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Tag Archives: apophaticism
Platonism and the Trinity: Apophaticism and Pure Relationality
by Alexander Earl APOPHATICISM To recapitulate, in Plotinus there are several levels of reality: the Cosmos (from our discussion of beauty and bodies), Soul (especially discursive reasoning), Intellect (the all-at-once act of intellect intellecting the intelligibles), and then the One … Continue reading
Posted in Alexander Earl
Tagged apophaticism, being, God, Neoplatonism, Plotinus, relation, relationality
1 Comment
The Problem of Divine Hiddenness: It Even Gets Worse After Pascha
by Alexander Earl Most people are familiar with the problem of evil: how could an all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful God be consistent with the existence of evil? After all, if God is all-good he abhors evil, if he is all-knowing … Continue reading
Posted in Alexander Earl
Tagged apophaticism, atheism, disbelief, divine hiddenness, divine revelation, eucharistic presence, God
33 Comments
When Divine Truth Becomes Fundamentalism
“The two greatest obstacles to the upcoming pan-Orthodox synod,” Met John Zizioulas recently remarked, “are nationalism and fundamentalism.” This comment reasonably elicits the question, “What is fundamentalism?” Not easy to answer. One man’s fundamentalism is another man’s revelation. And then … Continue reading
To Be or Not to Be: Aquinas or Pseudo-Dionysius?
The Maverick Philosopher writes: “My question for Fr. Kimel: Do you side with the doctor angelicus, or do you go all the way into the night of negative theology with Pseudo-Dionysus?” Succinct answer: I haven’t decided, partly because my acquaintance with … Continue reading
Posted in Theology
Tagged apophaticism, Aquinas, Bill Vallicella, divine incomprehensibility, God, Pseudo-Dionysius
8 Comments
Meditating Four Quartets: East Coker (V)
Early last Lent (2014) I began to blog on T. S. Eliot’s Four Quartets. I had hoped to complete my ruminations in six months or so, but I had to break off in mid-August in order to begin my preparations … Continue reading
Posted in T. S. Eliot
Tagged apophaticism, East Coker, Four Quartets, language, T. S. Eliot
2 Comments
Staniloae and Zizioulas: The Incomprehensibility of Divine Personhood and the Mysticism of the Hoi Poloi
The Eastern theological tradition has long insisted the essence of God is incomprehensible, inaccessible, unknowable, and imparticipable to all rational creatures, human and angelic. The living God can only be apprehended through his divine energies. As Vladimir Lossky writes: “Wholly … Continue reading
The Impossibility of Comprehending the Incomprehensible God
What does St Gregory of Nyssa mean when he so emphatically claims that human beings are incapable of comprehending the divine nature. As we have seen, it does not mean that we must remain silent before the unspeakable Deity. Christians … Continue reading
The Cappadocian Brothers on the Propria of God
I’m sure it did not come as a surprise to either St Basil of Caesarea or St Gregory of Nyssa. Once they began to elucidate the mystery of the Trinity by means of the analogy between three human beings and … Continue reading
