Speaking the Incomprehensible God: Thomas Aquinas on the Interplay of Positive and Negative Theology

Gregory Rocca's book is a uniquely valuable contribution to the literature of Thomism. It is at present the most complete and careful coverage we have of St. Thomas's position on how we can speak intelligibly, philosophically, about God. . . . The author has the balance between positive and negative theology in St. Thomas exactly right. . . . In a very rich and eloquent conclusion the author sums up what he considers the unique contribution of St. Thomas: namely, his carefully balanced interweaving of positive and negative theology that reveals 'the tensioned structure of any truth about God' (a beautifully terse and insightful phrase!).--The Thomist This is an exceptional achievement of comprehension and depth in elucidating and explaining positions, principles, and rationales of Aquinas in unfolding contexts. No staid effort to merely portray the doctrines of a great thinker of the past, it is rather a truly creative exploration that reveals how Aquinas' insights might assist an ordered integration of truths about the divine nature within differing speculative traditions.--Review of Metaphysics In Gregory Rocca's remarkable book . . . readers will find an account of Aquinas' theological epistemology that fully locates it within his overall theological enterprise and provides the most comprehensive analysis of this aspect of the Angelic Doctor's thought currently available. I know of no comparable work that demonstrates such a mastery of Aquinas' writings and of the relevant secondary literature in this area.--From the Foreword by J. Augustine Di Noia, O.P., Under-secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Gregory P. Rocca was recently professor of philosophy and theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.