Religious language Flashcards
1
Q
(Apophatic way)
The Via Negativa
meaning = “the negative way”
A
- states that one can only speak of God in negative terms – God is transcendent so one cannot say what God is, therefore we can only say what he is not
- Our language cannot tell people about God as he is beyond human comprehension
2
Q
Pseudo-Dionysius
‘Via Negativa’
A
- argued for the apothatic way
- to genuienly seek God we must put away our need for answers and logic.
3
Q
Maimomides
via negativa
A
- stated that God is beyond any description & to make positive statements describing God is improper & disrespectful
- To describe God in this way limits him to human language & understanding
4
Q
weakness
Flew on the Via Negativa
A
- Antony Flew – negatives ultimately amount to nothing, we are left with no clear image of what God is
5
Q
Counter-Weakness: of the via negativa
The Bible describes God in positive terms.
A
- The Bible describes God in positive terms. “God is love” and “God is spirit - The Bible therefore seems to suggest that via posititiva language about God is valid.
6
Q
Non-cognitive language
A
- Language that is not empircally verifiable or flasiable butt instead expresses an attitude towrads something.
7
Q
Cognitive Language
A
- Language that is empirically verifable and makes assertions about objective reality
8
Q
The cataphatic way (via postivia)
A
- Aquinas - we can use positive words as long as we understand that the words are analogical not literal.
- E.G. When we say God listern we do not mean with his ears he hears us. But it is analogy that helps us know God.
9
Q
Keyword
Univocal language:
A
- words only have one meaning, whether using for god or temporally
10
Q
keyword
Equivocal language
A
- Words that mean different things when used in different contexts (E.G. Fruit bat & crcket bat)
11
Q
Aquinas’ theory of Analogy
A
- he thought humans were fundamentally unable to know God
- he argued we can talk about God meaningfully in positive terms (cataphatic way) if we speak analogically.
- Aquinas rejected univocal lang s it does not convey the greatness & mystery of God - God is beyond our understanding.
12
Q
Aquinas
Analogy of Attribution
A
analogy can be used to learn attributes of what you dont know, from what you do know
- the bull and the urine
13
Q
Aquinas
Analogy of Proportion.
A
- when words relate to differnt objects in different proportions
- (e.g loving god v. loving nurse)
14
Q
Symbols: using symbols that talk about God.
A
- language is often figurative and solves problems of making positive claims about god whilst not reducing him
- A religious people use symbolic language all the time e.g Psalm 23:1 “The lord is my shepherd”
15
Q
Tillich’s view of religous language
A
- All religious language is symbolic rather than literal - therefore cannot be tested for its meaningfulness
