Religious Language: analogy
- Created by: harvey.cart
- Created on: 30-10-19 19:24
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- Religious Language: Analogy
- Strengths
- It helps us understand God and develop a relationship with him.
- Doesn't claim to be certain; is partial.
- Used in holy books.
- Makes us truly think about the qualities of God.
- Weaknesses
- Only gives us something metaphorical.
- Makes assumptions on what God is.
- Hick - picture of God still unclear as we can't compare him.
- Brümmer says that: 'God's nature is not accessible to us, nor, therefore is the way in which he is wise'.
- Scholars
- Thomas Aquinas
- Analogy of attribution
- Analogy of proportion
- - Also known as analogy of proper proportion -This is where words relate to something in a different proportions
- John Hick uses the example of the word 'faithful' applied to a person and a dog - there is simmilarity but different proportions
- Human words such as 'goodness' and 'love' are the same qualities found in God but on a much greater scale when applied to God.
- - Also known as analogy of proper proportion -This is where words relate to something in a different proportions
- Ian Ramsey
- - Builds on Aquinas's ideas -He says we can use human qualities to describe God but we must qualify them. - The human term is the 'model' as it gives us idea of the meaning. - The 'qualifier' is the word which helps us scale up the term to God's level (e.g. omnipotent shows God's power as much moire than human power)
- - The effect of the qualifier makes in greater depth about God until we gain insight. - 'Insight disclosure': qualifier used in a place that isn't expected so makes us deepen understanding - When we receive insight we respond to it.
- - Builds on Aquinas's ideas -He says we can use human qualities to describe God but we must qualify them. - The human term is the 'model' as it gives us idea of the meaning. - The 'qualifier' is the word which helps us scale up the term to God's level (e.g. omnipotent shows God's power as much moire than human power)
- Thomas Aquinas
- Via positiva/ cataphatic way
- Key ideas
- - Thomas Aq. influenced by via negativa - He used the term 'via eminetiae' meaning that our knowledge of God can only be limited -Human terms such as 'good' are only partial as these human concepts are flawed
- - Aquinas said that we should use analogy to describe God - Analogy is when language is used to give a similar or related sense to the original word (midway between equivocal and univocal)
- Strengths
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