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The Development Of Apophatic Theology From The Pre-Socratics To The Early Christian Fathers., Kevin Teed Millsaps
The Development Of Apophatic Theology From The Pre-Socratics To The Early Christian Fathers., Kevin Teed Millsaps
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
It is apparent that what is characterized as Christian Apophatic Theology has been poorly related to its antecedents existing in Greco-Roman philosophy. This study proposed the following research hypothesis: Greco-Roman philosophy exerted a structural and terminological influence upon Christian apophatic theology.
To prove or disprove this hypothesis, apophatic terminology and textual structures in Greco-Roman philosophical texts were compared to classic Christian apophatic texts, primarily from the Apostolic and Cappadocian Fathers. Throughout this process, Michael Sells' clasic definition of apophatic language, consisting of the apearance of the metaphor of emanation, dis-ontological language, and dialectical language of immanence and transcendence, was used …