Negative theology, also known as via negativa or apophatic theology, is an approach to theology that attempts to describe God by negation, speaking only in terms of what God is not rather than presuming to describe what God is. The key idea is that God is so infinitely beyond human understanding and language that we can only approximate an understanding of God by saying what God is not.
This approach stands in contrast to cataphatic theology, which makes positive statements about the nature and attributes of God based on Scripture and reason. While both approaches have a long history in Christian thought, negative theology emphasizes the limits of human knowledge and language about the divine.
Some key aspects of negative theology include:
– God is wholly other – God’s nature is completely different from anything in creation. Human categories and concepts do not apply to God.
– God is ineffable – God transcends human speech and cannot be fully captured in words. Human language can point toward God but not contain or define God.
– God is unknowable – Full knowledge of God is beyond human capacities. We can know God partially but not completely comprehend God’s infinite being.
– Silence – Because God transcends speech, silence or contemplation is often upheld as a way to reflect on the divine mystery. Saying nothing is better than presuming to describe God inadequately.
– Via negativa – By stating what God is not, we strip away limited human conceptualizations of the divine to reflect on God’s ultimate transcendence.
Key historical figures associated with negative theology include:
– Pseudo-Dionysius (5th-6th century) – Influential theologian who used via negativa and taught that God is beyond affirmation and negation.
– Gregory of Nyssa (4th century) – Early church father who believed that while God is unknowable in God’s essence, we can have an approximate knowledge of God’s energies or actions.
– Meister Eckhart (13th-14th century) – Dominican monk who employed apophatic language to lead to a mystical union with God beyond images.
– Thomas Aquinas (13th century) – Allowed for negative theology but balanced it with natural theology and positive statements about God derived from Scripture, creation, etc.
– Karl Barth (20th century) – Neo-orthodox theologian who stressed God’s radical otherness from creatures and emphasized divine hiddenness.
Key biblical texts that inform negative theology:
– Exodus 3:13-15 – God reveals to Moses the divine name “I AM WHO I AM,” highlighting the infinite mystery of God’s being.
– 1 Kings 19:11-13 – Elijah encounters God not in wind, earthquake or fire but in “a sound of sheer silence,” indicating God’s transcendence.
– Isaiah 55:8-9 – God declares “my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways,” affirming the chasm between human comprehension and God.
– 1 Timothy 6:16 – “God dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see,” suggesting the hiddenness of God.
– Romans 11:33-36 – “How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” expresses wonder at God’s incomprehensibility.
Key concepts in negative theology:
– Transcendence – God is completely beyond the material world and human understanding. There is an infinite qualitative difference between God the Creator and creatures.
– Hiddenness – God in God’s essence remains mysterious and unknown. There is depths and richness to God’s being that remain veiled to us.
– Incomprehensibility – Finite human minds cannot fully grasp, encapsulate or conceptualize the infinite reality of God. Our knowledge is limited and partial.
– Unknowability – While we can know things about God, we cannot obtain complete or exhaustive knowledge. God’s full being transcends our intellectual capacities.
– Ineffability – No human language or concept can adequately capture and express the fullness of God’s glory and beauty. Our words will always fall short.
– Silence – Because God is beyond the reach of speech, silence is a proper and humble response to the living God beyond all language.
– Analogy – Language about God is analogical, not univocal. When we speak of God as good, wise, etc., we do not mean these in exactly the same way as with humans. There is always infinitude between analogies of God and creatures.
– Via negativa – By stating what God is not, we move beyond limited human ideas about the divine to reflect on God’s ultimate transcendence.
Cautions when employing negative theology:
– Avoid suggesting God does not exist or is unreal. The intent is not to deny God’s reality but to recognize the limits of our comprehension.
– Avoid complete agnosticism about God’s nature. Scripture does provide true if partial knowledge of God’s attributes and actions.
– Avoid undervaluing analogical language about God. While imperfect, analogies remain meaningful and necessary for finite beings.
– Avoid overemphasis on silence. Silence has its place but is balanced with revelation and expressed knowledge of God in Scripture.
– Avoid dismissing all cataphatic theology. There is value in positive statements about God’s nature derived from Scripture and reason.
– Avoid portraying all human knowledge of God as meaningless. Our real if limited knowledge of God has significance in our relationship with God.
– Avoid imagining we can ascend to a complete knowledge of God. Recognizing the limits of human reason before divine mystery guards against pretension.
In summary, negative theology enriches Christian understanding of God by reminding us of the awesome gap between the infinite Creator and finite creature. Through affirming that God transcends all human speech and concepts, negative theology calls us to humility and wonder before the ultimate Reality who both reveals God’s self and remains hidden. Yet this apophatic perspective remains balanced by Scripture’s positive revelation of God’s character and actions in salvation history. As we seek to know and love God, negative theology helps us avoid idolatrous reductions of the living God to merely human images and ideas. By dwelling in the place of God’s incomprehensible mystery, we are led to deeper worship, awe and longing for the One who infinitely surpasses our understanding.
