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The Via Negativa - The Apophatic Way - also known as negative theology and…

- - - - Saying things like 'God is wise' closes off possibilities we do not want rather than explaining what God is - ultimately, he argues that 'silence is the best praise'.
        
        He used the famous example of a ship being described by what it is not e.g. 'it is not a body whose parts are joined by nature'
        
        Any positive terms described in the Bible require careful interpretation and refer God's to actions rather than his nature, as well as implying negative predicates
- - - - Brian Davies - we can only compare God to what he has created, and we assume that wisdom and other predicates are also what he has created and not something he is in and of himself, we need to recognise the difference between us and God and everything we say must be metaphorical, also saying what something is not does not mean it can tell you what it is (the ship example is not a good one)
      - Anthony Flew - little difference between talking about God and nothingness if using negative predicates - 'a death by a thousand qualifications'
      - Crombie - saying what something isn't is not saying what it is or saying anything significant about it - "the moon isn't made of cheese" then what is it? (ship could describe cupboard or coffin)
      - Martin Luther - God has spoken to humans directly - 'no violence is to be done to the words of God...they are to be understood in their grammatical and literal sense unless the context plainly forbids'
      - Many theists make positive statements about God e.g. 'God is love', and do not critically read the Bible for negative predicates within the positive ones - limits communication about God which is a fundamental part of religion
        
        Univocal and Equivocal language
        
        Univocal language argues that language has the same meaning when used in different contexts e.g. 'Aphra is wise' is the same as 'God is wise'- argued that this allows revalation in the Bible, but disputed due to God's transcendence putting him above universal language
        
        Equivocal language is the difference of language in different contexts (e.g. bat could refer to the animal or the object in sport) without understanding of the correct meaning - this is a minority opinion in Christian thought - all words must be denied in order to truly understand Ultimate Reality
      - There is no straightforward interpretation/basis of deciding what God is not that damages the coherence of the theory