Apophatic Theology and Christian Spirituality Today
The Oxford Handbook of Apophatic Theology August 20, 2026 DOI: 10.1093/9780191887017.003.0035 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Key points | Argues that apophatic theology is a Christological ascetico-mysticism, connecting New Testament Christologies and Dionysius's theology as forms of apophatic mysticism. Proposes that this asceticism, involving self-denial, contrasts with the entrepreneurial self of neoliberalism, and that Christological unselfing may heal the anxieties and despair of the present time. |
Abstract
Abstract Apophatic theology is relevant to Christian spirituality today as a form of Christological ascetico-mysticism. This chapter demonstrates the spiritual pertinence of Dionysius the Areopagite’s apophatic theology through its connections to Scriptural Christologies and its opposition to specific formations of the self in the context of neoliberal capitalism. Studies of Second Temple apocalypticism and early Jewish mysticisms facilitate bringing New Testament Christologies and the Areopagite’s theology into surprising focus. They show that certain New Testament Christologies are forms of apophatic mysticism, and the Areopagite’s apophatic theology is a Christological mysticism. For both, the crucified Christ is the incomprehensible and anthropomorphic theophany revealed in the heavenly and ecclesial liturgies and the incorporating body of deification. Apophatic theology, therefore, is ascetical life in which Divine-Humanity is attained not only through the negation of concepts but also through the denial of the self. This asceticism contrasts with the entrepreneurial relationship to the self fostered by the cultural dominance of neoliberalism. The chapter concludes that the self-as-entrepreneurial-project is the source of anxieties and despair characteristic of the present time but that the Christological unselfing of apophatic theology may serve as a healing therapy for these same miseries.