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58 International Multi. J. of PURE LIFE. 9 (30): 51-89, Spring 2022
“God is good” and “Socrates For example, to say that
is good” refers to two distinct “God is alive” only means that
kinds of goodness. death cannot be attributed to
One idea behind this thesis Him. This doctrine is known
is that the natures of the as “negative theology”.
Creator and creatures are so The root of this idea can
different that attributing any be traced back to Plato, when
property positively to God he says that:
makes Him a composite and a One, then, is neither
limited entity like creatures. named, nor uttered,
So, Moses ben Maimon; nor known, nor perceived,
known as Maimonides (Ref: nor imagined. (Plato,
Seeskin, 2010) and his 1892: 66)
contemporary followers (Ref:
Wolfson, 1973, Vol. 2), This idea was also later
Chapter. 5) and Kenneth developed by Plotinus:
(Ref: Seeskin, 2000) have And we can and do
suggested that we are allowed state what it is not,
to speak about God only while we are silent as
negatively. to what it is: we are, in
For example, one can say, fact, speaking of it in
“God is not body,” in order to the light of its sequels
signify that change, generation (“Ennead V”).
and corruption do not basically (Plotinus, 1991: 14,
apply to God. The affirmative Third Tractate)
propositions about God should C. Terms that are used to
be interpreted negatively too. describe God and His
