing denied." Literalists completely reject and condemn any negation that would clash with the wording of the Islamic Scriptures or with the narratives ascribed to the Islamic Prophet. They therefore hold that descriptors and qualifiers that occur in the Qur'ān and in the canonized religious traditions, even if seeming or sounding humanlike such as "hand", "finger, or "foot", are to be wholly affirmed as attributes of God (not limbs). Many Sunnites, like the
Ash'ari Ashʿarī theology or Ashʿarism (; ar, الأشعرية: ) is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Muslim scholar, Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer, and scholastic theologian Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī in the ...
s and Maturidis, adhere to some middle path or synthesis between negation and anthropomorphism, though the kind of each combination of negation and affirmation varies greatly.


Judaism

Maimonides (1135/1138-1204) was "the most influential medieval Jewish exponent of the ''via negativa''." Maimonides - along with Samuel ibn Tibbon - draws on
Bahya ibn Paquda Bahya ben Joseph ibn Paquda (also: Pakuda, Bakuda, Hebrew: , ar, بهية بن فاقودا), c. 1050–1120, was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who lived at Zaragoza, Al-Andalus (now Spain). He was one of two people now known as Rabbeinu Behay ...
, who shows that our inability to describe God is related to the fact of His absolute unity. God, as the entity which is "truly One" (האחד האמת), must be free of properties and is thus unlike anything else and indescribable. In '' The Guide for the Perplexed'', Maimonides states: According to Rabbi Yosef Wineberg, Maimonides stated that " odis knowledge," and saw His Essence, Being, and knowledge as completely one, "a perfect unity and not a composite at all." Wineberg quotes Maimonides as stating: According to Fagenblat, it is only in the modern period that negative theology really gains importance in Jewish thought.
Yeshayahu Leibowitz Yeshayahu Leibowitz ( he, ישעיהו ליבוביץ; 29 January 1903 – 18 August 1994) was an Israeli Orthodox Jewish public intellectual and polymath. He was a professor of biochemistry, organic chemistry, and neurophysiology at the Hebrew ...
(1903-1994) was a prominent modern exponent of Jewish negative theology. According to Leibowitz, a person's faith is his commitment to obey God, meaning God's commandments, and this has nothing to do with a person's image of God. This must be so because Leibowitz thought that God cannot be described, that God's understanding is not man's understanding, and thus all the questions asked of God are out of place.


Jacques Derrida

The work of Jewish philosopher
Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida; See also . 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was an Algerian-born French philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in numerous texts, and which was developed th ...
, and in particular his critical method called deconstruction, has frequently been compared to negative theology, and led to renewed interest in apophaticism in the late 20th century, even among continental philosophers and literary scholars who may not have otherwise have been particularly invested in theological issues. Conversely, the perception that deconstruction resembled or essentially was a form of secular negative theology also - according to Derrida himself - took the form of an ''accusation'' from his critics, implicitly positing both negative theology and deconstruction as being elaborate ways of saying nothing of any substance or importance. However, Derrida strongly repudiated either form of such comparisons for much of his career, arguing that any resemblance is purely superficial, and that the aims of negative theology - to demonstrate the ultimate, incomprehensible, transcendent reality of God - are a form of
ontotheology Ontotheology means the ontology of God and/or the theology of being. While the term was first used by Immanuel Kant, it has only come into broader philosophical parlance with the significance it took for Martin Heidegger's later thought. While, for ...
which runs fundamentally counter to deconstruction's aim of purging Western thought of its pervasive metaphysics of presence. Later in his career, such in as his essay "Sauf le nom", Derrida comes to see apophatic theology as ''potentially'' but not necessarily a means through which the intractable inadequacies of language and the ontological difficulties which proceed from them can brought to our attention and explored: Scholars such as Stephen Shakespeare have noted that - despite Derrida's pervasive concern with many aspects of Jewish theology and identity - his writing on negative theology draws almost exclusively on Christian writing and couches the topic in the language of Christianity generally. Derrida's thought in general, but in particular his later writing on negative theology, was highly influential in the development of the Weak Theology movement, and of
postmodern theology Postmodern theology, also known as the continental philosophy of religion, is a philosophical and theological movement that interprets theology in light of post- Heideggerian continental philosophy, including phenomenology, post-structuralism, ...
as a whole. David Wood and Robert Bernasconi have highlighted how Derrida explains what deconstruction is in an overwhelmingly negative, "apophatic" fashion.


Indian parallels

There are interesting parallels in Indian thought, which developed largely separate from Western thought. Early Indian philosophical works which have apophatic themes include the Principal Upanishads (800 BC to the start of common era) and the
Brahma Sutras The ''Brahma Sūtras'' ( sa, ब्रह्मसूत्राणि) is a Sanskrit text, attributed to the sage bādarāyaṇa or sage Vyāsa, estimated to have been completed in its surviving form in approx. 400–450 CE,, Quote: "...we c ...
(from 450 BC and 200 AD). An expression of negative theology is found in the
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad The ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'' ( sa, बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद्, ) is one of the Principal Upanishads and one of the first Upanishadic scriptures of Hinduism. A key scripture to various schools of Hinduism, the '' ...
, where Brahman is described as "
neti neti ''Neti Neti'' (Sanskrit : नेति नेति) is a Sanskrit expression which means "not this, not that", or "neither this, nor that" (' is sandhi from ' "not so"). It is found in the Upanishads and the Avadhuta Gita and constitutes an anal ...
" or "neither this, nor that". Further use of apophatic theology is found in the Brahma Sutras, which state: Buddhist philosophy has also strongly advocated the way of negation, beginning with the Buddha's own theory of anatta (not- atman, not-self) which denies any truly existent and unchanging essence of a person.
Madhyamaka Mādhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no ''svabhāva'' doctrine"), refers to a tradition of Buddhis ...
is a Buddhist philosophical school founded by
Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna . 150 – c. 250 CE (disputed)was an Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker, scholar-saint and philosopher. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.Garfield, Jay L. (1995), ''The Fundamental Wisdom of ...
(2nd-3rd century AD), which is based on a fourfold negation of all assertions and concepts and promotes the theory of emptiness ( shunyata). Apophatic assertions are also an important feature of Mahayana sutras, especially the prajñaparamita genre. These currents of negative theology are visible in all forms of Buddhism. Apophatic movements in medieval
Hindu philosophy Hindu philosophy encompasses the philosophies, world views and teachings of Hinduism that emerged in Ancient India which include six systems ('' shad-darśana'') – Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta.Andrew Nicholson (2 ...
are visible in the works of Shankara (8th century), a philosopher of
Advaita Vedanta ''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' (li ...
(non-dualism), and
Bhartṛhari Bhartṛhari (Devanagari: ; also romanised as Bhartrihari; fl. c. 5th century CE) was a Hindu linguistic philosopher to whom are normally ascribed two influential Sanskrit texts: * the ''Vākyapadīya'', on Sanskrit grammar and linguistic philo ...
(5th century), a grammarian. While Shankara holds that the transcendent noumenon, Brahman, is realized by the means of negation of every phenomenon including language, Bhartṛhari theorizes that language has both phenomenal and noumenal dimensions, the latter of which manifests Brahman. In Advaita, Brahman is defined as being
Nirguna ''Para Brahman'' ( sa, परब्रह्म, translit=parabrahma, translit-std=IAST) in Hindu philosophy is the "Supreme Brahman" that which is beyond all descriptions and conceptualisations. It is described as the formless (in the sense th ...
or without qualities. Anything imaginable or conceivable is not deemed to be the ultimate reality. The
Taittiriya The ''Taittirīya Shakha'' (Sanskrit, loosely meaning 'Branch or School of the sage Tittiri'), is a ''shakha'' (i.e. 'branch', 'school', or rescension) of the Krishna (black) Yajurveda. Most prevalent in South India, it consists of the ''Taitti ...
hymn speaks of Brahman as "one where the mind does not reach". Yet the Hindu scriptures often speak of Brahman's positive aspect. For instance, Brahman is often equated with bliss. These contradictory descriptions of Brahman are used to show that the attributes of Brahman are similar to ones experienced by mortals, but not the same. Negative theology also figures in the
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
and Hindu
polemics Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...
. The arguments go something like this – Is Brahman an object of experience? If so, how do you convey this experience to others who have not had a similar experience? The only way possible is to relate this unique experience to common experiences while explicitly negating their sameness.


Bahá'í Faith

Bahá'í's believe that God is an ultimately unknowable being (see
God in the Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí conception of God is essentially monotheistic. God is the imperishable, uncreated being who is the source of all existence. He is described as "a personal God, unknowable, inaccessible, the source of all Revelation, eternal, omni ...
) and Bahá'í writings state that "there can be no tie of direct intercourse to bind the one true God with His creation, and no resemblance whatever can exist between the transient and the Eternal, the contingent and the Absolute." According to the Bahá'í Faith, the only way to grow nearer to God is to gain knowledge of the Manifestation of God, who is a reflection of God's reality in a similar way to how a mirror reflects an image of the sun. Stephen Lambden has written a paper entitled, "The Background and Centrality of Apophatic Theology in Bábí and Bahá'í Scripture" and Ian Kluge has also looked into the Apophatic Theology and the Baha'i faith in the second part of his paper, Neoplatonism and the Bahá'í Writings.


Apophatic theology and atheism

Even though the ''via negativa'' essentially rejects theological understanding in and of itself as a path to God, some have sought to make it into an intellectual exercise, by describing God only in terms of what God is not. One problem noted with this approach is that there seems to be no fixed basis on deciding what God is not, unless the Divine is understood as an abstract experience of full aliveness unique to each individual consciousness, and universally, the perfect goodness applicable to the whole field of reality. Apophatic theology is often accused of being a version of
atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that ther ...
or
agnosticism Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...
, since it cannot say truly that God exists. "The comparison is crude, however, for conventional atheism treats the existence of God as a predicate that can be denied ("God is nonexistent"), whereas negative theology denies that God has predicates". "God or the Divine is" without being able to attribute qualities about "what He is" would be the prerequisite of positive theology in negative theology that distinguishes theism from atheism. "Negative theology is a complement to, not the enemy of, positive theology". Since religious experience—or consciousness of the holy or sacred, is not reducible to other kinds of human experience, an abstract understanding of religious experience cannot be used as evidence or proof that religious discourse or praxis can have no meaning or value. In apophatic theology, the negation of theisms in the ''via negativa'' also requires the negation of their correlative atheisms if the dialectical method it employs is to maintain integrity. Buckley, Michael J. (2004), "Denying and Disclosing God: The Ambiguous Progress of Modern Atheism", New Haven, C.T.: Yale University Press, pp. 120ff, .


See also

;Buddhism * Anatta * Dharmadhatu *
Dharmakāya The ''dharmakāya'' ( sa, धर्म काय, "truth body" or "reality body", zh, t=法身, p=fǎshēn, ) is one of the three bodies ('' trikāya'') of a buddha in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The ''dharmakāya'' constitutes the unmanifested, "incon ...
* Sunyata * Tathātā * Vipassana ;Christianity *
Christian contemplation Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative presence of God" ...
*
Christian meditation Christian meditation is a form of prayer in which a structured attempt is made to become aware of and reflect upon the revelations of God. The word meditation comes from the Latin word ''meditārī'', which has a range of meanings including to r ...
*
Conceptions of God Conceptions of God in monotheist, pantheist, and panentheist religions – or of the supreme deity in henotheistic religions – can extend to various levels of abstraction: * as a powerful, personal, supernatural being, or as the d ...
*
Existence of God The existence of God (or more generally, the existence of deities) is a subject of debate in theology, philosophy of religion and popular culture. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God or deities can be categorize ...
* Kenosis *
Monastic silence Monastic silence is a spiritual practice recommended in a variety of religious traditions for purposes including facilitation of approaching deity, and achieving elevated states of spiritual purity. It may be in accordance with a monk's formal vow ...
*
Tabor Light In Eastern Orthodox Christian theology, the Tabor Light ( grc, Φῶς τοῦ Θαβώρ "Light of Tabor", or "Uncreated Light", "Divine Light"; russian: Фаворский свет "Taboric Light"; Georgian: თაბორის ნათე ...
;Hinduism *
Neti neti ''Neti Neti'' (Sanskrit : नेति नेति) is a Sanskrit expression which means "not this, not that", or "neither this, nor that" (' is sandhi from ' "not so"). It is found in the Upanishads and the Avadhuta Gita and constitutes an anal ...
*
Self-enquiry Self-enquiry, also spelled self-inquiry (Sanskrit '' vichara'', also called '' jnana-vichara'' or '), is the constant attention to the inner awareness of "I" or "I am" recommended by Ramana Maharshi as the most efficient and direct way of disco ...
;Islam * Fana (Sufism) *
Ta'tili In Islamic theology, taʿṭīl ( ar, تَعْطِيل‎) means "divesting" God of His attributes. The word literally means to suspend and stop the work and refers to a form of apophatic theology which is said because God bears no resemblance to ...
;Judaism * ''
Tzimtzum The ''tzimtzum'' or ''tsimtsum'' (Hebrew ' "contraction/constriction/condensation") is a term used in the Lurianic Kabbalah to explain Isaac Luria's doctrine that God began the process of creation by "contracting" his ''Ohr Ein Sof'' (infinite ...
'' ;Taoism * Taoism#Theology ;Philosophy *
Existence of God The existence of God (or more generally, the existence of deities) is a subject of debate in theology, philosophy of religion and popular culture. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God or deities can be categorize ...
*
Fideism Fideism () is an epistemological theory which maintains that faith is independent of reason, or that reason and faith are hostile to each other and faith is superior at arriving at particular truths (see natural theology). The word ''fideism'' c ...
*
Limit-experience Limit-experience (french: expérience limite) refers to actions which approach the limits of possible experience. This can be in terms of their intensity and seemingly impossible or paradoxical qualities. A limit-experience dissociates the subject ...
* Rational fideism


Notes


References


Sources


Printed sources

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Websources


Further reading

* * * * * * *


External links and resources

*General
God and Other Necessary Beings
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy **At the Origins of Modern Atheism, Michael J. Buckley, Yale University Press 1987, *Christian material

Austin Cline

The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
Saying Nothing about No-Thing: Apophatic Theology in the Classical World
Jonah Winters *Jewish material **"Paradoxes", in "The Aryeh Kaplan Reader",
Aryeh Kaplan Aryeh Moshe Eliyahu Kaplan ( he, אריה משה אליהו קפלן; October 23, 1934 – January 28, 1983) was an American Orthodox rabbi, author, and translator, best known for his Living Torah edition of the Torah. He became well known as ...
, Artscroll 1983,
Understanding God
Ch2. in "The Handbook of Jewish Thought", Aryeh Kaplan, Moznaim 1979, **
Chovot ha-Levavot ''Chovot HaLevavot'', or ''Ḥobot HaLebabot'' (; he, חובות הלבבות; English: ''Duties of the Hearts''), is the primary work of the Jewish rabbi, Bahya ibn Paquda, full name ''Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda''. Rabbi Ibn Paquda is believed ...
br>1:8
Bahya ibn Paquda Bahya ben Joseph ibn Paquda (also: Pakuda, Bakuda, Hebrew: , ar, بهية بن فاقودا), c. 1050–1120, was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who lived at Zaragoza, Al-Andalus (now Spain). He was one of two people now known as Rabbeinu Behay ...

Online class
Yaakov Feldman
Attributes
jewishencyclopedia.com *Modern material ** Derrida and Negative Theology, ed H. G Coward, SUNY 1992. {{DEFAULTSORT:Apophatic Theology Religious terminology Theology Thomas Aquinas