Religious language: negative, analogical or symbolic

Question 1

Define ‘agnosticism’

Answer 1

The view that there is insufficient evidence for God or the view that God cannot be known

Question 2

Define ‘truth-claim’

Answer 2

A statement that asserts that something is factually true

Question 3

Define ‘apophatic way’

Answer 3

(via negativa) a way of speaking about God and theological ideas using only terms of what God is not

Question 4

Define ‘cataphatic way’

Answer 4

(via positiva) a way of speaking about God and theological ideas using only terms of what God is

Question 5

Define ‘univocal language’

Answer 5

Words that have the same meaning despite being used in a variety of contexts

Question 6

Define ‘equivocal language’

Answer 6

Words that have differing meanings in when used in different contexts

Question 7

Define ‘analogy’

Answer 7

A comparison made between one thing and another to aid understanding

Question 8

Define ‘symbol’

Answer 8

A word or representation used to stand for something else and to shed light on its meaning

Question 9

What is religious language?

Answer 9

Any kind of language used in the context of religious discussion, behaviour and worship which could be specialist vocabulary or archaic liturgy

Question 10

What do some say is the weakness of cataphatic language?

Answer 10

If people speak of God as a concept which we understand to be finite e.g. ‘judge’ or ‘father’ then we are constricting his infinite being and limiting his realm to be something we can associate with

Question 11

Why do people believe even using compliments to describe God is wrong in the view of apophatic language?

Answer 11

Because even by saying God is love or good, we are relating them to our own concepts and understanding but if we say ‘infinite’ or ‘immortal’ then this distinguishes his superiority

Question 12

Give an example of the application of apophatic language

Answer 12

Someone given 10m of fencing is told to make the largest area possible but the best answer is to make the smallest area possible and declare the rest of the world enclosed by the fence

Question 13

Who was Psuedo-Dionysius?

Answer 13

A mystic Christian from the sixth century whose writing was influence by medieval Christianity

Question 14

What did Psuedo-Dionysius believe?

Answer 14

• Via Negativa is the only way to speak truthfully about God because he is beyond all comprehension
• The soul needs to be unified with God by going beyond all sense perception and reality, this can be restricted by the mind’s need for complete understanding

Question 15

Why did Psuedo-Dionysius believe it was counterproductive to speak of God as though he can be perceived by the senses?

Answer 15

It is only by recognising human limitations that spiritual progress can be made, people seeking God should dismiss logic and arguments and allow God to reach them in stillness

Question 16

Describe the beliefs of Moses Maimonides

Answer 16

The best way to understand the nature of God is to explain what he is not through process of elimination to discover what he is without limiting his abilities and supreme

Question 17

How do buddhists use via negativa?

Answer 17

To convey the essence of the ultimate reality which cannot be described except as the negation of things we know from the physical world

Question 18

How did Aquinas describe God?

Answer 18

‘Via Eminentiae’ which means by way of eminence to show we only partially know what God is, our own love is partial and flawed but God’s love is the prime example of love

Question 19

How did Aquinas use language to describe God in Summa Theologica?

Answer 19

There could be a way of making positive claims about God but words we use are analogical and not literal e.g. God is not listening to prayers by means of physical ears it is analogical

Question 20

Why does Aquinas reject univocal language?

Answer 20

It makes God too small and does not convey his greatness and mystery, he also rejected equivocal language as this is useless

Question 21

Name the two analogies within Aquinas’ doctrine of analogical language

Answer 21

Analogy of attribution

Analogy of proportionality

Question 22

Describe the analogy of attribution

Answer 22

Where a casual relationship between two things is being described e.g. a bull’s urine is called healthy because it is caused by and can be attributed to the health of the bull

Question 23

How does Aquinas use the analogy of attribution to describe God?

Answer 23

God is not loving but instead is the cause of all love

Question 24

Describe the analogy of proportionality

Answer 24

Where words relate to objects that are different in proportion e.g. a clever toddler and a clever scientist are both smart within their respective age group/ field of study

Question 25

How does Aquinas use analogy of proportionality to describe God?

Answer 25

We can describe God as loving and just as long as we understand the depth of his love and justice are infinitely vaster than our own

Question 26

What was Ian Ramsey’s aim in his book ‘Religious Language’ 1957?

Answer 26

Explain the way religious language could describe God by using terms ‘models’ and ‘qualifiers’. Models are God’s description e.g. ‘righteous’ and qualifiers are to ensure his description is infinitely vaster than those applied to ourselves e.g. ‘everlasting’

Question 27

Give an example of symbolic religious language

Answer 27

God ‘listened’ to my prayers

Question 28

What was Tillich’s main aim in his life’s work?

Answer 28

To rediscover meaning in life post war believing Christian faith was a vital part of the rebuilding of society

Question 29

What was Tillich’s theology of correlation?

Answer 29

The correlation shown between questions asked in philosophy, the arts, the range of world religions, psychology and history answered by theology

Question 30

Why does Tillich believe that theology should be central to modern life and culture?

Answer 30

All the ‘big questions’ come down to making sense of what human life is which is the question theology can answer

Question 31

Why does Tillich believe that metaphors and symbols give a better understanding of God?

Answer 31

• It cannot be subjected to tests for validity of meaning
• “Open up levels of reality which were otherwise closed to us”
• “Unlocks dimensions and elements of our soul”
• The language is understandable but also highlights ultimate reality which is God

Question 32

Give a quote from Tillich defining symbols in his book ‘Dynamics of Faith’

Answer 32

“A symbol participates in that to which it points and a religious symbol points towards God, a person’s ultimate concern”

Question 33

Why does Tillich believe we made the symbol of God?

Answer 33

Help us come to terms with our place in the universe, our relationship with the natural world and our purpose in living

Question 34

Why does Tillich believe we made the symbol of Jesus Christ?

Answer 34

Unlock some of the mystery of the relation between the physical and spiritual world, our tendency to sin and our desire for freedom

Question 35

Why is Tillich critical of the traditional descriptions of God?

Answer 35

They depict him as a being which still places God in a category of all created things and therefore he could not be the ultimate source of being

Question 36

What does Tillich believe God is?

Answer 36

God is existence and the reason why everything exists