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RS - Philosophy of religion > 1. Religious Laanguage: Negative, Analogical or Symbolic > Flashcards

1. Religious Laanguage: Negative, Analogical or Symbolic Flashcards

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1
Q

Agnosticism

A

The view that there is insufficient evidence for God, or the view that God cannot be known.

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2
Q

Truth-claim

A

A statement that asserts that something is factually true.

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3
Q

Apophatic way

(via negativa)

A

A way of speaking about God and theological ideas using only terms that say what God is not.

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4
Q

Cataphatic way

(via positiva)

A

a range of ways of speaking about God and theological ideas usig only terms that say what God is.

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5
Q

Univocal language

A

Words that mean the same thing when used in different contexts.

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6
Q

Equivocal language

A

Words that mean different things when used in different contexts.

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7
Q

Analogy

A

A comparison made between one thing and another in an effort to aid understanding.

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8
Q

Symbol

A

A word or other kind of representation used to stand for somthing else and to shed light on its meaning.

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9
Q

What was Moses Maimonides view on religious language?

A
  • No need to ever use positive language to glorify God.
  • Work = Guide to the Perplexed.
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10
Q

How can God be better understood through negation?

Moses Mainmonides

A
  • E.g. A ship. Play a form of 20 questionsm by process of elimination, group of enquireres would understand that the subject in question, a ship, as is was not a mineral, a sphere etc.
  • Emphasised the superiority of Via Negativa.
  • negation can acuratly lead to understanding a subject with out using positive language.
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11
Q

How would any attempt to use positive language ultimately lead to loss of faith?

(Moises Maimonides)

A
  • E.g. Sigmund Freud - project our desire for an eternal father figure to create the idea of God.
  • Positive Language uses language of human experience, projecting our human desires onto an external figure.
  • God is reduced to a human construct & assigned anthropomorphic characteristics. Making the characteristics contradictory.
  • E.g. Gods Omnipotence = ability to do anything. Creates problems, what it means, suffering etc. Creates doubts about God’s existence.
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12
Q

Who was Teresa of Avila?

A
  • 16th century Spanish mystics.
  • Recieved many religious experiences + recorded them in writings describing God’s ineffability as revealed to her.
  • Not all writings followed Via Negativa, others can interrpret as figurative as beyond the ordinary human experience.
  • She borrowed language from human experience to mediate its meaning.
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13
Q

What is ineffability?

A

Something that cannot be explained or defined

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14
Q

What are the 3 strengths of the Apophatic Way

A
  1. God’s Nature
  2. Epistemic Distance
  3. Loss of Faith
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15
Q

Explain God’s nature

Strength of the Apophatic way

A

Identifies God’s nature goes beyond the experience of everyday life. Links back to Plato’s description of the essential form of Goodness.

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16
Q

Explain Epistemic Distance

Strength of the Apophatic way

A
  • As God is at an epistemic distance, positive language cannot accurately describe God.
  • God is essentially other (Pseudo-Dionysius)
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17
Q

Explain Loss of Faith

Strength of the Apophatic way

A

By attempting to positively describe God we will ultimately lose ourfaith in God. As God is reduced to a human construct.

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18
Q

What are the 4 weaknesses of the Apophatic way?

A
  1. Ship Example.
  2. Unfalsifiable.
  3. Scripture.
  4. Religious language is about a relationship with God.
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19
Q

Explain the Ship Example

Weakness of the Apophatic way

A
  • If God is beyond human understanding then no process of elimination will reach him or enable us to learn anything about God.
  • Brian Davies - subject could be a wardrobe as easily as it could be a ship. Process of elimination is limited. The audience would already have to have an understanding of the subject otherwise will never reach an understanding of the subject, i.e. God.
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20
Q

Explain Unfalsifiable

Weakness of the Apophatic way

A
  • Anthony flew - Creates the unfalsifiability problem.
  • Using negation, you are refuting any qualities and refusing to qualify anything to him.
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21
Q

Explain Scripture

Weakness of the Apophatic way

A
  • Positive language is used to describe God in scipture + within communities of Faith.
  • Chritianity, God is described as Father, a positive description.
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22
Q

Explain Religious language is about a relationship with God

Weakness of the Apophatic way

A

When speaking about God we are saying actual things about God and building a relationship.

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23
Q

What is falsification, Anthony Flew?

A
  • Any statement would be verifiable if its known what empirical evidence would prove it false.
  • Most religious people refuse that their statements coukd be false, therefore they are meaningless.
24
Q

What is the need for analogy?

(Aquinas)

A
  • Analogy = alternative approach to language where we can use language properly but mean different things due to the nature of that which we are discusing.
  • Aquinas rejected Via Negativa.
25
Q

What is the Analogy of Attribution?

(Aquinas)

A
  • The relationship between 2 things.
  • The qualities of the 1st leads to the qualities of the 2nd.
  • Allows you to speak about God using our language and understanding of the world.
26
Q

What is Brian Davies example of the Analogy of Attribution?

A
  • The baker and the bread.
  • Where a loaf of bread us tasty, soft and crispy on the outside, we know the baker is skilled and profficient.
  • Both the baker and the bread are good but in different ways.
27
Q

What is the Analogy of Proportionality?

(Aquinas)

A
  • That all things can be good at their own level.
  • E.g. A person = good or bad based on their charity & kindness whilst a dog = good based on ability to follow instructions.
  • Expectations are different as Telos (purpose) is different.
28
Q

What is Baron Freiderich Von Hugel’s example of the Analogy of Proportionality?

A
  • Dogs faithfulness is not equal to a mans faithfulness.
  • Dog = good if it does not urinate on your sofa.
  • Husband = good if he does not forget his anniversary.
  • Both = good in their own degrees.
  • A man = just if he is fair and deals with people appropriatly.
  • We cannot limit God to our sense of faireness. God = fair in his infinitie way.
29
Q

What is a model?

(Ian Ramsey)

A
  • Identifiable in this world & through our own experiences.
  • E.g. Goodness, Justice, Love.
30
Q

What is a qualifier?

(Ian Ramsey)

A
  • Models qualify differently.
  • Human Goodness = limited to what humans can do.
  • God’s Goodness = infinitie and immeasurable. (Doesn’t mean we don’t know what we are describing).
31
Q

Explain the 3 strengths of Analogy.

(Catophatic Way)

A
  1. Allows the use of positive language to make meaningful statements about God.
  2. Allows members of religious groups to use religious language to build an understanding of God + build a relationship.
  3. Is used by religious believers + existys in revelation and scripture.
32
Q

Explain the Aristotelian strength of the cataphatic way.

A
  • Analogy of Attribution: Described everything having 4 cauwses, so if the telos of one is a certain way, it reveals something of the nature of the efficient cause.
  • Analogy of Proportionality: Final cayse of each thing is determined by its nature and so can only be good in its own way. God is infinite with a telos well beyond ours. We can use our language without being about to reach the fullness of God’s telos.
33
Q

Explain William Blackstone’s criticism of the Cataphatic Way.

A
  • Analogical language must always be translated into Univocal language to make any literal sense.
  • Same as Hume’s challenge of the teleological argument. An analogy can only compare two things that are similar: the world is more like a cabbage than a machine.
34
Q

Explain Stephen Even’s criticism of the Cataphatic Way.

A
  • Nothing wrong with accepting that knowledge of God is limited.
  • God = mystery.
  • We only need to know enough to worship him.
35
Q

Explain Rudolph Otto’s criticism of the Cataphatic Way.

A
  • Religious language need only show the mysterium tremendum et fascinans (awesome mystery) of God.
  • We shouln’t worry about trying to say anything literal about God.
36
Q

What are the three types of Symbols?

A
  1. Pictorial: E.g. images of the crucifix or a crescent moon.
  2. Gestural: E.g. kneeling in front of a tabernacle or ritual washing.
  3. Linguistic: No less common and appear throughout language.
37
Q

What are John Macquarrie’s arbitrary and conventional symbols?

A
  • Arbitrary: Arbitrarily selected.
  • Conventional: involved in an intimate and significant way with the event.
38
Q

Explain Macquarries beliefs about symbols

A
  • Cross is more than arbitrarily selected symbol.
  • It participates in the event of being Christian, as Christians are followers of Jesus (Crucified on the cross).
  • Wearing a cross connects the wearer to the events of the crusifixion. Showing the wearer is a member of that group of believers and holdin all the beliefs they share.
  • If a Christian became a nun. wearing black + white habit = arbitrary. Could easily wear a blue + red habit.
39
Q

What is Paul Tillich’s definition of a sign?

A
  • Arbitrarily chosen to point to something other than itself.
40
Q

What is Paul Tillich’s definition of a symbol?

A
  • A sign + indicates that something special is happening. E.g. A candle at a tabernacle symbolises the eternal presence. (something is happening + we should take notice).
41
Q

Explain Tilich’s view that religious language is symbolic.

A
  • Symbolic because it communicates significant meanings and understanding about God.
  • God is “The Ground of Our Being”; God was the basis of all that existed and the reason for all that exists.
  • As its impossible for us to comprehend God directly + personally we use Symbols.
42
Q

How does society impact a symbol?

(Paul Tilich)

A
  • Society gives & can take awzy the meaning of symbols.
  • Symbols cannot be destroyed, often has the opposite effect within a society. E.g. the Christian Ichthus, used in the roman times.
43
Q

What did Tilich believe was the greatest strength of a symbol?

A
  • That it participates in the event it points to.
  • Non-users may recognise the symbol, only users will understand them. E.g the Ichthus.
44
Q

What are the 2 symbols within Scripture?

A
  1. Genesis.
  2. Psalms.
45
Q

Explain Genesis.

Symbols within Scripture

A
  • Genesis 1+2, The creation Stories: Taken by most Christian traditions as symbolic. Doesn’t mean they aren’t ‘true’, they contain ‘Symbolic truth’.
  • Genesis 1: God creates the world in 6 days. Gave the Hebrews the 7 day week structure against which they built their lives.
  • Genesis 2: God creates Woman from Man. Symbolic to show intimate dependence of man and woman on each other. E.g. man and woman become ‘one flesh’ through marriage.
46
Q

Explain Psalms

Symbols within Scripture

A
  • Songs of prace with symbolic imagery for God
  • Psalm 23: Lord is called “my Shepherd”. God isn’t a literal shepherd by we should depend on God like sheep depending on the shepherd.
47
Q

What are 2 symbols within Religious Tradition?

A
  1. Lamb of God.
  2. Icthus.
48
Q

Explain Lamb of God.

Symbols within Religious Tradition

A
  • Jesus called the Lamb of God.
  • Ancient Jewish cultures, animals sacrified at the temple in order to atone for their sins.
  • When Jesus was crucified on the cross, Christians believe he paid for their sins.
  • Jesus = the sacrifical lamb whose blood washes away our sins.
49
Q

Explain Ichthus

symbols within Religious Tradition

A
  • In Greek, Fish = Ichthus.
  • Acronym for Greek words: Iesous, Christos, Theou, (h)yios & soter. Meaning Jesus Christ, Son of God and Saviour.
  • When Christians were persecuted, wasn’t safe to announce ones religion, drew a fish symbol showing their belief.
50
Q

What are the 3 strengths of Symbolism?

A
  1. Transcendent.
  2. Non-literal.
  3. Participation.
51
Q

Explain Transcendent

Strengths of Symbolism

A

Symbols go beyond language + culture. Pictorial / gestural, they do not need language. If linguistic, last beyond the language.

52
Q

Explain Non-literal.

Strengths of Symbolism

A

Convey ideas about God that caanot be literally expressed. Give rise analogical beliefs, using language believers can grasp.

53
Q

Explain Participation.

Strengths of Symbolism

A

Symbols participate in what they are referring. Several ideas + notions can be carried by a simple word / phrase.

54
Q

What are 3 weaknesses of Symbolism?

A
  • Changing.
  • Reduction.
  • Epistemic Distance.
55
Q

Explain Changing.

Weaknesses of Symbolism

A
  • Symbols can be changed (bastardised) into something else.
  • E.g. The Swastika.
  • Symbols are not pure in their use.
56
Q

Explain reduction.

Weaknesses of Symbolism

A
57
Q

Explain Epistemic distance.

Weaknesses of Symbolism

A

RS - Philosophy of religion (18 decks)

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