Apophatic, apophaticism Refers to the practice of Christian theology called negative theology or apophatic theology.

This practice consists of three stages: 1. cataphasis = positive predication -that is, making positive statements about God, e.g., God is Good, God is Being, God is Light, God is Truth, etc. -this practice is also called the practice of contemplation of the Names of God. 2. apophasis = negative predication -negative (or apophatic) theology gets its name from this stage, but negative theology really consists of all three stages together (just like classical music means all of Western formal music, but also means the specific period of Western music from about 1720-1820). -this practice consists of negating the positive statements; e.g., because there is an essential difference between God and humans, though we can say God is Good (and there will be some truth to the statement), God is not Good in the sense that humans are good Gods goodness is infinitely greater than any human goodness. In fact, Gods goodness is so great, so different, that we cannot possibly understand it, and in a sense, the word Good does not even express it. In this sense, God is not-Good (but we dont mean by this that God is evil, though perhaps from a human perspective, sometimes Gods acts seem evil, e.g., when an innocent person dies). -some terms commonly used of God are really apophatic terms, such as infinite to call God infinite is actually to say that God is not-finite. 3. the way of eminence -this stage follows from the previous stages, and consists of saying that, in some sense, God is beyond all positive and negative statements. -the Greek prefix hyper- signals these statements, but is one of the major points of contention. It was early on translated by the Latin prefix super-, which seems to mean then that God is, e.g., super-Good, Good raised to the highest degree. However, I make the case that the hyper- should be translated as beyond or other than, and thus it should point to a sense in which God is beyond ALL predication, all attributes that we can apply to Him.

Hesychasm, hesychastic This is the Eastern Orthodox (Christian) system of spiritual practices, centered around the repetition of the Jesus Prayer (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a

sinner). This tradition dates to the 14th century, but has roots going back into Scripture and the Desert Fathers (early Egyptian and Syrian monasticism). Hesychasm is a highly developed system of spiritual practices, that includes bodily postures, breath control, and repetitious prayer (formally similar to Hindu or Buddhist mantras). More significantly, it transforms human nature gradually, in three major stages: 1. Purification -in this stage, the practitioner purges all their bad habits and attachments, through withdrawal from the world (monasticism), obedience to a spiritual director, bodily asceticism (fasting, limiting sleep, etc.), and other practices. The point of purification is to eliminate all of those habits and attachments that interfere with the relationship with God. -there is a second step of purification, which begins the re-building process, building up a new person, through practice of the virtues and selfknowledge; these processes continue in the next stage. 2. Illumination -at the stage of illumination, the practitioner begins to build up a new person (or subjectivity), which consists in part of the development of the spiritual senses (a set of senses spiritual sight, spiritual hearing, etc. for perceiving spiritual realities). These spiritual senses can perceive the essences of natural beings, as well as spiritual realities (angels, demons, and ultimately, the presence of God). -the practitioner at this stage also develops the virtues of discernment (the ability to judge between spiritual realities), and may develop one or more of the charismata, i.e., the gifts of the Holy Spirit (like the gifts given to the Apostles at Pentecost); e.g., speaking in tongues, clairvoyance, telepathy, etc. The hesychasts regard these as signs of spiritual progress, but unnecessary and often dangerous, since they can lead to self-delusion. 3. Perfection -this is the stage of union with God, in silent ecstasy. This is roughly equivalent to what we mean by mystical experience. My basic argument is that apophatic theology is a set of practices that must be understood within the context of hesychasm. The postmodern philosophers who have tried to use negative theology to advance their philosophies have ignored the fact that negative theology arises within hesychasm.