Apophatic theology, or negative theology, 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. It is a way of coming to an understanding of who God is which has played a significant role across centuries of Christian tradition but is very often treated with suspicion by those engaging in theological study today,
Seeking the God Beyond explores the difference a negative theological approach might make to our faith and practice and offers an introduction to this oft-misunderstood form of spirituality. Beginning by placing apophatic spirituality within its biblical roots, the book later considers the key pioneers of apophatic faith and a diverse range of thinkers including CS Lewis and Keats - to inform us in our negative theological journey.
Janet Williams is the West of England Ministry Training Course Dean at Ripon College Cuddesdon. She has taught Philosophy, Religious Studies/Theology and Buddhism in a range of universities and colleges in both Japan and England.
Show moreApophatic theology, or negative theology, 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. It is a way of coming to an understanding of who God is which has played a significant role across centuries of Christian tradition but is very often treated with suspicion by those engaging in theological study today,
Seeking the God Beyond explores the difference a negative theological approach might make to our faith and practice and offers an introduction to this oft-misunderstood form of spirituality. Beginning by placing apophatic spirituality within its biblical roots, the book later considers the key pioneers of apophatic faith and a diverse range of thinkers including CS Lewis and Keats - to inform us in our negative theological journey.
Janet Williams is the West of England Ministry Training Course Dean at Ripon College Cuddesdon. She has taught Philosophy, Religious Studies/Theology and Buddhism in a range of universities and colleges in both Japan and England.
Show moreContents:
Preface
Introduction: Speak of Me as I Am
Part 1 Biblical Roots
- Moses: The Fire and the Cloud
- The Song of Songs
- John the Baptist, Apophatic Prophet
- Jesus: Word and Silence
Part 2 The ‘Negative Way’
- Stripping
- Ascent
- Unsaying
- Union
Part 3 Pioneers of Apophatic Faith
- Gregory of Nyssa
- The Dionysian Corpus
- Meister Eckhart
- Nicholas of Cusa
Part 4 Allies on the Journey
- Athens
- Keats’ Negative Capability
- Narnia
- Zen’s ‘Don’t-Know Mind’
Part 5 Apophatic Practices
- Exuberance: Saying and Unsaying in Parable and Poetry
- Pilgrimage
- Liturgy
- Prayer ‘in the Cave of the Heart’
Afterword: Running Towards a Stone Tomb
Janet Williams is the West of England Ministry Training Course Dean at Ripon College Cuddesdon. She has taught Philosophy, Religious Studies/Theology and Buddhism in a range of universities and colleges in both Japan and England.
This is a timely and very accessible book for an age desperately
needing depth as well as direction. The Apophatic way of faith is
simply life changing. At the place where words and imagination must
rightly fail, the Apophatic way guides us into the inexpressible
mystery and presence of the living God.
*David Runcorn*
'This is an important, timely and delightful book. Janet Williams
carries deep learning with grace and style. Her book is packed with
a deeply human wisdom and yet points to something far greater and
much more glorious. Here is the God who can truly save us from
ourselves.'
*David Hoyle, Dean of Bristol*
The sub-title is ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Christian Apophatic
Spirituality,’ and it is exactly that, an overview of the via
negativa, a way to reach God by discovering what he is not rather
than what he is. I found it a theological page-turner, leading on
from the biblical roots starting with Moses, the Song of Songs and
John the Baptist to Jesus; these texts are revisited in succeeding
chapters: an explanation of the ‘negative way’; exponents such as
St John of the Cross and Meister Eckhart; a fascinating description
of related topics, Paul in Athens, Keats’ Negative Capability, the
books of Narnia and Zen Buddhism; finally apophatic content in
practices such as pilgrimage, liturgy and prayer. There are useful
addenda such as the need for spiritual emptying and humility in the
Afterword, and also further reading. You will gather that it is
very wide-ranging, indeed breath-taking in its compass, but it is
in direct language and easy to read. I would say it is essential
for those engaged in spiritual direction and otherwise highly
recommended for all.
*The Reader, Winter edition*
'...the thrust and tenor will be seen as a welcome ally to those of
us who despair at the way in which churches so often seem to want
to deliver a God packaged in doctrinal terms where explanation has
superseded the experience of the divine. Echoes persist throughout
the book of Tillich’s ‘Ground of all being’ and Julian of Norwich’s
emphasis on love capturing the meaning of God. Those readers less
convinced of the existential reality of God might nevertheless warm
to this approach of inward contemplation and a hatching of the
heart.'
*Adrian Alker, Progressive Voices, Dec 2019, PC31*
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