Via negativa and Emergent rhetoric<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Theologians at least since Luther, who was developing the rhetoric of Nicolas of Cusa, have often used what is called the via negativa. In essence, the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2005\/05\/12\/via-negativa-and-emergent-rhetoric\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Via negativa and Emergent rhetoric\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Theologians at least since Luther, who was developing the rhetoric of Nicolas of Cusa, have often used what is called the via negativa. 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<\/div>\n

Theologians at least since Luther, who was developing the rhetoric of Nicolas of Cusa, have often used what is called the via negativa<\/span>. In essence, the via negativa<\/span> is to describe something (say the Emergent movement) by saying what is not (say, not traditional Evangelicalism). Luther is known for his rhetoric about the theology of glory and the theology of the cross.<\/p>\n

First, this sort of rhetorical strategy typifies those who are forming their own boundary lines so that their own identity is clear.<\/p>\n

Second, it is also a provocative and famously communicative form of rhetoric: if someone asks me if I am a baseball fan, as I was recently asked when speaking in New York, I said right away, \u201cI am not a Yankee fan.\u201d Now I was not saying I was not a baseball fan, but I was making an important fan \u2014 and I\u2019ll let you guess what I think about George Steinbrenner and about baseball.<\/p>\n

Third, the via negativa<\/span> has its limits and this needs to be recognized: the via negativa\u2019s<\/span> negatives are not always opposites or complete alternatives. If someone asks me what kind of a theology I espouse and I say, \u201cWell, I\u2019m not Calvinist or Arminian or Lutheran or Baptist\u2026\u201d that does not mean that I think everything about any of those positions is completely wrong. In fact, I like lots of things in each of these systems. The via negativa<\/span> approach sets out alternatives, draws a line in the sand, but in so doing it recognizes that this rhetoric is just as much rhetoric as it is substance. And, another of its limits is that it useful only for a time and yet another is that it does not often give us the best answer to what we are looking for.<\/p>\n

Fourth, I\u2019m wondering if Jesus\u2019 statement \u201cif you do not hate your parents\u201d statement is not an early precursor of the via negativa<\/span>. We all know that Jesus wasn\u2019t urging hatred, but comparative love.<\/p>\n

And I wonder if the Emergent use of via negativa<\/span> is not also comparative love. Or ought to be.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Theologians at least since Luther, who was developing the rhetoric of Nicolas of Cusa, have often used what is called the via negativa. In essence, the via negativa is to describe something (say the Emergent movement) by saying what is not (say, not traditional Evangelicalism). Luther is known for his rhetoric about the theology of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1736],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-emerging-movement"],"yoast_head":"\nVia negativa and Emergent rhetoric<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Theologians at least since Luther, who was developing the rhetoric of Nicolas of Cusa, have often used what is called the via negativa. 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