ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the two foundational “ways” of the Christian mystical life: the cataphatic and the apophatic. First, it discusses whether, in studying these “ways”, we are dealing with modes of discourse, types of theology, categories of mystical experience, or comprehensive ways of living one’s spiritual path. Second, each way is examined in turn, drawing on both ancient and contemporary sources and clarifying both the meaning and the importance of the cataphatic and apophatic approaches to mystical life. Third, this chapter explores the importance of a renewed understanding of both ways for the lives of contemporary Christians and for this current study of the lives of gay men.
