As I examine your response it seems to me that you and I do not really differ in substance so much as we have experienced a confusion based on semantics specifically as to how one defines the terms cataphatic and apophatic., I use the terms as they have been traditionally used. Modernism vs. Postmodernism: Can we really know the truth? ; Truth-claim: a statement that asserts something is factually true; Apophatic way (via negativa): a way of speaking about God and using theological ideas using only terms that say what God is not. Religious language does not just describe a state of affairs more or less accurately, it calls people to action. Each of the following sentences contains at least one error in the use of semicolons, colons, dashes, parentheses, ellipsis points, brackets, italics (underlining), quotation marks, apostrophes, or hyphens. What we can say about God is not something we should seek to relegate to intellectual propositions unrelated to the God we know by experience. 4.666666666666667 4 reviews. planning for and . On the other hand, I note that cataphatic theology does not exclude mystical or ecstatic experience with God: I believe the New Testament is essentially cataphatic without falling into dry scholasticism (for lack of a better word with which to label dead, intellectual orthodoxy). Hint: the suffix graph is Greek; Romans spoke in Latin. All Spec and no play: Its Philosotree Time! Registered office: International House, Queens Road, Brighton, BN1 3XE. The world around us in contingent, and forever-changing. (Apophatic way), States that we cannot describe God and talk in a positive way, He said that : religious language is meaningful when used negatively, Think of a ship. We're going to win this championship! Given sentence below refers to a numbered sentence in the passage. Cataphatic theology or kataphatic theology is theology that uses " positive " terminology to describe or refer to the divine - specifically, God - i.e. The via negativa (Apophatic Way) In negative theology it is accepted that the Divine is ineffable (too great or too extreme to be expressed in words.) Creative Commons "Sharealike" Review. . , OCR Religious Studies A Level Predictions , A-Level OCR Religious Studies H573 05/11/18th June [Exam Discussion] , Aqa AS Spanish Paper 2 New Specificstion unofficial mark scheme , OCR A-Level religious studies - Philosophy (4th June 2019) predictions? Thus, though God or the divine may be initially spoken of with propositions, they say that propositions about God must ultimately be transcended a decidedly apophatic position. He is the giver of salvation to the enemies whom He kills. John de Ruiter College of Integrated Philosophy, The Church of Almighty God (Eastern Lightning). What cities served as centers of execution? Common weaknesses include a fear of public speaking, lack of experience with software or a program, or difficulty with taking criticism. While Aquinas argument is compelling, it leaves religious believers with a very limited set of things that they can say about God which makes it difficult to hold on to the spirit of doctrines, if not the letter. In addition, Anselms argument makes the assumption that human beings have an idea of God as that than which nothing greater can be conceived of in intellectu, something which St Thomas Aquinas rejected. There was much to stimulate the mind, many questions were raised, some were not wholly answered, and Plass shared some of the ways in which the complexities of faith for a perennial doubter worked themselves out over the years. Teacher Toolkit: Thinking of Becoming a Teacher? Wrote books "The Courage To Be" and "Systematic Theology". Here are some possible strengths and weaknesses you can use as the basis of your answers for these questions. He wrote, because we do not know the essence of God, the proposition is not self-evident to us; but needs to be demonstrated by things that are more known to us, though less known in their nature namely, by effects. Summa Theologica 1, 2, 1, He continued, arguing that univocal predication is impossible between God and creatures Summa Theologica 1, 13, 5 because the cause and effect relationship is too slight to support a single meaning for what is affirmed of the two. It shows itself in many of the medieval mystics. For most theologians, Gods nature cannot properly or fully be conceived or understood. Religious Education: What do students need to KNOW? It tried to help the union become a fair union. The Via Positiva or Cataphatic Way, as it is also known, describes God through positive statements. SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis is a method for identifying and analyzing internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats that. As such He was able to atone as only God can for the sin for which man must pay. NOW OUT:Issue 46 is now available covering 22 February - 28 May 2023, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, Issue 45 is now available covering 27 November 2022 - 19 February 2023, Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. asked my friend Tanya when I told her my problem. terminology that describes or refers to what the divine is believed to be, in contrast to the "negative" terminology used in apophatic theology to indicate what it is believed the divine is not. (Reign of Terror, 17931794). Given that only the fool says in his heart that there is no God (Psalm 14:1, Proslogion 2) we all have the concept of God as that than which nothing greater can be conceived of in our minds (in intellectu) and would understand the impossibility of affirming attributes that are not consistent with Gods supremely perfect nature. Once Experienced Never Forgotten A tour of Auschwitz, You cant be religious and a humanist: Humanism Explored. I've been wondering about approaches that we take to the gospel, and reading Plass's experiences of the damage done to people who have experienced a negative approach to the gospel dredged up two terms from my studies: the Via Positiva (the Positive Way) and the Via Negativa (the Negative Way). St Augustine It also provides space for notes and outlines the spec requirements. The types of strengths that can be good candidates are things like: being good at researching information. When I use the terms orthodox or orthodoxy, I mean them in their theological sense that a teaching is right or correct, as opposed to teaching that is heterodox or heretical. Age range: 16+ Resource type: Lesson (complete) 5 1 review. Report this resourceto let us know if it violates our terms and conditions. See full list here: 64 Qualities of Lord Krishna.[7]. Enter your email address to subscribe. Examiners Report 2018: The Highs and Lows. Of these, 5 are special, which are not found in jiva-atmas or (according to the Vaishnava view) other Hindu deities, even Brahma or Shiva: Other 55 transcendental qualities are found in Brahma and Shiva, though they are common for Narayana and Krishna, but not found in jiva-atmas. Religious believers are more inclined to take positively about God. The heritage of apophatic theology can be seen in Karl Barth and the Neo-Orthodoxy he helped birth. By this approach, if somebody says God is good, they mean much the same as if they said St Anselm is good. God is that against which we grade perfections in other things that we encounter in the world that God created. Cataphatic theology or kataphatic theology is theology that uses "positive" terminology to describe or refer to the divine specifically, God i.e. For Maimonides, human words refer to human experience and are inescapably tied to the spatio-temporal framework that encompasses human experience. to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the via negativa and the via positiva. [40]. He is surrounded by devotees endowed with wonderful love of Godhead. "What Are Your Weaknesses" Examples 1. If you would like a Lesson Pack with activities and worksheets, that complements the power point, please click on the image below: Check out the Revision Podcast where I go through the topic (using the ppt found on YouTube) whilst a student makes notes on a coverall sheet: Check out this Mark with Me Preview for a Religious Language essay that achieved the overall A* in the 2018 exam: To continue watching this Mark with Me and have access all 30 revision podcasts then join I Think Therefore I Teachs exclusive membership on the Home page. ":"&")+"url="+encodeURIComponent(b)),f.setRequestHeader("Content-Type","application/x-www-form-urlencoded"),f.send(a))}}}function B(){var b={},c;c=document.getElementsByTagName("IMG");if(!c.length)return{};var a=c[0];if(! Olson says, Apparently Athenagoras and later apophatic thinkers assumed that Gods perfection means being unlike anything createdThe result, of course, was a gradual diminishing of the biblical Gods personal nature (The Story of Christian Theology, p. 63). Or to say that God is not love, as he transcends even our notion of love. And finally just 50 transcendental qualities can be found in jiva-atmas, who are not on the level of deities, but Krishna and Narayana also have these qualities. For Classical Theists, Gods nature cannot be understood in the way that we understand other things because God is necessarily unlimited, timelessly perfect. This way of unknowing has persisted in various manifestations such as the Hesychasm of Eastern Orthodoxy. Religious experiences, if any are genuine, are best understood to be non-sensuous (Stace) and noumenal (James), an experience of ultimate reality that goes well beyond normal sensory experience and normal description. As Randall argues, symbols also invite a response and so acknowledge that what people are doing when they affirm Gods attributes is not just inert description. It seems fair to conclude that saying that the Cataphatic Way is the best way to understand Religious Language may be limited to Theistic Personalists. Why do you think Marlow begins his tale of a journey to the heart of darkness with an account of London in very old times, when the Romans first came here (para. Barths wholly other God is so wholly other nothing certain can be spoken of him in propositions (it took Barth millions of propositions to say that). All teachers who hold to these views make intellectual assertions about the divine but ultimately say that to find ones unity with the divine one must transcend the limitations of the mind. Unfortunately, that is largely not what people mean by the term, and apophatic methodology has spawned much unorthodox theology.. It tried to give the states as much power as possible, but with this came many weaknesses. It can be argued that only the via negativa adequately conveys the transcendence of God. registered in England (Company No 02017289) with its registered office at Building 3, St Pauls Place, Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 2JE. To say that God is good in the same way as Anselm is good implies that Gods goodness is changeable, moral, relative to other things, because goodness when referring to things in this world implies such conditions and limitations. Is one of the most natural ways of talking about God. Examples of entries on a single page are ones for the opera carmen, the movie casablanca, and the song "casey jones.". From what I garner from your comment I believe you would agree with me on these points and that any supposed difference between us is not a genuine one but one in appearance only, based on a differing usage of the terms cataphatic and apophatic., I am a Buddhist Monk (30 years) but neither a exemplary meditator or even a mediocre scholar and have recently been fascinated by the teachings of Cynthia Bourgeault, Richard Rohr and Martin Laird particularly related to prayer/meditation but also Cynthia Bourgeaults notion of Nondual Christianity. I tend to assume that the notion of nonduality would be inconsistent with the cataphatic view since if God had characteristics that could be defined He (?) Everything you need to get your revision off to a flying start! Colour Coordination: Highlighting those Skills, Bringing back the Red Pen: Effective Feedback, You havent done the reading! How to avoid Flipped Learning Flops. The God of Genesis 2-3 walks in the Garden of Eden and has to look for Adam and Eve, whereas the God of Job 38 who asks . The terms orthodox and orthodoxy are used in an ecclesiastical sense as well as a purely theological one, though churches that use the term orthodox in their title will often claim to be the true representatives of orthodoxy in the theological sense. Listing your strengths and weaknesses is a beneficial exercise that helps to motivate a range of positive cognitive and behavioral changes. !, Thanks for all your inspirational work, your resources as so very helpful!! asked my friend Tanya when I told her my problem. With this understanding, apophatic theology cannot serve as a foundation for cataphatic theology since it excludes it from consideration. For some Classical Theists, it is the Apophatic Way, not the Cataphatic Way, that is the best way to understand religious language. It seems contrary to the use of language in Scripture, which uses positive statements. Conditions. What we can say about God is not something we should seek to relegate to intellectual propositions unrelated to the God we know by experience. The Science of Learning What you need to know. Common strengths include leadership, communication, or writing skills. For Aquinas, the most that can be affirmed of God is analogous, affirmed in a strictly limited timeless sense. InThe Divine Names and in the Mystical Theology, Pseudo-Dionysius said God was beyond being, beyond divinity, and beyond goodness. Thus, in place of the biblical description of God as a divine being who is good, we have nothing but an abstraction that cannot be spoken ofintelligibly. Or it leads to such a duality in life (with double standards reigning) that is surely not conducive to full life as promised by Jesus. It supports the view of many thinkers, especially mystics, that God is beyond description and that experience of him is ineffable. In the fourteenth century, for example, Meister Eckhart declared that we should not chatter about God (speak of who God is or what attributes He possesses). A level Religious Language introductory lesson. The method doesn't even work for everyday objects, let alone an all powerful, transcendent God. Thank you for reading my article and taking the time to respond with this question. Not everyone has the same understanding of different words, so God would appear differently to the individual person. Religious Language: Via Negativa/The Apophatic Way, Religious Language (Via Negativa, Via Positiva and Symbol), Religious Language: negative, analogical or symbolic, AS and A-Level Philosophy, Religious Studies and Theology resources thread , OCR Religious Studies A Level Predictions , OCR A level Religious Studies - Philosophy paper predictions , OCR A2 Religious Studies Philosophy of Religion 11th June , List of possible questions for OCR RS A level with the Christianity option. OCR Apophatic & Cataphatic Way. Perhaps we all just need more time in the cloud of unknowing to explore God using the Via Negativa which means avoiding all the language we have previously used about God (whether negative or positive) and to find God ourselves. Get Revising is one of the trading names of The Student Room Group Ltd. Register Number: 04666380 (England and Wales), VAT No. Tel: 01224 213093. It seems contrary to the use of language in Scripture, which uses positive statements. Does the creator require institutional validation? We address doctrines and practices of Christian churches and organizations, as well as those of cults of Christianity. //]]>. A SWOT analysis is a technique used to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for your business or even a specific project.