Apophatic Theology Research Articles

Basic Framework of Apophatic Metaphysics (Negative Theology) Toward Islamic Higher Education System: Analytical Study at Perguruan Tinggi Keagamaan Islam Negeri (Ptkin) In Indonesia

The construction of the metaphysics of divinity that exists in the Islamic higher education system, especially in Perguruan Tinggi Keagamaan Islam Negeri (PTKIN) - in the form of universities) in Indonesia has been finalized and established. It turns out that there was a logic of metaphysics of divinity that was different from the mainstreaming of the established metaphysics, namely metaphysics (apophatic theology). Based on this reality, this study focused on the construction on the concept of apophatic theology that grew and developed in the Islamic higher education system in PTKIN (namely UIN Sumatera Utara, UIN Malang, and UIN Jember). The research problem in this study was how does the construction of apophatic theology in the Islamic higher education system develop at UIN Sumatera utara, UIN Malang, and UIN Jember? In order to analytically answer this question, this study used a qualitative approach with data collection techniques; such as in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and documentation. The data analysis used interactive data analysis from Miles, Hubermann, and Saldana. This study found that apophatic theology was positioned as a discourse of profetization of divine values expressed through a negative style. The theological construction basically "rejects" divine knowledge with the logic of negation and paradox. This apophatic theology in the Islamic higher education system builds an axiological framework that more oriented towards the dimensions of humanity and divinity; or the profane dimension and transcendental.

Shed for All: Liturgy as Work of the Negative?

Drawing from theoretical and practical notions of negativity, the concept of a “work of the negative” bridges between various approaches to the “negative” within philosophy and theology—from apophatic theology to queer studies. This article analyzes how the concept of negative work, i.e., continued wrestling with the limits of language and understanding, builds a fruitful lens for studying liturgical texts. It presents the concept of “work of the negative,” its origins and connections to adjacent fields; applies insights and questions raised by this dynamic to liturgical examples from the recently published community-centered liturgical resource “A Liturgy for All Bodies”; and finally explores the potential of such an approach for the ecclesiological implications of liturgy ( lex orandi, lex credendi).

Augustine on music as the harmonious language of spirituality: An apophatic theological study

This article arose from the study of apophatic theology also known as the via-negativa. Apophatic theology, by definition, refrains from stating what and who God is instead of focusing on what God is not. It renders religious language as a sign-system inadequate in describing God, his nature, and human numinous experiences. Yet, language is the fundamental modelling system that stimulates our everyday phenomenological, spiritual, and religious developments. This article is demonstrating how the apophatic theological view attempted to solve or investigate the inadequacy of religious language or the lack of God’s language. The research drew from contemporary scholarship on Augustine’s use of apophatic theology in developing its hypothesis of the importance of music as a transcendental language. Moreover, through music and prayer, language becomes an intermediary beyond the physical to the metaphysical. In this instance, Augustine of Hippo, coming to terms with the inadequacy of religious language, considered music a succinct communicative tool in his theology and divine pedagogy. So, due to the challenges of language, the purpose of this article is using Augustine and his view of music within the Sitz im Leben of his spiritual development to solve a theological problem. In this article, the following will be discussed: (1) Augustine’s Confessions as a dialogue where he speaks to God through Scriptures and hymns; (2) Augustine’s earlier philosophical theory of music; (3) and Augustine’s use of apophatic theology in our spiritual development. The importance of this research will help us understand God’s immanence (over his ineffable) through our use and understanding of music as a harmonious language consisting of unchanging mathematical properties. Furthermore, the truthfulness of music as a harmonious language about God’s mystery can be better understood.Contribution: Through Augustine’s apophatic theology, this study contributes to our understanding and revitalisation of spirituality using music as an alternative form of harmonious language of the spirit. Moreover, it considers music a universal language that transcends all senses and other modes of cognitive activities. By establishing a basic principle of what makes us spiritual, we can transform our cognitive abilities and become better spiritual beings. Furthermore, this study examined the harmonic nature of music in the seven liberal arts as a significant mathematical aspect of the cosmos.

Rasselas : The Enigma and the “Agile Music”

Abstract: This essay reads Samuel Johnson’s Rasselas (1759) against the background of negative or apophatic theology and argues that it is unique among Johnson’s works in expressing a sense of life as an enigma . The silent or hidden symbol of the story is the Giza Sphinx, one of the foundational symbols of such theology: the second-century Church Father Clement of Alexandria, whose works Johnson owned, associated the enigmas of the Hebrew Bible with the mystery of the Egyptian sphinxes. More widely, Rasselas contains absent objects and symbols, enigmatic silences and responses, hidden images and paradoxes, self-defeating dualisms and habits of style, apophatic philosophy (“philosophy can tell no more”), and an enigmatic conclusion (“ nothing ”). The apophatic quality is embodied in the text through what Jorge Luis Borges refers to as Rasselas ’s “agile music,” the subtle, flexible management of narrative voices, which generates a distinctive kind of attention in the reader.

Preaching as Protest against the Apophatic Silencing of God’s People

Throughout church history, there have been those who stressed the limits of our ability to speak with confidence about God and extolled the nobility of silence in the face of God’s ineffability. Dionysius the Areopagite famously asserted, “With regard to the divine, negations are true, whereas affirmations are inadequate”. Apophatic silence is presented as respectful of the mysterious otherness of God. Christian preaching is a practice that refutes all attempts at negative, apophatic theology. Every sermon participates in the wonder of the uniquely Jewish and Christian claim that God not only speaks but also invites, even commands, humanity to speak about God as well. Christian preaching is suspicious of any attempt to sentimentalize silence in the name of humble acknowledgement of human limitations to speak truthfully about God. Preaching therefore requires the courage to speak up and speak out with the God who, in Jesus Christ, has spoken to us. The silencing of the voices of women, persons of color, and others who claim to know that God is with them is an aspect of neocolonial oppression that preaching cannot abide. Preaching is a protest against all those who would tell the voiceless that some things are better left unsaid.

The Apophatic Theology and the Sacred in the Poetry of Dmitrij Prigov

The article considers the poetic production of Dmitrij Prigov, one of the most prominent representatives of Moscow Conceptualism, and focuses on the references that can be found in Prigov’s works to the apophatic or negative theology of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, one of the early Eastern Church Fathers. Through several examples, taken from cycles of poems from the 1970s and 1990s, the article investigates Prigov’s poetry through the lens of apophaticism and explores formal experimentations as well as stylistic strategies related to apophatic rhetoric. Theological, philosophical and sacral models are detached from their original context and used by the artist in a very unconventional way. Moreover, in the apophatic tradition Prigov discovers ideas that are fully applicable to his own understanding of poetry. The essay also discusses the relationship between art and religion in Prigov’s view and his idea of the sacred in art.

„Akt strzelisty głębokiego oddechu”. Mistyka Herberta pomiędzy poezją a milczeniem

The article begins with the theory of the signifying silence proposed by Polish philosopher Izydora Dąmbska (1904–1988), through interpretation of the defined silence regarding God by Henryk Elzenberg (1887–1967), to arrive at a close reading of selected works by his apprentice, Zbigniew Herbert (1924–1998): “Zobacz” [See] and “Homilia” [Homily]. These texts have been interpreted in the context of the previously, and perhaps deliberately, untouched issues relating to the Indefinite, and they have been further confronted with an understanding of Christian apophatic theology. This approach seems justified as its creator is considered to be Dionysius the Areopagite (from the late 5th to early 6th century), who was one of the greatest authorities on the subject of the Supreme for Elzenberg and a source of angelological inspiration for Herbert. The main aim of the paper is to show all these converging perspectives on the subject that escapes verbalisation.

APOPHATIC THEOLOGY: PSEUDO-DIONYSIUS AND THOMAS AQUINAS

Dionysius’s apophatic theology developed the basic tenets necessary for a deeper focus on God in Christian theology. The confusion it caused in Christian theology was powerfully presented through the investigations presented by the Neo-platonic philosophers. Furthermore, despite various interpretations of these teachings since the time of the Church Fathers, Pseudo Dionysius correctly presented the need to establish a correct foundation for it. His teachings were the foundation for later theological interpretations. This study examines the apophatic theology presented by Pseudo- Dionysius and Saint Thomas Aquinas. It is expected to investigate the facts presented using the analytical research method. Apophatic theology can be used to approach God by denying that any theological concept of God can be properly established by rejecting all the ideas and images of the theology laid by Dionysius and by entering into the divine darkness beyond understanding. A central theme of Aquinas’s apophatic philosophy is that we can know God more by what he is not than by what he is. Apophatic theology is also seen as an affirmation of the inadequacy of human understanding of divine matters. It is seen as affirming God’s essence through ignorance, even though man is aware through God’s energies.

Elements of Apophatic Theology in the Writings of Elizabeth of the Trinity

The article is a theological and spiritual reflection on the spiritual doctrine of the French mystic St. Elizabeth of the Trinity OCD (Élisabeth Catez), who lived from 1880 to 1906. The present study seeks to explain the reason why apart from cataphatic (positive) expressions, characteristic of nuptial Carmelite mysticism, which Elizabeth represents, her writings sometimes contain apophatic (negative) expressions, emphasizing the unknowability of God. The historical and literary, hermeneutical, philological and comparative analyses of her work lead to the following conclusions; as a Carmelite she consciously referred to the teaching of the Areopagite (Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite) and to the later continuator of his thought, Bl. John Ruusbroec (Ruysbroeck); however, to apophatic expressions – e.g. infinite, unchanging, inaccessible, indescribable, immovable, inexhaustible, unknown, invisible, incomprehensible, incomparable, elusive – she gave a nuptial tone, for the sake of emphasizing the beauty and poetic nature of the bridal love of God and man. For this reason, Elizabeth does not represent the apophatic trend, but uses its language to emphasize the beauty of God and the poetic character of his relationship with man

Slender Man’s Face: the Religious Foundation of an Online Mythology

Abstract In 2009, the internet gave birth to a monster. The Slender Man, like many other forms of online storytelling, is a product of mass communal storytelling. What has led to the Slender Man’s unique long-lasting position online is in part due to the way the community initially dealt with the issues which arose in mass communal storytelling. These issues are primarily found in two modes: 1) the inconsistency of the narrative, which is typically related to the creative freedom given to every member of a community, which was solved using apophatic theology; and 2) the reality of the scare, which begins to lose traction when the narrative is online and thus easily searchable, solved through the notion of the Tulpa. Participants play with knowledge and religious conceptions, through which mimetic excess occurs (Taussig, 1993), leading to a crossing of boundaries between reality and fiction.

AUTOPOIESIS AND SACREDNESS IN THE DIGITAL SOCIETY: THE BIRTH OF THE METAVERSE

The Metaverse, as the apogee of Society 5.0, opens an iconic and transcendental horizon for exploring the capabilities of human innovation and synergy, giving the knowledge society a new, spiritually connected dimension. The article explores the emergence of the metaverse as an autopoietic entity within the contemporary risk society, arguing that digital transformation facilitates the convergence of separate social systems. In light of Luhmann's theories, the metaverse is examined as a solution to the latent risks of reflexive, late and liquid modernity. The analysis draws on the thought of Baudrillard, Durkheim and Marx, applying their concepts to assess the potential positive and negative repercussions of the metaverse. The article draws a parallel between the structure of magic - characterised by individualism - and that of religion - intrinsically communitarian - suggesting that the metaverse would benefit from following this communitarian model to sustain a collective spiritual dimension, in contrast to the hyperstimulating satisfaction of selfish desires. The conclusion invokes theologian Paul Evdokimov's vision of the limitations of cataphatic theology and the invigorating potential of apophatic theology that calls for the plenitude of the parousiac life, including in the context of interdisciplinary dialogue.

Does God Think the Same Way We Do? On the Logical Apophatism of Michał Heller

Apophatic theology is an approach in theology that emphasizes the limitation of human language and concepts in describing the nature of the Divine. Rooted in ancient religious traditions, apophatic theology has gained attention in contemporary discourse for its potential convergence with the scientific method. This paper expands on a novel application of this approach in which the formal methods of science such as logic and mathematics are engaged to inquire into how God thinks and to what degree the modes of human reasoning can be projected on the nature of the Divine mind. This application has been proposed by Michał Heller and is referred to as the logical apophatism. In the course of the analysis carried out in this paper more in-depth understanding of the logical apophatism has been obtained by contrasting it with classical approaches to negative theology such as the Triplex Via and supplementing with recent advances within the cognitive sciences. It is concluded that Heller’s use of the apophatic approach is manifestly non-standard and its novelty consists in the shift of emphasis from the negative character of the language of theology to the logic of the Divine mind and the logic that underpins the workings of the Universe.

The Source Antinomy of the Mystery of the Trinity as the Foundation and Hermeneutical Key of Christian Apophaticism in the View of Vladimir N. Lossky

For some time now, there has been a definite revival of interest in apophatic theology within religious thinking as well as at its antipodes. It often takes the form of criticism of religion, including Christian Revelation, and thus the theology based on it. From a Christian perspective, this provides an invitation to reflect on the rich heritage of apophaticism and to show its specificity as a consequence of what constitutes the specificum christianorum, i.e. the Trinitatis mystery. Important clues in this regard can be found in the thought of Vladimir N. Lossky, a prominent 20th century Orthodox theologian, a radical defender of the specific apophatic nature of Christianity and a theologian faithful to Trinitarian orthodoxy. Looking at the most important issues related to the Trinitarian dogma, we will point out that in the Russian’s view, the Trinitarian antinomy is the source and foundation of Christian apophaticism and its hermeneutics. This conclusion will be based on revealing the Trinitarian antinomy as what is primordial, unconditioned by nothing, non-derivable from anything and therefore as a purely religious given and truth par excellence, accessible to man through Its free Revelation, which It also infinitely transcends.

The Neoplatonic Roots of Apophatic Theology in Medieval Islam on the Example of Maqāmāt aṭ-ṭuyūr/Manṭiq aṭ-ṭayr (The Conference of the Birds) by ʿAṭṭār Nīšāpūrī (ca. 1145–1221)

This study will focus on the metaphysical and theological thought of Farīd ad-dīn ʿAṭṭār Nīšāpūrī, i.e. Abū Hamīd bin Abū Bakr Ibrāhīm (ca. 1145/6–1221). ʿAṭṭār’s best known masterpiece, Maqāmāt aṭ-ṭuyūr (Arabic Manṭiq aṭ-ṭayr), The Conference of the Birds, is seen as the finest example of Sufi love poetry in the Persian language after Rūmī. His thought is distinguished by its provocative and radical theology of love, as well as elements of apophaticism. ʿAṭṭār Nīšāpūrī’s vision of God should be analyzed in the context of Neoplatonism, which in a special way contributed to the development of apophatic Muslim thought. This approach challenged classical Islamic theism, whose representatives were convinced that they had sufficient knowledge of God from the Quran and Sunna. Aṭṭār’s doctrine focused on God who is a part of the universe. In other words, this author believed that whatever exists is part of God.

The Platonic-Biblical Origins of Apophatic Theology: Philo of Alexandria’s Philosophical Interpretation of the Pentateuchal Theophanies

This article examines Philo’s philosophical interpretation of the three theophanies in Exodus, which would, centuries later, continue to be considered by the great thinkers responsible for developing negative theology, such as Gregory of Nyssa and Dionysius the Areopagite. Although Exod 33:11 clearly states that the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as if someone were to speak to his own friend, according to Philo, the lawgiver neither saw the face of God, nor learned the proper name of God, nor was he able to comprehend the essence of God. These very statements became the inspiration for later apophaticism. The present article seeks to establish to what extent Philo’s theses were influenced by Plato’s philosophy or by later Middle Platonism, and to what extent Philo, by commenting allegorically on the Pentateuch, becomes the initiator of new ideas hitherto unknown in philosophical discourse. In the course of the analyses, three great questions of apophatic theology are discussed: 1. the unnameability of God; 2. the unknowability of God’s essence; and 3. the knowability of God’s nature by grace.

A Critical Reading of Jean‐Luc Marion's Interpretation of Anselm's Ontological Argument

AbstractIn this essay, I qualify Jean‐Luc Marion's anti‐ontological interpretation of Anselm's argument. Marion claims that the argument is not ontological but in line with Dionysian apophatic theology. To substantiate his anti‐ontological reading, Marion suggests that the main regulative idea of the Proslogion is bonum. The final regulative idea, however, is gaudium, since gaudium, not bonum, leads the argument to the beatific vision. If we reformulate the Proslogion focusing on gaudium, we find that Marion's analysis misses the evident ontological aspects of the argument, such as the tradition of prayer and hermeneutics. Since Anselm promulgated the argument within the Benedictine tradition of Bec, the practice of prayer or meditation is the legitimate context of the argument. However, because of his emphasis on the structure of call and response over the ontological and hermeneutical aspects of revelation, his analysis neglects the importance of the hermeneutic relation within which the Proslogion is born.

Лосев Алексей Фёдорович

Alexei Losev (10[22].09.1893, Novocherkassk – 24.05.1988, Moscow), Russian philosopher, philologist and writer, is the creator of a unique religious-philosophical system, which combines the reinterpreted tradition of ancient and medieval thought (Plato and Neoplatonism, Christian apophatic theology of Dionysius the Areopagite, Gregory Palamas, Nicholas of Cusa), the methodology of New European philosophy (German classical idealism, neo-Kantianism, phenomenology of E.Husserl) and the problems of New European philosophy (German classical ideal-ism, neo-Kantianism, phenomenology of E.Husserl) and the problems of Russian religious philosophy of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, from V.S. Solovyov (the idea of universalism) to P.A. Florensky. In the constructive design of Losev’s system the central place is occupied by dialectics, in the multidimensional construction of which each category and all of them together are worked out in the light of each other. Losev’s personalistic ontology is the basis of his philosophy of language (naming as an interpretative - communicative self-discovery of personality), philosophy of myth as a distinctive form of personal worldview (myth as directly experienced and created reality, symboli-cally expressed), and aesthetics (artistic form is “personality as symbol and symbol aspersonality”). Losev was the founder of the philosophy of music in Russia. His multi-volume history of ancient aesthetics represents the history of the entire ancient culture revealed in its symbolic-expressive aspects. The works of Losev, are presentative of the last generation of the Silver Age of Russian culture, became a kind of completion of Ortho-dox religious philosophy in Russia in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Negative Capabilities: Investigating Apophasis in AI Text-to-Image Models

Through a case study of images generated by Swedish artist Steph Maj Swanson using an AI text-to-image (T2I) model, this article explores the strategy of negative weight prompting in T2I models as a phenomenon of apophasis. Apophasis is a linguistic strategy commonly deployed in texts of mystical theology to express the ineffability of God through negative concepts. In this article, a comparison of apophatic strategies in mystical texts and T2I models is engaged to highlight the mutual benefit of theorising AI with the help of religious theory and concepts. With this, the article builds on previous work on the New Visibility of Religion, enchantment, and post-secularism—especially the research of Beth Singler on religious continuities in representations of AI. Recent work on AI prompt engineering, computational linguistics, and computational geometry is invoked to explain the linguistic processes of T2I models. Poststructuralist semiotics is then employed to theorise the search for the Transcendental Signified in apophatic theology. The article concludes that linguistic theology can help to elucidate technological use cases, subsequently arguing for further dialogue between scholars in artificial intelligence and religious studies, and for a revaluation of religion in the technological sphere.

Idolatry and Mystery

Abstract This article contrasts the accounts of mystery used to combat idolatry found in the theology of Karl Barth and in contemporary apophatic theology. It describes Barth’s account of mystery as distinctly Protestant in its soteriological nature and basis in contrast to recent apophatic accounts of mystery based on the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo. These divergent theologies of mystery—as either light or darkness based on different dogmatic res—ultimately reveal contrasting commitments in the doctrine of God. For both, Jesus Christ is the light of God’s gracious revelation. However, the movement in apophatic theology is from the light of Christ to the mystery of divine darkness, while in Barth’s theology Jesus Christ is the luminous mystery of God that dispels the Deus absconditus. This article argues that idolatry is better counteracted by Barth’s positive concept that mystery is grace and filled with content in Jesus Christ.

Godforsakenness: ‘the scourge of God’ or hidden gift?

ABSTRACT The article offers a phenomenological study of the interpenetrating experiences of suffering and Godforsakenness from the perspective of ‘the scourge of God’, based on the works of Albert Camus. The study reveals the complexity and ambiguity of this experience and its transcendental significance as being ‘without God’, and invites eschatological and soteriological discussions. However, special attention is focused on understanding the suffering of humanity which manifests the quintessential experience of Godforsakenness. Suffering becomes a space of total vulnerability, not only before God but also before the neighbour and the Church. The experience of Godforsakenness also becomes a tool of apophatic theology and a sign of the reconciliation of suffering and God's love. In addition, the experience of Godforsakenness in suffering may produce original gifts: hope, solidarity, and faith as “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrew 11, 1).