THREE WAYS OF KNOWLEDGE

The Three Ways of Knowledge Shown in an Icon of Christ Pantocrator

By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West)

There is much confusion about the “ways of knowledge” in Ancient Christianity. Many people today mistakenly believe that the negative, or apophatic, approach is the only truly Orthodox way to know God. This is not true. The Church recognizes three authentic and harmonious ways of knowledgethat are Scriptural, Patristic, and Conciliar: the Positive (Cataphatic) way, the Negative (Apophatic) way, and the Historical-Revelatory way found in God’s revealed Word.

The Via Negativa, or “Way of Unknowing,” is indeed precious to the Christian mind, for it guards the mystery of God’s transcendence. It reminds us that God is unlike anything He has made and that our knowledge of Him is always by analogy, not by direct comprehension. However, it would be an error to say that God cannot be known at all, for He has revealed Himself perfectly and personally in Jesus Christ. As St. John teaches, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him” (John 1:18).

Likewise, the Via Positiva, or “Way of Affirmation,” teaches that we can truly, but not exhaustively, speak of God by what we perceive in His creation. The created world bears the mark of its Creator, and humanity, made in His image and likeness, reflects His character and attributes. This is the “likeness” that shines in the Imago Dei, impressed upon every soul that seeks wisdom. St. Justin Martyr called this the Logos Spermatikos, the “seed of the Word” sown throughout humanity, and St. Paul confirms it when he writes: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

Bp. Joseph’s Whiteboard Illustration of this Theological Concept 

Finally, there is the Via Historica, the “Way of Revelation in Time.” This is a rightful focus on God’s interaction with Man and His self-revelation in the Mystery of the Incarnation. This is the knowledge of God as He discloses Himself in the history of salvation: through the covenants, the prophets, the Incarnation as fully God and fully Man, and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. This way unites both the positive and the negative paths, for God reveals His mystery not by abstract ideas but through living acts and divine communion in history.

Thus, in the Ancient Christian tradition, knowledge of God comes through affirmation, negation, and revelation: three interwoven ways that together lead the soul into the fullness of divine truth.

COLLECT

O God of Light and Truth, who hast revealed Thyself to mankind in the works of creation, in the mysteries of Thy providence, and above all in the Person of Thy Son Jesus Christ: Grant us grace to seek Thee with pure hearts and humble minds; that by the way of affirmation we may behold Thy goodness in all Thy works, by the way of negation we may confess Thy majesty beyond all knowing, and by the way of revelation we may worship Thee as Thou hast made Thyself known in the history of Thy redeeming love; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.