Negative Theology and Desire in Spiritual Transformation According to John of the Cross
Religions December 21, 2022 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.3390/rel14010006 via Semantic Scholar
Summary
John of the Cross places desire at the center of the mystical journey to God, viewing God as desire and union with God as a meeting of human and divine desire. However, his negative theology demands the negation of desire in both sensory and spiritual forms, expressing the lack of satisfaction as darkness and emptiness. The apparent opposition between human and divine desire is resolved through a gradual transformation of the human soul's constitution as a subject, uncovering what lies beneath the presenting experience of desire. Desire is affirmed only at the level of this transformed subject.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | John of the Cross resolves the opposition between the negation of desire and the meeting of human and divine desire by locating their union in the gradual transformation of the human soul's constitution as a subject. |
Abstract
Desire is central to John of the Cross’ treatment of the mystical ascent to God. He holds that God is desire and that there is a meeting between human and divine desire in the state of union with God, which is the goal. But it is less clear how this desire is to be understood against John’s programmatic negation of desire on the spiritual journey in both its sensory and spiritual forms, according to his negative theology. He regards the lack of satisfaction of desire, which he expresses in terms of darkness and emptiness, as the main manifestation of desire in the process of spiritual transformation. The question arises as to where he locates the meeting between human desire and divine desire, when they seem to be only opposed to one another. The answer lies in the gradual uncovering, through this process, of what is happening beneath the presenting experience of desire, in the human soul’s constitution as the subject. Desire is transformed, but in a way that can be affirmed only at the level of this transformation of the subject. This article examines how John of the Cross understands the relationship between desire and negative theology.