Apophatic theology

But they took this idea of a transcendental God because they wrote about the idea of a transcendental God.

And they... took it from follow this transcendental god was inaccessible through positive descriptions in other words you now had to go through what's known as negative theology you can't describe god by what he is because you limit him you only describe god by what he isn't that way god remains unlimited by our descriptions.

So we get close to describing what God is, but we don't do positive theology.

We don't say God is good, God is great, God is strong, God is kind.

And God always says to be higher than our definition.

So we would say God is not weak or God is not violent.

And that's known as negative theology.

Tajam was interested in this idea of negative theology, which he then introduces to Islam, but he takes it from the church fathers, the early church fathers.

Instead, the Neoplatonists give us instruments with which we can search for the truth ourselves.

These are philosophical tools such as logic, dialectic or negative theology.

Equipped with these instruments, every individual human being must attempt and complete the, as Plotinus calls it, the ascent to the One.

This task cannot be delegated to anyone else.

That would be a really actually exciting philosophical maybe practice for our listeners.

And we'd like to also hear their thoughts about this philosophical riddle.

And I'd like to turn to you, Max, because your research also proposes a term, negative theology, as a way of addressing these challenges.

So, for listeners who may not be familiar with this concept again, which is also the case actually within the philosophical research, could you explain what negative theology is and how it can help us overcome the difficulties you have described?

We've seen it expressed or sensed it through the Holy Spirit.

Apophatic spirituality, and you've got to be careful of that because that, to an extreme, becomes apostasy.

But apophatic spirituality is to approach God with what we don't know.

So let's say when we're worshiping God and the lyrics are things we know from the Word of God, and we're basically reciting what He's told us about Himself back to Him, that would be cataphatic.

Apophatic, because I use way too many words with Missy when I'm trying to talk to her about God because I'm such a windbag.

And years ago, I sensed God impressing me through His Spirit.

Quit using so many words.