Theological Word of the Day

CATAPHATIC THEOLOGY

[cat-uh-fat''-ik thee-aw''-luh-jee] (Greek kata- + Greek phanai, speak =kataphasis, affirmation) Often called “positive theology,” cataphatic theology describes the theological methodology of those who focus on God’s self-revelation as a coherent avenue of God’s communication. While finite men cannot understand an infinite God completely, they can understand him truly.

SEPTUAGINT

[sep-too''-uh-jint] (Latin septuaginta,“seventy”)

Commonly, “LXX.” The Greek translation of the Old Testament produced around 200B.C. for the Hellenized Jews. By the New Testament times, the LXX was in common use. While the quality of the translation varies depending on the book, it serves as a valuable witness to the text of the Old Testament. The earliest complete extant version of the LXX dates to the 4th century.

SENSUS PLENIOR

[sen''-sus plen''-ee-or](Latin, “fuller sense” or “fuller meaning”)

The principle of interpretation which seeks the fuller meaning of the text that was not necessarily understood by the biblical author. There is much debate among exegetes as to whether a text can have a fuller meaning and if this fuller meaning can be distinct in nature from the meaning of the human author. This concept is especially applied with reference to when a New Testament author quotes from the Old Testament.

CAPPADOCIAN FATHERS

A collective term used to refer to three Eastern Christians who significantly influenced the development of theology in the late fourth century: Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzen, and Gregory of Nyssa. Basil and Gregory of Nyssa were brothers while Gregory of Nazianzen was a close friend of the two. These three are well-respected by all major traditions in Christianity primarily because of their work on the doctrine of the Trinity in that they brought a balance between the oneness of the substance of God (homoousios) and the diversity within the Godhead (hypostasis). Gregory of Nyssa is often considered to be the most theologically astute of the three and was a major figure at the Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople in 381. He wrote the second part of the Nicene Creed revision dealing with the Holy Spirit. “Cappadocia” designates the home of the three, an area in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey).

EXEGESIS

[ek''-suh-jee''-sis] (Greek exegeisthai, “to explain” or “to interpret,” from Greek ex-, “out of” or “from” + Greek hegeisthai, “to guide”)

With respect to biblical interpretation, it involves the process of critical analysis of the given text to produce direct, logical conclusions (utilizing the who, what when, where, why method). It often involves the evaluation of the original texts of the Bible (OT-Hebrew, NT-Greek).