Anthropomorphism in Christian Theology: The Apophatics of the Sensible

William C. Hackett provides a renewed reading of Christian theology by evaluating the role of anthropomorphism in shaping negative theology. Through this theological history, he addresses the fear of anthropomorphism that prompted early philosophers and theologians to adopt abstract understandings of God.

Hackett charts the wide-ranging importance of anthropomorphism to theology through figures including Balthasar, Bultmann, Dionysius the Areopagite, and Cyril of Alexandria. He argues that anthropomorphism highlights the unique conceptual problem between divine presence and absence. By exploring the turn away from practical and embodied views of God in Scripture, this book focuses on anthropomorphic views of God in symbols, images, and narratives. Emphasising these forms promotes an intellectual vision of Christianity that challenges theoretical and conceptual abstraction. Anthropomorphism in Christian Theology further traces the nuances between human and angelic intellect, modern philosophy and theology, negative theology and the concept of transcendence.

William C. Hackett is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, USA.