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What is "apophatic"

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
apophatic

"involving a mention of something one feigns to deny; involving knowledge obtained by negation," 1850, from Greek apophatikos, from apophasis "denial, answer," from apophanai "to speak off," from apo- "off" (see apo-) + phanai "to speak," related to pheme "voice" (see fame (n.)).

Wiktionary
apophatic

a. (context theology English) Pertaining to knowledge of God obtained through negation rather than positive assertions.

WordNet
apophatic

adj. of or relating to the belief that God can be known to humans only in terms of what He is not (such as `God is unknowable')

Wikipedia
Apophatic

Apophatic may refer to:

  • Apophasis, a rhetoric device whereby the speaker raises something by denying it
  • Apophatic theology, a way of describing the divine by explaining what God is not

Usage examples of "apophatic".

The apophatic language states what God is not, so such terms as "eternal," which means nontemporal, infinite, or without limitation, are in this sense negative.