"God is not good": Pseudo-Dionysius

How can a Christian thinker claim that "God is not good"? What is the "divine darkness" beyond the rational light of our understanding mind? We approach these questions through the work of the influential Christian author known as Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (5th-6th c. CE).
This is part one in a four-part series on Christian mysticism:
1. "God is not good": Pseudo-Dionysius ( • "God is not good": Pse... )
2. God beyond God: Meister Eckhart ( • God beyond God: Meiste... )
3. Chambers of the soul: Teresa of Avila ( • Chambers of the soul: ... )
4. Nothing, nothing, nothing: John of the Cross ( • Nothing, nothing, noth... )

[@derekpoole7922]

This is an accessible and inspiring introduction to Christian Mysticism: taught by one who knows how to teach. Blessings from Ireland.

[@wilfredobenitez7275]

A wonderful entry way into the deeper mysteries of divine evolution for those on the never ending quest beyond duality. Thank you!

[@byunim]

Very understandable and excellent summary thanks

[@TomPrior16]

Interestingly and clearly taught, thank you :)

[@13SZ]

Thank you for all the videos. Your channel has quickly become one of my favorites.

[@keithoyoung34]

New listener and subscriber. I love these conversations.

[@_VISION.]

The Tao Te Ching explains this Negative Theology the best imo, or one of the best I've read.

[@jamessheffield4173]

examines all of Valla’s arguments about the pseudepigraphic nature of the corpus in his Collatio Novi Testamenti and Encomion S. Thomae Aquinatis. The third part turns to Erasmus’s extensive writings on the Corpus Dionysiacum and ancient forgeries. It discusses Erasmus’ knowledge and publication of Valla’s writings as well as Erasmus’ own arguments that the corpus was the deliberate forgery of a deceitful impostor. This section also evaluates all known evidence for William Grocyn’s reported doubts about the authenticity of the Corpus Dionysiacum. Valla and Erasmus on the Dionysian Question Denis J.-J. Robichaud

[@mcnallyaar]

10/10 Best of the Best of the Internet

[@wungabunga]

Excellent, thanks.

[@jonbornholdt1790]

Nice lecture, but "Augustine would have certainly read him" (3:28): nope, Augustine died in 430.

[@labyrinthsideas]

Ah yes - good catch! Very helpful. That is indeed an error here: Augustine wouldn’t have read Pseudo-Dionysius, whose writings so far as we can tell were written after Augustine. Thank you!

[@ravissary79]

​​@@labyrinthsideasregardless of whether he was pseudo and therfore probably post-augustine, or not, if he was Dionysus, he was Greek, and one of Augustine's main academic limits, and why he accidentally skewed original sin from Romans 5, is because he couldn't read Greek, but only available Latin translations of Plato, Manny, and the Bible... and his Latin translation at the time was inaccurate in a few key ways he wasn't aware of. As such he wouldn't have had access to Dionysus unless he'd been translated into Latin at that time, and if his works were extant at all, he wasn't popular until the 6th century, so probably not.

[@ravissary79]

I've never heard negative theology described as the contradiction to positive theology before. I'm not sure that's helpful.

[@gk10101]

the contradiction is necessary because it invalidates knowledge altogether. contradictions are impossible. and so we find God beyond the bounds of knowledge. but we don't find God. Only God can make Himself known. And He does so through Christ by His Spirit according to His Word.

[@notoddbuttoddwho2550]

I love you man! Thank you for sharing this :)

[@africandawahrevival]

Great explanation

[@user-ru1vs7cs9w]

Nice Work!👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@chriskenney4377]

"Quarried in the West", where man digs and creates structural members to raise new structures? Not just past effort?

[@robertnowak732]

Dionysius is just a name?

[@youbetyourwrasse]

The Loch Ness Monster is real. Nessie has been loved for hundreds of years and will be loved for hundreds more. While I on the otherhand, will be forgotten in a day. If Nessie is NOT real, what does that say about me? Why do people have to TOUCH something with their grubby hands, to believe it?

[@Joeonline26]

What was the point of this comment? Did you watch the video?

[@youbetyourwrasse]

@@Joeonline26 Mysticism my friend. The Red Lion eats the Green Sun. A White Dragon will become an Eagle. A Golden Age for Mankind. As above, so below .. ∞

[@mariakatariina8751]

Pseudo-Dionysos is tslking about the black sun.

[@rufinaliamin]

I liked the idea how to define God through defining what God is Not😅 it seem like another side of a coin…. Then it’s so simple God is everything, good and bad and we don’t even know what good or bad is.

[@kmastanz]

makes me think of Isaiah 55:8-9 kjv

[@archaeopteryx91]

A lot of this sounds to me profoundly Gnostic.

[@raffacasting]

Gnostics?

[@hermanhale9258]

What has this got to do with Jesus Christ?

[@Andrew-yw6kt]

EVERYTHING!!!

[@Joeonline26]

​@@Andrew-yw6kttell me how. I've been wanting to know how one gets from the God of the neoplatonists to the person of Christ (presumably via the Trinity?) for a long time. If someone can show me how or recommend something to read on this that would be tremendously helpful for my faith journey.

[@pinecone9045]

Major i.e. he copied his work from Greek philosophy hence the 'Pseudo'.

[@shaundisch2020]

Thanks for this. Your speech is very easy to listen to. This negative approach is the same in Hinduism. "Not this, not this." Known as Neti Neti, not not. Many Hindus actually know and love Meister Eckhart more than Christians do. I do love Jesus and the Christian saints and mystics, but if Christianity is grade school, Hinduism is university. Sounds degrading, but it is true. Hinduism is very scientific, much more than this guy or Eckhart, but at least these 2 think much more like Hindus than most.

[@labyrinthsideas]

Thanks also here - and indeed, one of the best engagements with Eckhart I've read is from D. T. Suzuki in his book Mysticism: Christian and Buddhist. Always I've hoped that more Christians might dig deeper into this tradition within their own faith. It is very rich.

[@jamesstevenson7725]

Hindus fo not love Eckhart. Eckhart was no where equal to Sanatana Dharma

[@jamesstevenson7725]

​@@labyrinthsideaschristians should dig deeper into all traditions. Also. Echart belongs to the world not just christianity

[@shaundisch2020]

@jamesstevenson7725 Completely different then Eckhart. Finding God, relinquishing the ego, are the only thing that matter.

[@shaundisch2020]

@@jamesstevenson7725 You speak for all Hindus? 😆 They are the least homogeneous group in the world.

[@frank.sophia]

If the being is not Good why call it God? What do you mean by Good? Good is the echo of union into the world. It is certainly true that the Jewish tradition fails to do this. The entire premise here is that it's superior to all else. That is why Judaism is not Good. Most religions are not, because most favor the authors attributes. The philosophers wanted genuine truth. They went to all religions and cut out the stupid shit. Still the stupid shit persists.

[@hermanhale9258]

When you get beyond good, you are into Satanism or no God at all.

[@frank.sophia]

@@hermanhale9258 For me the God of Israel is the greatest evil in human history... and all Satan did according to tradition is refuse to worship men because he loved God too much... this is basically every Abrahamic believers position.