Kataphatic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing theological language or practice that asserts what God is through positive affirmations and attributes rather than through negation
2. Relating to a form of religious thought that emphasizes God's knowable qualities and affirms divine characteristics in direct terms
3. Pertaining to an approach to divine understanding that predicated on constructive statements about God's nature and properties

Etymology: Ancient Greek speakers used the adjective "kataphatikos" to mean "affirmative," from "kataphanai," to assert or affirm. The word was a technical term in logic and philosophy, where a statement was affirmative when it declared something to be the case rather than denying it. The prefix "kata-" carries the sense of "down" or "against," which is a little surprising for a word that means saying yes, but in this sense it points toward laying a claim firmly in place. English took up the Greek term in its theological form, where "cataphatic" describes approaches to God that proceed by affirming positive attributes, such as goodness, wisdom, or love. Its opposite, "apophatic," describes approaches that define the divine by what it is not. The pair gives writers in theology and mysticism a neat way to contrast two methods of speaking about the sacred. Because the Greek source was used in philosophy and theology rather than everyday speech, the English adjective remains a specialist word. Spelling it with a "k" follows the Greek; the "c" form is the more common English spelling today.

Synonyms: affirmative, positive

Antonyms: apophatic, negative