In a lot of ways the "apophatic way" is the only theology that makes sense. It also seems to be at the heart of the "deconstruction movement". This is nothing new, it is "The Way" of theology from the beginning...
...Indeed, we have the Incarnation as the revelation of God, however the Incarnation itself is beyond understanding. God is ontologically unknowable to the human being, however economically God has "revealed Himself unto us" as we chant in Matins every morning. The issue is confusing economia with ontology which is a distinction unknown to many/most people who are finding out their concepts of God are inadequate, contradictory, oppressive, lacking, or no longer useful to their spiritual progress.
~ Steve Robinson
What he said.
All of this is true (big words not withstanding). It is impossible to know if God exists or if They do not exist. "God is ontologically unknowable'" They cannot be proven or disproven using the scientific method.
And that is important.
Frankly, trying to force my belief (or non-belief) to be scientifically provable is delusional on my part. As physicist Sabine Hossenfedler says, "If your belief conflicts with empirically confirmed knowledge, then you are not seeking meaning, you are delusional" (Existential Physics, xvii). And I agree. It makes no sense to try to force 14 billion years into 6,000. What's the point of that? It's stupid. And I am many things but stupid I ain't.
Justifiable critique of atheistic scholasticism aside, there is nothing wrong with being a human who believes in things that are not scientifically provable. Saying "I don't know" is not the unforgivable sin. The things I do not know, as my mom would say, would create a whole new universe.
Once upon a time I embarked on a journey to figure out what I believe. It began when I was in high school, progressed through university, marriage, divorce, motherhood, a new degree, no money, less money, more money...Just...life. Life teaches. Life either hardens or softens and I know I have both hard and soft places in me. I have no idea if God is hardening those places in me or not, a la Pharaoh and everyone else They decided to harden for <reasons>.
I have learned, though, that I won't sacrifice my brain to a system that tells me I can't ask questions, that I ask the wrong questions or that can't stand up to being questioned and sadly, a lot of American Christianity demands this sort of unquestioning, lockstep blindness to reality. And it literally does not matter what flavor of American Christianity it is -- United States ev-Protestantism is the loudest culprit but United States Orthodoxy and United States Catholicism are there with it (yes, I know that's a generalization). I can't with that. (I do not about Judaism or Islam or <insert belief system/religion I do not know about here> and not knowing I cannot say.)
So I guess we have that settled. What I believe/know must be able to be questioned. If questions are not allowed then said system is straight out into the nearest dumpster.
Someone might ask...Am I trying to bend Christianity into something else? My response can be best characterized by the following:
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| Kombucha Girl |
I have the feeling that I may have to begin to look outside traditional religious expression here in the United States. And that's not a bad thing, IMO.
Closer To Truth ep1103: Why Believe in God? - approx 20 min
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