The Apophatic Way

  • “The Apophatic Way” is a theological approach that proposes the idea that God’s existence and nature can only be expressed through negation or what cannot be said about God, rather than through positive assertions.

  • The Apophatic Way typically stands in contrast to the Cataphatic Way, which asserts that God can be known and explained using human language and positive affirmation.

  • Many religious traditions, such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism, have apophatic and cataphatic strands or schools of thought.

  • Early proponents of this approach include Pseudo-Dionysius and Meister Eckhart who were known for their “negative theology”. More contemporary philosophers and theologians following this line of thought include Jacques Derrida, Jean-Luc Marion, and John D. Caputo.

  • Apophatic theology tends to resist any attempt to anthropomorphise God, arguing that God transcends human comprehension and therefore cannot be adequately described using human language.

  • Apophatic statements are used as a way of approaching the divine by negation, demonstrating the insufficiency of human language and the need for mystical or experiential knowledge.

  • The Aphophatic Way suggests that divine experience goes beyond intellectual understanding, giving a significant role to mysticism, prayer, meditation, and contemplative silence.

  • This approach has sparked debates among scholars and theologians about the effectiveness of positive and negative theology, the role of language in religious practise, and the nature of ultimate reality.

  • Critics argue that Apophatic theology can lead to a sense of alienation or distance from the divine as it negates commonly accepted attributes of God. However, proponents argue that it brings one closer to the true nature of the divine by acknowledging human limitations in understanding it.

  • The Via Negativa holds a valuable place in the examination of issues in religious language due to the significant implications it raises about the nature and usage of religious language.