What is the difference between Apophatic and Kataphatic?

Abstract: Catholicism distinguishes between two different approaches to spirituality. Apophatic, or “neg tive” spirituality stresses interiority, “imageless-ness” and “wordlessness.” Kataphatic, or “positive” spiritual ity is image-driven and uses analogies to speak of God.

What is the meaning of Cataphatic?

Adj. 1. cataphatic – of or relating to the religious belief that God can be known to humans positively or affirmatively.

What is Apophatic and Cataphatic?

Apophatic theology or negative theology concerns the possibility and non-possibility of achieving knowledge of the divine. Cataphatic theology or positive theology claims a similarity between the human being and the divine, which makes it possible to achieve knowledge of the divine.

What is affirmative theology?

According to the affirmative theology, every term that refers to the good and the beautiful in this world can be applied analogously to God: “God is good,” “God is love,” “God is light,” “God is truth.” Yet the seeker after God becomes aware that God transcends all qualities or attributes that are applied to the …

What is the Via Positiva?

The via positiva is an approach to the doctrine of God that assumes the. presence of God in nature. This affirmation is based on the assumption that. God is knowable in some sense, if not in essence, at least in action.

What is the meaning of apophasis?

1 : the raising of an issue by claiming not to mention it (as in “we won’t discuss his past crimes”) … he indulges himself in apophasis about his ex-wives (“No, I am most definitely not making any charges or accusations.

What is the purpose of via negativa?

Via Negativa Your Way to a Better Life Via negativa is a Latin phrase used in Christian theology to explain a way of describing God by focusing on what he is not, rather than what he is; understanding Deity’s positive qualities is a task deemed impossible for the finite minds of humans.

Is the Via negativa cognitive?

Apophatic way (via negativa): a way of speaking about God and using theological ideas using only terms that say what God is not. Non-cognitive: Statements about God that are not subject to truth or falsity.

What is meant by via negativa in theological terms?

The Latin term, which means the “way of negation,” refers to the stream of Christian theology which emphasized the unknowability of God and the inability of positive theological attributes to define God.

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.

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”).

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.