The Divine

Describable (0) — Indescribable (100) · one of the 20 worldview axes

The six statements

Each axis is measured by six statements answered on a five-point scale. Statements 1, 2 and 5 pull toward Describable; 3, 4 and 6 toward Indescribable.

  1. God can be genuinely described in positive terms; as good, wise, powerful, and so on.
  2. Clear and affirmative statements about God are a reliable path to knowledge of the divine.
  3. God is so far beyond human understanding that we can only speak truthfully about what God is not.
  4. The deepest knowledge of God ends in a silence that gives up every name and description.
  5. Specific religious teachings about God's nature are substantive truths, not merely symbols pointing at something indescribable.
  6. The mystic who, after a lifetime of prayer, says all their theology was worthless is closer to God than any scholar of doctrine.

Toward Describable (83)

Between the poles (12)

Toward Indescribable (60)

245 thinkers have no sourced position on this axis and are omitted rather than guessed.

Find your own positionAll 20 axes