Colin Gunton and John Calvin on the Via Negativa and Theological Projection

Abstract

This article contrasts two approaches to the via negativa in the work of Colin Gunton and John Calvin. After examining Gunton’s allegation that unbiblical causal and hierarchical commitments within the negative way describe God by projecting the negation of creaturely attributes, it argues that the scriptural exegesis of John Calvin illuminates some of the shortcomings of these critiques. Calvin’s close engagement with scriptural texts about divine alterity demonstrates how the via negativa may be a form of biblical reasoning and highlights the utility of exegesis for discerning the biblical logic of traditional modes of divine naming.