Distinguish between two types of religious language

distinguish between two types of religious Languge (18 marks)

The via Negativa and Analogy both aim to solve the problem of religious language (a problem of semantics/meaning), however they are different in many ways. The via negativa was put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius, who belived that we cannot use human terms to speak of God, because God is trancendent and beyond human comprehension. Therefore Dionysius emphasised the difference between god and humaninty. On the other hand, Aquinas argued in 'summa theologica' that we can use use human terms to describe to qualities of god, in a relative way. Therefore, it emphasises the similarities betwen human and God (through analogy).

Dionysius argues that God is trancendent and beyond human understanding, therefore usung human term to describe God is meaningless. He argues that when we use human terms we are anthropomorphosisng God, as our language is rooted from our human experiences. He belived that we can only speak of God, firstly ruling out what God isnt and then denying the even the most hounerable…