Religious Language Essays

Question 1

What is essay 1 ?

Answer 1

Assess the via negativa (apophatic way).

Question 2

what is intro essay 1

Answer 2

Apophatic way is used to describe God with what he is not.

Roots in the Neo-Platonism of the second century.

Question 3

what scholars essay 1 ?

Answer 3

Psuedo-Dionysius
Maimonides
B.Davies
Aquinas

Question 4

what is ur veiw essay 1

Answer 4

successful - via negativa

Question 5

point para 1 essay 1

Answer 5

Roots in the Neo=Platonism of second century. Talking about God in human terms was disrespectful because it brought God down to a human level (anthropomorphism).

Pseudo - Dionysius , sixth century AD, via negative should be used to preserved the mystery of God.

Also preserves his dignity and transendence.

Maimonides - ship example. If you were to describe a ship by only saying what it is not - within 10 steps you would arrive at what a ship is. - so talking about God using negative , you will get closer to God with each thing you learn about him.

“It is clear that this tenth person has almost arrived at the correct notion of a ‘ship’ by the foregoing negative attributes”

‘God cannot be the object of human comprehension, that none but himself comprehends what he is, and that our knowledge consists of knowing thta we are unable truly to comprehend him… it is therefore more becoming to be silent’.

Question 6

counter para 1 essay 1

Answer 6

B.Davies - criticises Maimonides - you could just as easily end up with a wardrobe instead of a ship. We are no nearer to understanding of what God is just what he is not.

Maimonides has gone too far- we can not get nearer to knowledge of God through process of elimination

Very limited understanding of God because there is so little that it communicates about God . It leaves us in a place of ‘darkness’ as Gregory of Nyssa said.

People want to know what he is actually like to get nearer to him and get better faith and closer relationship

Question 7

counter counter para 1 essay 1

Answer 7

Psuedo Dionysius approach supports Maimonides

Frees our mind to develop a more spiritual connection to God thru what psuedo -dionysius calls ‘unity’ with God.

Question 8

point para 2 essay 1

Answer 8

Popular imagination of God odten imagined in human terms - religious art - Helps Christians not to have a mistaken view of God.

Vi negativa avoids anthropomorphism God because it does not bring God down to human level by using human terms to talk about God.

To say what God is not to some extent implies the positive. e.g. to say that God is not limited by time tells us something about God, however limited it may be

Question 9

counter para 2 essay 1

Answer 9

Aquinas approach better. Negative language is ‘not what people want to say when they talk about God’ - Real Christians intend to say more than merely what God is not.

Religious language during worship and Bible isn’t consistent with Via Negativa.

Bible = ‘God is love’

EXODUS - God describes himself using positive terms

‘I, the Lord your God am a jealous God’

Analogy of attribution and Proportion are better and average Christian would accept them more

Proportion = God’s qualities are infinite - greater than ours.

Religious believers seek positive knowledge of God and speak of God in positive rather than negative terms, e.g. God is good , God is just.

Question 10

counter counter para 2 essay 1

Answer 10

To say what God is not to some extent implies the positive. e.g. to say that God is not limited by time tells us something about God, however limited it may be

Question 11

what is essay 2 ?

Answer 11

Assess the via positiva (catophatic way).

Question 12

what is intro ? essay 2

Answer 12

Assess the via positiva (catophatic way).

Question 13

what scholars essay 2 ?

Question 14

what is your view essay 2

Answer 14

its useful

Question 15

point para 1 essay 2

Answer 15

Aquinas says that we cannot say what God’s qualities are but actually are , but what they are like

Analogies = communicating the meaning of something by comparing it to something else.

Analogy of proportion = When we use a human word to describe God, such as faithfulness, or love, it applies to God in a much greater proper proportion because is infinite.

Give an example, 7 year old sister and violin playing.

Question 16

counter para 1 essay 2

Answer 16

J.Don Scotus (1265-1308) , argues that analogy is too vague , leaves us unable to understand God or his actions, could be confusing.

How do we know how much greater God is ? No point of reference to judge.

Brummer - we do not know God’s nature.

“The analogy of proportionality thus takes us no further than a negative theology” – Brummer

Question 17

counter counter para 1 essay 2

Answer 17

Analogy of proportion = not anthropomorphising because it is even better than anything a human could ever be. proportionally greater than humans

Question 18

point para 2 essay 2

Answer 18

Analogy of attribution - bulls urine - We can attribute goodness to God because we see something like ‘goodness’ in his creations.

Avoids the problem of equivocal language - because there is some similarity between God’s love and the love seen in families,.

Question 19

counter para 2 essay 2

Answer 19

Problem with analogy = assumes similarity between God and humans. If God is completely different to humans, there is nothing to compare him to. We may not be able to say antyhing - Maimonides - we cannot comprehend him.

By attributing similar to ideas to God, we may still limit God. How do we know anything about God if he is beyond our understanding ?

Anthropomorphises God. Doesn’t respect his dignity and the fact he is the creator of the world if we are using the same words we use to describe other humans against him.

Question 20

counter counter para 2 essay 2

Answer 20

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Question 21

what is essay 3

Answer 21

‘God can be talked about symbolically’ – How far do you agree?

Question 22

what is the intro essay 3

Answer 22

Paul Tillich developed symbolic language. Most religious language was symbolic instead of literal.

Question 23

what scholars essay 3

Question 24

what is ur view essay 3

Answer 24

successful

Question 25

point para 1 essay 3

Answer 25

Tillich - symbol - participates in that to which it points. E.G. a cross for Christianity , participates in the religious belief.

Tillich’s theory of participation is that there are four elements to symbolic meaning:

• Pointing to something beyond itself. Crucifix = Christianity
• Participation
• Reality - has to develop a deeper meaning
• Soul - it opens up dimensions of the soul.

When believers say ‘God is love’ , they are not only pointing to the existence of a spiritual reality , they are also participating in it.

Like via negative, preserves the mystery of God and the sense that God is beyond human words, so avoids anthropomorphising while communicating something deeper than the words themselves. It is as if symbolic language enables us to participate in a deeper reality.

Symbolic religious language function as a religious experience to connect our souls with God instead of having to understand him.

Question 26

counter para 1 essay 3

Answer 26

William Alston - American Philosopher - things such as Heaven and Hell must be taken as factual, not symbols. “there is no point trying to determine whether the statement is true or false.”

Factual belief in heaven and hell is just as important to Christian believers as the spiritual experience gained from using religious symbolic language.

Hick - what is meant by participates in ?? ‘God is good’ - is the whole sentence the symbol or the underlying concept of the goodness of God ?

Hick - philosophical language about God, such as God being non-dependent (necessary) is not symbolic.

Tillich fails for not adequately accounting for the cognitive element of religious language.

• It is unclear whether actual truth is revealed through symbols

Question 27

counter counter para 1 essay 3

Answer 27

Religion is primarily a human impulse towards something higher than the limits of our scientific or philosophical reasoning. Religion is primarily about our ‘ultimate concern’, which isn’t anything historical, scientific or otherwise factual.

Religious language doesn’t need to be literal/factual to be spiritually fulfilling

Question 28

point para 2 essay 3

Answer 28

It allows us to say something unlike the apophatic way.

Symbolic language can also change over time so it can always stay relevant and will not go out of date, also universal ?

Advantage because it allows each person to develop their own deep personal connections with symbols. - so also allows for personal interpretations for RL

Question 29

counter para 2 essya 3

Answer 29

If symbolic language does change , would it not loose meaning ? Too subjective and non-cognitive to be of any use except to the person or community in which it is used,

J.H.Randall = (1899-1980) - symbols are non-cognitive and have no objective reality,

• Randall - symbols may unite people and motivate and communicate ideas, the language is still non-cognitive (not expressing things which can be determined to be true or false).

Question 30

counter counter para2 essay 3

Answer 30

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