Apophatism (Noun)
Meaning
The religious belief that God cannot be known but is completely `other' and must be described in negative terms (in terms of what God is not).
Classification
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents.
Examples
- The theologian's emphasis on apophatism led her to describe God as "not finite" and "not bound by human understanding".
- In the mystical tradition, apophatism is a way of acknowledging the limits of language in describing the divine.
- The apophatic approach to theology emphasizes what God is not, rather than what God is, in order to avoid reducing the divine to human categories.
- The concept of apophatism is central to the via negativa, a spiritual path that seeks to know God by negating all finite and imperfect attributes.
- By embracing apophatism, the mystic seeks to transcend the limitations of human language and thought, and to experience the divine in its pure, unmediated form.