via negativa

English

Noun

via negativa

1. (theology) A concept of God built up through negative statements about his nature.
   • 1986 December 28, John Barth, “A Few Words About Minimalism”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     The medieval Roman Catholic Church recognized two opposite roads to grace: the via negativa of the monk's cell and the hermit's cave, and the via affirmativa of immersion in human affairs, of being in the world whether or not one is of it.

Synonyms

• apophatic theology

See also

• via affirmativa