Theological Term of the Week: Cataphatic Theology

 

cataphatic theology
A method of describing God by saying what he is; a positive affirmation of God. (For example: God is love. God is holy.)1

• From None Greater by Matthew Barrett:

Cataphatic theology is affirmative by design, occuring whenever we assert what God is. Nevertheless, as long as God-talk remains analogical, our cataphatic excitement must be tamed the wisdom of its older sister, apophatic theology, which describes God by what he is not.  …

All in all, there is a balance to be struck. We must carefully balance the discontinuity, lest we strip God of his infinitude and think that the image is the same as that which it images.2

• From The Christian Faith by Michael Horton:

[T]he communicable attributes are typically identified by the way of eminence (via eminentiae), by highlighting attributes in which creatures share analogically but in a qualitatively inferior manner, often identified by the “omni-” prefix (for example, omnipotent, omniscient).  …  Refusing to be an idolatrous projection of our own ideas of perfecion, God infinitely transcends all comparisons. Nevertheless, out of love for his creatures, God condescends to our finite capacity by selecting analogies that are appropriate but nevertheless fall short of his majesty.3

Learn more:

1. Theopedia: Cataphatic Theology

Related terms:

• apophatic theology
• communicable attributes
• holiness
• love
• omnipotence
• omniscience

Filed under God’s Nature and His Work

1From None Greater, page 248.

2 From None Greater, page 37-38.

3 From The Christian Faith, page 225.

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Sunday's Hymn: Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart

Rejoice, ye pure in heart,
Rejoice, give thanks, and sing:
Your festal banner wave on high,
The cross of Christ your King.

Rejoice, rejoice,
Rejoice, give thanks and sing.

Bright youth and snow-crowned age,
Strong men and maidens meek,
Raise high your free, exulting song,
God’s wondrous praises speak.

With all the angel choirs,
With all the saints on earth,
Pour out the strains of joy and bliss,
True rapture, noblest mirth!

Yes, on through life’s long path,
Still chanting as ye go;
From youth to age, by night and day,
In gladness and in woe.

At last the march shall end,
The wearied ones shall rest,
The pilgrims find their Father’s house,
Jerusalem the blest.

Then on, ye pure in heart,
Rejoice, give thanks, and sing;
Your glorious banner wave on high,
The cross of Christ your King.

—Edward H. Plumptre

 Other hymns, worship songs, or quotes for this Sunday:

• Preparing to Hear God’s Word at The Outspoken Tulip
• I Sought the Lord, and Afterward I Knew at The Happy Wonderer
• Wasted years restored at Tried With Fire
• Lord’s Day 20, 2019 at The Thirsty Theologian

Selected Reading

I read these recently and recommend them to you.

Scripture

How Do I Evangelize Someone Who Says That They Don’t Trust the Bible?
“The only means by which people will repent is if in the kindness of God; He opens their eyes to their enslavement to sin and gives them new hearts that hate sin. He has one means that He will use to accomplish this: His Word” (Jordan Standridge).

So yes, you go ahead an use the Bible anyway.

Bible Study

Jesus’ Family Tree
What can we learn from the geneology of Jesus found in Matthew? More than you might think.

Theology

Why Good Theology Is Not Enough
“Orthodoxy—proper beliefs—is where we begin. But it’s not where we end. To be clear, we can’t grow much in our love for God without also growing in our beliefs about God. What we believe about God is vitally important. But it’s dangerously possible to grow in our knowledge of God without growing in our love for God. We can accumulate a lot of knowledge while our hearts remain far from him” (Dan DeWitt).

Paying Tribute

Be Wiersbe
“Warren wasn’t flashy, and he wasn’t about himself. He was real—what the kids call ‘authentic’—and he was funny. He knew who he was, and he loved Jesus in his normal, ordinary way. Warren was a very human saint, which is the best kind of saint” (Mike Wittmer). 

Spelling

‘Dilemma’ or ‘Dilemna’?
Did a teacher steer you wrong? I’m pretty sure someone somewhere taught me to spell this word incorrectly.