Oxford Handbook of Apophatic Theology

The Oxford Handbook of Apophatic Theology offers the most comprehensive overview, in any language, of apophatic or negative theology. Apophaticism is not a distinct branch of theology but refers, rather, to an indispensable feature of engaging in any theological discourse and spiritual practices (usually involving a transformation of the self) that remain sensitive to the radical otherness and unknowability of God. The first part of the Handbook examines the religious and philosophical sources of apophatic theology, i.e., its biblical and Platonic origins. These biblical and philosophical sources became gradually crystalized in specific and plural traditions which are covered in Part II, where authors pay specific attention to the Church Fathers (East and West), major authors from medieval Islam, Judaism, and Christianity (from Eriugena to Julian of Norwich); and from the Reformation and Renaissance to the twentieth century (from Cusanus and Luther to Simone Weil and Erich Przywara). In a final section, key systematic-theological issues are considered, such as apophaticism and its relation to the theology of creation, Trinity, liturgy, and eschatology. This rich collection of essays demonstrates that apophasis is not an armchair exercise in negation, as it is popularly conceived, but a mental discipline, an ascetical practice, embedded in various religious traditions, whose ultimate purpose is our deification (theosis).

John R. Betz is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology in the Department of Theology of the University of Notre Dame, with a concurrent appointment in the Department of German. In addition to his articles, most of which have appeared in Modern Theology, he is the translator (with David Bentley Hart) of Erich Przywara, Analogia Entis - Metaphysics: Original Structure, Universal Rhythm (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2014), and the author of After Enlightenment: The Post-Secular Vision of J.G. Hamann (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), Christ, the Logos of Creation. An Essay in Analogical Metaphysics (Steubenville, OH: Emmaus Academic, 2023), and Erich Przywara, Philosopher-Theologian (forthcoming with Oxford University Press). Rik Van Nieuwenhove is Professor of Medieval Thought in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University. He specialises in medieval theology (especially Thomas Aquinas) and spirituality of the Low countries (especially Ruusbroec). He is the author of several books including Thomas Aquinas and Contemplation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022), and Introduction to Medieval Theology, 2nd edition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023). Christopher Grodecki, SJ is a Doctoral Candidate in Systematic Theology at the University of Notre Dame. His research focuses on the continuing influence of Christian mysticism in contemporary philosophy and theology, especially those of German-speaking thinkers. His dissertation focuses upon these elements in the theological anthropology of Erich Przywara, SJ. He is the English translator of Major Jesuit Thinkers, ed. J. Percic & J. Herzgsell (Paderborn: Ferdinand Schöningh, 2019).