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Gregory Of Nazianzus’ Concept Of “Knowable” Transcendence, William Orbih

Obsculta

This paper outlines Gregory of Nazianzus’ thought on the knowability of transcendence and according to the Cappadocian Father, what knowing God entails. Beginning with a critical appraisal of what William Placher means by the domestication of Transcendence and his expressed dismay over “trivial images of God” in contemporary theology arising from overconfidence in the human capacity to understand God’s nature and the human ability to talk clearly and precisely about God after the seventeenth century. Arguing that Gregory articulated this problem long before Placher, this paper is an appraisal of Gregory’s response to an issue previously well articulated by Placher.