Christian history has had its share of false teachings. From full-blown heresies to just plain old bad doctrine, there have been many things that Christians have believed that contradict Scripture. In this series, we will take a look at false teachings that have cropped up among believers during the past two thousand years. This article will discuss a teaching known as negative theology, which made its appearance quite early in the history of Christianity.
Negative theology goes back at least as far as Justin Martyr, an early Christian apologist who lived from 100-165 AD. His works focused mostly on defending the faith against its opponents. However, he would sometimes present a view of God that is unbiblical. In his Second Apology, he wrote that God is “without name.”[1] This was a common belief as well-known Christians like Clement of Alexandria (155-220 AD), Origin (185-254 AD), Pseudo-Dionysius (5th – 6th centuries AD), and John Scotus Erigena (800-877 AD) all held to this kind of thinking in some capacity.[2]
What is the problem with God having no name? Some people may think that this seems like no big deal. However, if taken seriously it can lead to a faulty view of God. Negative theology presents God using only negative predicates rather than including positive ones. A way to understand this is “God is not this or that.” Examples would be: God is without name, without a body, not bound by space and time, not dependent on anything, not limited in anything, etc. Negative theology “stresses the transcendence of God by attempting to understand God by those properties that God does not have.”[3]
The problem with negative theology is that it is unbiblical. As Professor John Frame notes, “Scripture itself does not hesitate to ascribe names and positive descriptions to God.”[4] The Bible gives us not only positive descriptions of God; it even gives us a personal name – Yahweh (which is often put into English as Jehovah or translated as LORD [all caps]). God is described positively as being compassionate, holy, a savior, deliverer, faithful, loving, benevolent, redeemer, etc.
Interestingly, Justin Martyr is not consistent with negative theology as he uses positive descriptions and names of God throughout his writings as well. It should also be noted that not all the major early Christian writers stressed negative theology. One example would be Irenaeus (130-200 AD) who used more positive terminology when speaking of God.[5]
However, negative predicates of God are not bad in and of themselves. It is accurate to say that God is without a body, not bound by space and time, not dependent on anything, not limited in anything, etc. All of these are true biblically, but Scripture does not stop there. The problem with negative theology is that it does not want to ascribe to God positive descriptions and characteristics that the Bible teaches.
This denial of denying God any positive or meaningful descriptions is more consistent with non-Christian religions and philosophies like Gnosticism and Neoplatonism. Gnosticism was an ancient religion that existed in the early centuries of the Christian era. It had a complex belief system which described the supreme being with negative theology (such as being nameless). Plotinus (205-270 AD) was a Greek who founded the movement known as Neoplatonism. He spoke of “the One.” The One could not be described in human terms and had no properties or qualities. Plotinus believed the only way to understand the One was through mysticism.[6]
Negative theology deals with God’s transcendence. Transcendence is the idea that God is above his creation. Many use transcendence to teach that God is so far removed from the world that he cannot be known by humanity, such as what Gnosticism and Neoplatonism taught. However, this is contrary to Scripture as God can be known and he has reached out to humanity to make himself known (John 17:3).
Conclusion
In conclusion, negative theology is not bad in and of itself. Christians run into problems with it when positive theology is denied. God has many positive descriptions and characteristics in which the believer should embrace. He is a God who is not so far removed from us that we can not ascribe positive names and descriptions to him. Negative theology is a bad teaching from Christian history that believers today should avoid.
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[1] Justin Martyr, Second Apology. Quoted in John Frame, A History of Western Philosophy and Theology (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2015), 91.
[2] Frame, 100-101, 103, 128.
[3] C. Stephen Evans, “negative theology,” in Pocket Dictionary Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2002), 80.
[4] Frame, 91.
[5] Ibid., 96.
[6] Ibid., 79, 88.
