Religious Language

Question 1

What are the 2 main questions to ask about religious language

Answer 1

How can we accurately talk about God?

Is religious language meaningful/less?

Question 2

Which scholars use the apophatic way? (4)

Answer 2

Gregory of Nyssa

Moses Maimonides

Pseudo-Dionysius

Meister Eckhart

Question 3

Which scholars use the Cataphatic way? (4)

Answer 3

Ignatius of Loyola

Francis of Assisi

Aquinas

Tillich

Question 4

Which scholar criticised the example of the ship?

Answer 4

Brian Davies

Question 5

What problem does the apophatic way avoid?

Answer 5

Anthropomorphising God

Question 6

What two examples of Analogy does Aquinas support?

Answer 6

Analogy of Attribution and Analogy of proportion

Question 7

What example does Aquinas use of Analogy of Attribution?

Answer 7

The bull’s urine is healthy, therefore the bull is healthy

Question 8

What example does Davies use for analogy of attribution?

Answer 8

The bread is good because the baker is good

Question 9

What example is used for analogy of proportion?

Answer 9

The child’s pianist compared to a concert pianist

Question 10

What example does Von Hugel use for Analogy of Proportion?

Answer 10

Comparing the faithfulness of a dog with a human

Question 11

Which scholar suggests religious language is symbolic?

Answer 11

Paul Tillich

Question 12

What is a sign according to Tillich?

Answer 12

Points towards something outside of itself

Question 13

What is a symbol according to Tillich?

Answer 13

Points towards and participates in that to which it points

Question 14

What does Tillich call God?

Answer 14

The ground of being

Question 15

Another name for the Vienna Circle

Answer 15

The Logical Positivists

Question 16

What theory did the Vienna Circle support?

Answer 16

The Strong Verification Principle

Question 17

What language was meaningful according to the Strong Verification Principle?

Answer 17

Verified by actual experience or is a tautology

Question 18

Give an example of a tautology

Answer 18

The round circle

Question 19

What did the Vienna Circle conclude about religious language?

Answer 19

It was meaningless

Question 20

What examples did Swinburne use to criticise the verification principle?

Answer 20

All ravens are black; the toys in the cupboard

Question 21

What is Ayers book called?

Answer 21

Language, Truth and logic

Question 22

What theory did Ayer support?

Answer 22

The Weak Verification Principle

Question 23

What did Ayer change about the original Verification Principle?

Answer 23

Statements are meaningful if they can be verified in principle

Question 24

What theory from Hick can be used to challenge the Verification Principle?

Answer 24

Eschatological Verification

Question 25

Which scholar first adopted the Falsification Principle?

Answer 25

Karl Popper

Question 26

What is the debate about religious language and the falsification principle?

Answer 26

The University debate

Question 27

Which scholars were involved in the falsification debate?

Answer 27

Flew, Hare and Mitchell

Question 28

What does Flew say about religious statements?

Answer 28

They die the death of a thousand qualifications

Question 29

What parable does Flew use?

Answer 29

The explorers in the jungle

Question 30

What does Hare suggest all religious believers have?

Answer 30

Blicks

Question 31

What example does Hare use?

Answer 31

The student who thinks all the university professors are out to kill him

Question 32

What example does Mitchell use?

Answer 32

The stranger and the resistance fighter

Question 33

What is Mitchell’s point about believers?

Answer 33

They are aware of problems but don’t allow them to destroy their faith