Cataphatic and Apophatic Christian Spirituality

Two important dimensions of understanding and approaching the faith experience

Photo by Julius Drost on Unsplash

Dear reader,

In understanding and moving through the mountains and valleys in my pilgrimage of faith, there are two words/concepts that have become important to me over the last 12 years. As I’ve explained them to others, it has sometimes been a lightbulb moment for them also, especially if they are facing low times in their journey.

It’s highly likely that I will refer to them from time to time here at Along the Way, so let’s get them in early in our journey together.

Cataphatic Christian Spirituality

Cataphatic theology is about what we can say of God – what we know of him. In language it finds ways of expressing our knowledge of God through what he is. The ultimate cataphatic expression is Jesus – God revealed and known in human form. Most of western Christianity focuses on the cataphatic.

In terms of spirituality, cataphatic expressions look for the presence of God. We seek a knowing of God through finding what God is and where he is present.

Most of our songs in Christian tradition are cataphatic. They state affirmations about God, the activity of God, and our place in that. To seek God is to trust a cataphatic pursuit. To seek is to affirm that something can be found. Statements like ‘God is good’, and ‘God is love’ are cataphatic statements. To say things like ‘God said…’ and ‘I believe God wants…’ - these are cataphatic expressions of our experience.

Cataphatic theology is the positive way - not positive as in ‘good’, but positive as in the affirmation of the presence of a thing rather than absence.

Much of Christianity is highly cataphatic as we affirm the God who is self revealing and thus enables us to search and find. It is because of this that we can make positive and affirming statements about what we believe. When we are assured of our faith in a cataphatic way, to say ‘I believe’ is easy enough as a cognitive agreement/assent to a story and set of ideas.

To sense God, to feel guided by God, to feel loved by God, to hear whispers we attribute to the Spirit - these are cataphatic modes of our spirituality.

It feels solid and sure. The ground is stable and firm. We can see the way forward.

But the cataphatic way is only one part of the faith equation, and for some it is found wanting when we hit the valleys. When we know faith only in a cataphatic way, the lows can throw our whole pilgrimage into disarray. That’s where understanding the flipside of the faith coin becomes important, and I would argue, leads to a much deeper and more resilient faith.

Apophatic Christian Spirituality