SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON

 

 

SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON

 

WE LEARNED TWO WORDS

IN SUNDAY SCHOOL

TODAY

 

CATAPHATIC

 

WHICH LITERALLY MEAN

CATA = DESCEND

FEMI = TO SPEAK

 

IN LAYMEN’S LANGUAGE IT MEANS

TO BRING GOD DOWN

 IN SUCH A WAY

SO AS TO SPEAK OF HIM

 

AND

APOPHATIC

 

.WHICH LITERALLY MEANS

APO = NOT

FEMI = TO SPEAK      

IN LAYMEN’S LANGUAGE IT MEANS

. TO SAY NO

 

THESE POSITIONS WERE FIRST PUT FORWARD

BY

PSEUDO-DIONYSIUS THE AREOPAGITE

 

WHO LIVED ABOUT 550 AD

IN HIS BOOK

ON THE DIVINE NAMES

 

CHURCHES WHICH ARE CLEAR

OF ANY RITUAL OR SYMBOLS

ARE CLOSE TO THE CATAPHATIC OUTLOOK

WHILE CHURCHES WHICH LEAN

TOWARD SYMBOLS OR RITUALS

ARE MORE APOPHATIC

 

BECAUSE SO MANY CHURCHES

HAVE AMALGAMATED THEIR BELIEFS

THERE OFTEN IS NO CLEAR DISTINCTION

AS TO WHICH SCHOOL THEY FOLLOW

 

SOME SPIRITUAL TEACHERS

ADVISE

TO FOLLOW A MIDDLE PATH

BETWEEN THESE TWO CONCEPTS

 

LIKE ODYSSEUS

BETWEEN CHARYBDIS AND SCYLLA

 

OTHERS

INCLUDING THE EASTERN CHURCH

THERE  SHOULD BE A DIAGONAL PATH

BETWEEN THE TWO CONCEPTS

 

STARTING FROM THE CONCRETE

TO THE INEFFABLE

 

WHICH POINT I AM TRYING TO REACH

 

AS I HAVE SAID

IN MY POEM

 

SURFBIRD

.

 

THE SEA CAME IN THE LITTLE BIRD RAN

AND FOLLOWED THE SEA BACK OUT

THEN RAN FROM THE SEA AND FOLLOWED IT OUT

DANCING THE DAY IN TIME TO THE SEA

PLAYING FOR FOOD

 

I WONDER IF IT FEARS THE SEA

LIKE I DO GOD

PLAYING THE EDGES OF HIS LOVE

OR MY LOVE REALLY AS IT EBBS AND FLOWS

RUNNING WHEN THE WAVE COMES STRONG

SEABIRDS ON DELICATE FEET

RUNNING FROM THE WATER

 

SOMEDAY HOPEFULLY UNAWARE

THE SEA WILL OVERWHELM ME

SWEEPING ME OUT TO THE DEPTHS OF THE SEA

TO BE ONE WITH THE MOTION THE SURGE OF THE SEA

TO BE THE SEA

 

TO PLAY WITH THE BIRDS AT THE WATER'S EDGE

TO FEED THEM

AND CALL THEM TO THE DANCE

 

 

FRANK A VOLLMER

 

 

 

                              

 

 

Cataphatic (sometimes spelled kataphatic) theology is the expressing of God or the divine through positive terminology. This is in contrast to defining God or the divine in what God is not, which is referred to as negative or apophatic theology. The word cataphatic itself is formed from two Greek words, "cata" meaning to descend and "femi" meaning to speak. Thus, to combine them translates the word roughly as "to bring God down in such a way so as to speak of him

 

Apophatic theology (from Ancient Greek: ἀπόφασις, from ἀπόφημι – apophēmi, "to deny")—also known as negative theology, via negativa or via negationis^[1] (Latin for "negative way" or "by way of denial")—is a theology that attempts to describe God, the Divine Good, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may not be said about the perfect goodness that is God.^[2] It stands in contrast with cataphatic theology.

A startling example can be found with theologian John Scotus Erigena (9th century): "We do not know what God is. God Himself does not know what He is because He is not anything. Literally God is not, because He transcends being."