#apophatic

[noosphe-re]

Within the heptasyllabic is a bridge, connecting the apophatic with the cataphatic.

Ahmed Salman

[ordinaryfailure]

Apophatic derives from the Greek for “other than” (apo-) and “to speak” (phanai). It has been employed widely in theology to describe a thing only in terms of what may not be said about it. Applied often to discuss conceptions of God, the term describes a verbal strategy that helps us to make sense of the ineffable, unapproachable, or unknowable. While I’ve not yet begun to reconcile this vocabulary with my own Catholic upbringing (that’s for the next book), it has been incredibly clarifying to embrace this new terminology, to come to understand my writing and, indeed, myself in a different way. It now feels empowering to admit that there will be aspects of my own heritage and parentage that I will not be able to express. That these great gaps in knowledge and the lingering questions of my experience are not deficits but new pathways rich with potential. In naming the apophatic I’ve found another way in, a new means for building on the foundation laid by my ancestors, that Guaraní and Spanish and English might intermingle and generate something new. It remains to be seen exactly what comes next, what these languages can bring into being. But they can, and they will, continue to combine in new ways unique to this poetics of not knowing.

Diego Báez, “Naming the Apophatic: The Poetics of Not Knowing” (2024)

[theinwardlight]

From Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

[nowhere-herenow]

“If we fail to recognize that the term “God” always falls short of that towards which the word is supposed to point, we will end up bowing down before our own conceptual creations forged from the raw materials of our self-image, rather than bowing before the one who stands over and above that creation. Hence Meister Eckhart famously prays, “God, rid me of God”, a prayer that acknowledges how the God we are in relationship with is bigger, better and different than our understanding of that God”.

- Peter Rollins

[buggie-hagen]

Fundamentalists must start outside Scripture to authenticate it. That is, they begin with a definition of truth that they then apply to the biblical text. If the Bible lives up to their definition of truth, it is true; if not, it is false. Now, their definition of truth is apophatic; that is, it is a definition from negation. In order to be true the Bible must not have two things: it must not contain errors and it must not contain falsehoods; that is, it must be in-errant and in-fallible, where the Latin prefix “in” means “not.” Of course, any such definition always results in setting a standard that is humanly impossible to meet, so immediately the fundamentalist builds on some obvious caveats: individual copies of the Bible contain scribal errors; there can always be errors in transmission and interpretation. However, when it comes to questions of content, the Bible contains neither errors nor falsehoods, where the measure for both errors and falsehoods arises from human definitions brought in to judge Scripture.

~Timothy J. Wengert, Reading the Bible with Martin Luther: An Introductory Guide, 8.

[arcane-offerings]

Pseudo-Dionysius - Mystical Theology [Audiobook]

www.themodernhermeticist.com Pseudo-Dionysius - The Complete Works (Greek and English) (https://amzn.to/2Z54WXv) Translation by: John Parker Read by: Dan Att...

[sirfrogsworth]

@apophatic replied to your post...

“Does anyone else still sing their ABCs when trying to alphabetize...”

the real question is, do you have to start from the beginning, or can you jump in?

I can break the Alphabet song into three parts most of the time. But if I have heavy brain fog, I have to sing the whole damned thing just to be sure. 

If I know the letter is toward the beginning, I start with ABCDEFG. 

If I know it’s later on, I can skip to LMNOP. 

However, when I was small and cute...

ᵂʰʸ ʸᵉˢ⋅⋅⋅ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᵗᶦᶰʸ ᵇᶫᵘᵉ ᵃᶦʳᵖᶫᵃᶰᵉ ᶦˢ ᶠᵃʳᵗᶦᶰᵍ⋅ ᴹᵃᵏᵉˢ ᶦᵗ ᵍᵒ ᶠᵃˢᵗᵉʳ⋅

...I was only able to sing “EM-EN-NEM-OH-PEE.” 

Eventually, I learned LMNOP properly and it really stuck in my brain. So now I can start there if I need to.

I can also start at W... X, Y&Z. 

Which isn’t that helpful because it only addresses 3 letters. I mean, I already know Z stuff goes at the end. 

(Does this song work in Canada? Zed would totally mess up the rhyme scheme.)

I will say I feel better that so many people sing the ABCs despite being of adult ages. 

I was a little worried I was giving more fuel to that anonymous jerk who thinks I need to “grow up already.” 

But it turns out having a crappy alphabet memory is ageless. 

Also, I got an informal survey of how old my followers are. Which is neato!

It seems my demographics are quite far-ranging agewise. I’ve got the youngins... the elder youngins... middle age folks like me... and I even have a few who are “young at heart” as well. 

My mom is probably my oldest follower, but I’m just going to refer to her as my “wisest follower.” 

Her age is officially and forever 49+

Apparently, she brought me into this world, and she can take me out of it. (Direct quote, circa 1988, after setting a small fire using her decorative antique candles that are... unpredictable... when ablaze.)

Here is a super recent photo taken of my mother.

Looking at the plethora of ages following this community I’ve built gives me a spark of hope. I think sometimes we can focus way too much on what divides different generations. 

Which is sad. Because as King T’Challa once said...

“We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us.”

Like singing the ABCs!

Now the big question is... 

Who uses their fingers to add and subtract? 

And who will break out their toes for counting emergencies?

ᵀʰᶦˢ ᵉᵖᶦˢᵒᵈᵉ ᵒᶠ ˢᵉˢᵃᵐᵉ ˢᵗʳᵉᵉᵗ ʷᵃˢ ᵈᶦʳᵉᶜᵗᵉᵈ ᵇʸ ᑫᵘᵉᶰᵗᶦᶰ ᵀᵃʳᵃᶰᵗᶦᶰᵒ⋅

[noosphe-re]

The apophatic is a clearing of the unreal. The cataphatic is an ornamentation with the good, the true, and the beautiful.

Ahmed Salman