Cataphatism (Noun)
Meaning
The religious belief that God has given enough clues to be known to humans positively and affirmatively (e.g., God created Adam `in his own image').
Classification
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents.
Examples
- The priest believed in cataphatism, emphasizing the importance of reason in understanding God's intentions.
- Some theologians view the story of Adam as a prime example of cataphatism, where God's creative actions reveal His nature.
- In his sermons, the pastor emphasized cataphatism, encouraging his congregation to seek knowledge of God through observation of the natural world.
- Cataphatism is often contrasted with apophatism, the view that God can only be known through negation and subtraction of human conceptions.
- The philosophical concept of cataphatism underlies the traditional Christian doctrine that humanity was created in the image of God, or imago dei.