Religious language Flashcards
A Priori
Knowledge or justification that is independent of experience. It is derived from reason alone, rather than from sensory experience. For example, the statement “all bachelors are unmarried” is a priori knowledge because it can be known through reasoning.
A-posteriori
Knowledge or justification that is dependent on experience or empirical evidence. This type of knowledge comes from sensory observation or experimentation. For example, “the sky is blue” is a posteriori knowledge because it can be confirmed through experience.
Empirical
Knowledge derived from sensory experience or observation, based on data or evidence that can be measured or tested. Empirical claims can be verified or falsified by observation or experiment.
Analogy
A comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification. In religious studies, analogy often refers to using comparisons to explain the nature of God or religious concepts.
Analogy of attribution
An analogy used to describe God by attributing qualities to God based on human experiences or characteristics. For example, saying “God is loving” based on human love, but recognizing that God’s love is different in nature and greater in extent.
Analogy of Proportion
An analogy that draws comparisons based on the proportion of a quality in different things. For example, a human’s knowledge and God’s knowledge may both be described as “knowledge,” but God’s knowledge is infinitely greater, and thus in proportion to God’s nature.
Synthetic
A statement or proposition that is not self-evident and requires experience or empirical evidence to determine its truth. For example, “The cat is on the mat” is synthetic because it can be confirmed through observation.
Analytic
A statement or proposition that is true by definition, and whose truth can be determined by examining the meaning of the terms involved. For example, “All bachelors are unmarried” is analytic because the concept of “bachelor” inherently includes being unmarried.
Defining predicate
A term or description that is essential to the definition of something. It gives us necessary and intrinsic information about the nature of the subject being discussed.
Religious language
Language used to discuss or describe religious beliefs, concepts, practices, and experiences. Religious language often involves terms that are symbolic, metaphorical, or non-literal.
Sign (Tillich)
According to Paul Tillich, a sign is something that points to something else but does not participate in what it points to. For example, a road sign points to a destination but does not embody the destination itself.
Symbol (Tillich)
Tillich describes a symbol as something that participates in the reality it signifies. A symbol has deeper meanings beyond its literal sense and can communicate religious truths. For example, the Christian cross is a symbol that points to deeper truths about sacrifice, redemption, and the nature of Jesus.
Via positiva
The positive way of describing God, where attributes are ascribed to God directly, often through metaphors or analogies. For example, “God is love” is a via positiva statement.
Via negativa
Also known as the “negative way,” this is an approach to describing God by stating what God is not, rather than what God is. It emphasizes the ineffability and transcendence of God. For example, saying “God is not limited by time” instead of saying “God is eternal.”
Verification
The process of establishing the truth or validity of a statement or claim. In logical positivism, a statement is only meaningful if it can be verified through empirical observation or logical reasoning.
Falsification
The process of testing a theory or claim by attempting to prove it wrong or false. This concept, developed by philosopher Karl Popper, argues that for a statement to be scientifically meaningful, it must be capable of being falsified.
Logical positivism
A philosophical movement that asserts that a statement is only meaningful if it can be empirically verified or is logically necessary (analytic). Logical positivism rejects metaphysical statements that cannot be verified in this way, including religious claims.
Strong verification
A more stringent form of verification, where a statement is only considered meaningful if it can be directly and conclusively verified through empirical observation. Strong verification would require direct observation or measurement to confirm the truth of a statement.
Weak verification
A form of verification proposed by the logical positivists where a statement is considered meaningful if it can be verified through experience or evidence, even if that verification is not immediate. For example, historical events that are not directly observable but can be inferred from evidence may be weakly verifiable.
