Sermon in Audio: How to Speak and Not Speak About God

Written by Chris Dierkes

A few weeks back I preached a sermon. The influence from this sermon comes from the great mystical theologian Dionysius the Areopagite (aka Pseudo-Dionysius). Dionysius is a character who converts to Christianity after hearing St. Paul preach. In the 5th or 6th century a mystical writer penned a series of profoundly influential texts under the name Dionysius. It is Dionysius in fact who conied the term 'hierarchy'--literally rule of the sacred.

Dionysius' most important work is The Mystical Theology, a short contemplative text on how we approach God who is beyond all understanding and yet can (and must be) experienced.

Dionysius writes:

Supernal Triad, Deity above all essence, knowledge and goodness; Guide of Christians to Divine Wisdom; direct our path to the ultimate summit of your mystical knowledge, most incomprehensible, most luminous and most exalted, where the pure, absolute and immutable mysteries of theology are veiled in the dazzling obscurity of the secret Silence, outshining all brilliance with the intensity of their Darkness, and surcharging our blinded intellects with the utterly impalpable and invisible fairness of glories surpassing all beauty.

Dionysius believed that all theology arose from, lead to, and ultimately fell back into silence. What he called dazzling or luminous darkness (what integral philosophy calls the causal realm of formless mysticism). Dionysius referred to two paths: the cataphatic and the apophatic. The cataphatic speaks of what God is or is like (the is the subtle state or realm in integral philosophy). The apophatic works by negation--what God is not. Ultimately for Dionysius, even the most exalted of images, metaphors, and symbols of God must be let go of, lest we come to believe that God can be circumscribed by our own images, thoughts, and feelings.

If people say there is no mysticism in Christianity, then they should read Dionysius. Very helpfully, the entirety of Dionysius' Mystical Theology can be read here (it's a short but very deep read).

In this sermon I follow Dionysius' path of saying both what is and what is not the case. I use it specifically in relation to the reading of the day which speaks of God as Father and humans as children of God. What are we to make of such language? What would Dionysius have to say to us today on the subject?

You can listen to the audio of the sermon by clicking the arrow.

The text of my sermon can be read online here.

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5 comments

Comment Link Wednesday, 23 May 2012 03:53 posted by Steven Brody
Chris,
Haven't listened yet, but wanted to give a very brief comment about what you wrote. I don't think Dionysius was referring to Causal; I haven't tried to place it relative to Wilber's schemata, but I dont think it is Causal. I guess it would be easy enuf to check his comparative charts.

Also, I dont think you can relate Subtle with cataphatic -- that's like comparing apples and cars, or some such.

In ending, do people really say there's no mysticism in Christianity?

I'll listen to it soon. Thanks.

Steven
Comment Link Wednesday, 23 May 2012 18:31 posted by Chris Dierkes
Hi Steven,

Thanks for the comment.

I would suggest you check out the link to Dionysius' Mystical Theology (if you haven't already read it). He writes:

"direct our path to the ultimate summit of your mystical knowledge, most incomprehensible, most luminous and most exalted, where the pure, absolute and immutable mysteries of theology are veiled in the dazzling obscurity of the secret Silence, outshining all brilliance with the intensity of their Darkness, and surcharging our blinded intellects with the utterly impalpable and invisible fairness of glories surpassing all beauty."

What I take that to mean is that (using integral language), he is actually speaking from the state that he is describing. He was a true realizer in that sense. He's talking about the Kosmic Address of his theology. He's locating his theology.

I find this very important because recently apophatic thought has become of interest in certain Continental European philosophical traditions (e.g. Jacques Derrida). But too often there I think they are focused more on apophatic as denying the validity of the mind or language to properly describe the real. And that's part of it sure.

But Dionysius is I believe much more clearly talking about a 'positive' experience of transcendence. He uses 'negative' language (like darkness, unknowing) to describe it but he is talking about the experience....where the mysteries of theology are veiled in dazzling obscurity.

The notion of the dazzling darkness or luminous darkness may seem like symbol but in another sense I'd say it's precisely the experience of the causal. Dazzling darkness. Where mysteries are revealed in obscurity. That's precisely my experience of it.

The other thing I would say is that reading Dionysius draws me right into that state of silence.
Comment Link Wednesday, 23 May 2012 18:38 posted by Chris Dierkes
In regards to the cataphatic as the subtle, there's this line from the Mystical Theology:

"and ascend above the topmost altitudes of holy things, and who, leaving behind them all divine light and sound and heavenly utterances, plunge into the Darkness where truly dwells, as the Oracles declare, that ONE who is beyond all."

The reference to the divine light and sound are the subtle. He's referencing there the story of when Moses ascends the mountain to meet God and first he passes through the heavenly signs (subtle) and ultimately comes to experience "God's back" in darkness (i.e. causal). This is precisely the argument of St. Gregory of Nyssa (4th century) in his book On the Life of Moses. Nyssa is arguably the first great apophatic theologian of the church.

In the Sikh tradition there is a practice of shabd yoga, listening and following the current of sound all the way back to the original and originary sound (OM, AMEN, AUM). When Dionysius talks about the sound there he is talking about subtle sounds.

And Light--of course numerous traditions speak of following the Light to the pinnacle of the form of the Divine: e.g. Tibetan Deity Yoga, Visualization traditions, Icons, Halos, etc.

That is why I would say the cataphatic--and its terminus point--has as its Kosmic Address the subtle. It's imagery is of Light (which is the experience) rather the darkness (causal). And it still is based, however subtly, on a certain form that encases the Divinity. Whereas in the Causal-Apophatic (what God is not/darkness) there is no such form. All forms die away in order to have purely intimate, non-separation. Though as such there is no way to understand it as there is no one there to understand it. There is no "I" and "It" there.
Comment Link Friday, 25 May 2012 00:56 posted by Bruce Sanguin
Hey Chris,

Loved the sermon. How'd it go over? I appreciated your pacing and the clarity of thought.

I love apophatic method of defining G_d. State it positively, negate it. Negate the negation. Rest in the unknowing as a direct experience of G_d/not G_d.
Comment Link Monday, 28 May 2012 18:31 posted by Chris Dierkes
Bruce,

Thanks. The piece around what is and what's not seemed to connect for folks. My work would e needed around feeling the different spaces and how this plays into that, but as a first step I think that was good.