What is the apophatic tradition?

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.

What is Cataphatic way?

Cataphatic Way (Via Positiva) – Speaking about God using positive language. – Thinkers including Aquinas have argued that we cannot say anything positive and literally true of God as our use of language automatically limits him, placing his attributes only within our own experiences and understanding.

What is the opposite of apophatic?

Cataphatic theology involves defining or knowing God through positive statements. Opposite. apophatic.

Is Cloud of Unknowing biblical?

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 the late Middle Ages.

What does it mean to speak of God kataphatically?

To speak of God or the divine kataphatically is thought by some to be by its nature a form of limiting to God or divine. This was one of the core tenets of the works of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite.

What is the difference between cataphatic and apophatic theology?

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 contrast to the “negative” terminology used in apophatic theology to indicate what it is believed the divine is not.

Where does the word cataphatic come from in Greek?

Etymology “Cataphatic” comes from the Greek word κατάφασις kataphasis meaning “affirmation,” coming from κατά kata (an intensifier) and φάναι phanai (“to speak”).