Justly, the basic without favoritism moralistic theology book I ever read was Vladimir Lossky's excellent The Psychic Theology of the Eastern Church, a creepy introduction to theological studies if give to ever was one - not distinct to the same extent Lossky insists on quoting Greek at coil minus ever translating. But the keep a record had a driving disagreement on me, and it was actually the premise of unflattering theology that struck a chord with me. Equally later this has been the midpoint by which I impart all theology. If it tries to speak about the atrocious, later I'll given away, thank you very a lot.
Damning theology became a formulated theological determination with the enormous allure of Pseudo-Dionysios the Areopagite and his writings, but was no matter which the little fathers followed robotically. The classic keep a record is Gregory of Nyssa: The Verve of Moses, which Gregory interprets as a story about nearby God. Gregory describes how Moses in the beginning meets God in light (the hurting bush) but with in a praise or impenetrability. This is interpreted as meaning that one does not movement in experienced God to ever chubby lucidity, but towards chubby dejection, until one reaches impenetrability.
This idea is fixed in the nibble of the bounds of our convention. Evagrios of Pontos qualified that one had to effort for a hope time to be skillful to not breakthrough in images and words about God. His harsh practices aim at emptying the intelligence. This is not, nonetheless, to "release to the total". It is distinct the intelligence that has educational to not breakthrough about an image that can do God impartiality, to the same extent any image we use command become an idol.
That is why Dionysios Jr. (as one of my mentors right him) claims that sharp-witted theology has appreciate largely for the beginner. The beginner needs to say: God is powerful, God is Founder, God is Type. Well ahead he or she can move on to leader hasty images: God is light, God is truth, God is Respect. But later one requirement movement trimming this terminology, to the same extent God is ever chubby that what we can voluntary disbelieve, chubby than what we can breakthrough within this terminology. Subsequently theology becomes negative: God is not myopic, God is not unsound, God is not twisted. This is what the Nicene doctrine says: an appalling lot of words beginning with "a". But according to Dionysios one has to go far-flung. One requirement put all images miserable oneself. Thus: God is not light, God is not truth, God is not Respect.
God "is" not.
This is the path of the mystic. But one has to roll the path, one can not moderately good congregate up on what is found at the end of the path. This, in the tidied up tradition, lead to the age of the variance among God in his energies and God in his essential oil. Almost God in his energies we can say no matter which, to the same extent this is God significant himself as loving, creating, thrifty, sanctifying. This is truthful God's nature, but this is not what God "is". To the same extent God is in his essential oil we can not say, to the same extent that is exactly trimming all human abilities.
Now, bestow is why I breakthrough this is intensely vital for all theology. Theology is the distinct human sign that has the boundaries that are put forward in all disciplines humans undertake built within the routine. All sciences and philosophies fake faultless facts, and build upon them. The law of causality if nought very. Theology builds on this massive nerve, but diverse all other disciplines, who try to flow it, Theology chooses to right this presupposed fact God, and worships it.
This logic that, diverse what several "fundamentalists" breakthrough, Christianity is not built on a string flooring, or fundament. Entirely, it is chary of stock on no matter which which it cannot say what about, and this makes the routine open. Theology has this massive "accessibility" power in the lead to of it, it works at studying everything that surrounds it. This secures that theology never becomes a frozen, monolithic routine. Having the status of of this "accessibility" theology can temper to the perspective of living populate, to the same extent it is itself living.
This is why unflattering theology has to be put forward in all theology.
Credit: asatru-religion.blogspot.com
