Religious Language Flashcards
What is on the specification?
-saying what god isn’t
-saying what God is using analogical language
-Saying what God is using symbolic language
What is the Apophatic way?
negative way- saying what God is not.
What is the Cataphatic way?
Positive way- saying what God is
What are three types of language?
Univocal
Equivicol
Analogical
What is Univocal Language?
When a word means the same in every context e.g a dog
What is Equivivcol language?
When a word means different things depending on the context e.g Bat
What is analogical language?
Partly similar and partly dissimilar words e.g healthy related but not identical
Why is only analogical language used for God?
Univocal language makes it seem like God is like us
Equivicol language it highlight ambiguety.
What is Platonic thought?
Physical material is evil and spiritual is Good.
What do mystic thinkers believe?
Different religious believers think that we will have a finite human understanding of God so we can only speak about what God is not
What did Gregory of Nyssa say about an ant?
If we aren’t able to understand the mind of an ant then how are we able to say what God is.
(problem of other minds)
Who said we must enter a ‘cloud of unknowing’?
Pseudo- Dynesis
What is a weakness of Apophatic way overall?
Disrespectful
What does Gregory nyssa say that also links with Pseudo Dynosis?
‘divine darkness’
‘Mysticism of darkness’
What example does Moses Maimonides use to show that your able to find out something by saying what it’s not>
Ship
Who goes against Mainmonide point?
Davies- illogical and unreasonable because they could’ve came to a diff conclusion such as a coffin or a wardrobe
What are three strengths of the apophatic way?
-used biblically ‘God is NOT human’
-Judaism and Islam avoid picturing God visually as they understand humans are limited
-peter Cole able to gain insight
What are three weaknesses of the apophetic way?
-not a true reflection on how religious beleiver think of God as majority of the bible God is described in a positive way
-denying discription leads to anhilation
-human understanding very limited
What is an analogy?
comparison between one thing and another all language is figurative.
What are the two types of analogy Aquinas proposed?
Analogy of attribution
Analogy of proper proportion
What is the analogy of attribution?
-recognises God is the cause of all things
-e.g we can observe love and have a partial understanding of God’s love
What is the analogy of proper proportion?
When using a human word to describe God it applies in a much greater proportion.
What are three strengths of the cataphatic way?
-able to provide some knowledge of God
-NT via positiva ‘God is light’
-Jesus used it when describing the Kingdom of God
What are weaknesses of the cataphatic way?
-individual interpretation picturing God in different ways
-Swinburne argues that we must translate analogical to univocal language
-Brummer, false assumption of saying something.
Why does Tillitch beleive that religious language is symbolic?
God is not from the empirical world so cannot be presented literally.
What is a sign?
Points to something outside itself it is one dimentional and arbiturary e.g red traffic light
What is a symbol?
points to something outside of itself but also participates that to which it points e.g the cross or flag
What does Tillitch beleive that symbolic language functions similar too?
Art or music providing us with deeper emotion which allows us to go beyond.
What is one reason as to why someone would have a deeper meaning of God?
Due to experiencing the divine through a religious experience more likely to participate in the meaning more.
What is another reason one would have a deeper meaning of God?
Due to there understanding of the culture and tradition behind the religion (communal usage)
What example can be used to show the communal usage giving a deeper understanding of God?
Passover meal
‘the lamb of God’
-Jesus is innocent and pure
-OT lambs are sacrificed Jesus was the sacrifice.
Explain as to how Tillitch’s understanding of then Symbolic language is related to the cataphatic way?
Conveys aspects of ultimate reality.
How does Tillitch also talk about God in the Apophatic way?
rejects the direct/ literal description of God.
What is Tillitch’s Complex understanding of religious language?
It is both negation and affirmation.
What are three strengths of Symbolic language?
-preserves the mystery of God in a way that analogical doesn’t e.g God is ‘Good’
-symbols don’t provide certain knowledge of God
-allows us to access God in our own ways.
What are three weaknesses of symbolic language?
-limited lifespan
-we can never know if the symbolic language we use is correct in the first place.
-Division among beleivers.
