Religious Language Flashcards
What are the main challenges of Religious Language?
Contradiction: Religious statements/claims are often contradictory or paradoxical (e.g. the claim that God is omnipotent). To say that ‘God is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit’ is to say that he is at the same time one and three; a puzzling claim. How can he be the father and son to himself?
God in human terms: Genesis describes God as walking in the Garden of Eden - does this mean that God has legs? God spoke to Moses… does this mean God has a mouth?
God’s transcendence: If God is outside of time and space, beyond our normal experiences and unavailable to experiment and testing, it is problematic to talk about God because our language is limited to things in time and space that can be seen, touched, felt, smelt etc. Most Christians believe that God exists in a timeless, eternal way (Boethius, Anselm, Augustine) and at an epistemic distance from us (Hick). Any direct revelation of God is ineffable to us (Otto and James), people do seem to find it hard to capture their experience.
What does it mean to talk about God through the via negativa?
Supporters of the via negativa propose that the only meaningful way to talk about God is to say what he is not, e.g.:
Not temporal
Not finite
Not evil
The via negativa is also called the ‘Apothatic way’ which comes from the Greek word ‘apo’ meaning ‘away from’ and ‘phanai’ - ‘to say’.
What does it mean to talk about God through the via positiva?
The via positiva (ataphatic way) uses positive language to describe the qualities and nature of God, e.g. God is good, loving, just, etc.
What is wrong with our human language to understand God?
Human language is incapable of expressing accurate knowledge of God when we use positive language because we are using words that only apply to the finite, imperfect things of this world.
This is disrespectful as it reduces God to a human level (anthropomorphism). Worse, it gives the transcendent God attributes that are misleading, inaccurate and can damage understanding.
For example, when God is described as judge, love, father, king, shepherd, warrior, etc, these put physical, limited human beings into our mind… or the impression that God has a body, is male, has a job description, has faults or is loving in a human, temporary way, with all its flaws, jealousies and limits.
What did Pseudo-Dionysius believe?
Pseudo-Dionysius believed that God is utterly transcendent and therefore incapable of being conceptualised by the human mind.
What’s wrong with the via positiva?
Speaking about God in positive terms risks anthropomorphising God. It’s wrong to speak of God as if he can be perceived by the senses - when we use the term ‘good’ to describe God, we mean far more than when we describe a person as ‘good’.
People genuinely seeking God should move beyond the via positiva into the ‘divine darkness’ - a communion with God, that cannot be put into words.
God will always remain a mystery and until people accept this they will miss the point and end with an idea of God that is too small.
What does Moses Maimonides say about religious language?
Moses Maimonides said that humans and God are so totally and utterly beyond human experience that we cannot know what words mean when they are applied to God because God is transcendent. Maimonides claimed that if you were to describe a ship by saying what it is not within ten steps you would arrive at what a ship is, by process of elimination.
What is wrong with Moses Maimonides’ conclusion?
Brian Davies criticises Maimonides’ argument, saying that you could just as easily end up with a wardrobe instead of a ship. Maimonides example demonstrates how ineffective the via negativa is - we are no nearer to an understanding of God.
What’s wrong with using positive language?
Maimonides argued that using positive language to describe God reduces God to a human construction and assigns anthropomorphic characteristics to him.
These characteristics become contradictory. Take omnipotence - if it’s the ability to do anything we fall into problems. This leads people to doubt God’s existence because we need positive language in order for people to know who or what we are talking about.
In his ontological argument, how does Anselm describe God in negative or positive terms when he called him TTWNGCBC?
Anselm describes God in both terms. He makes a positive claim about God while not making God too small - he does not say God is limited to being the greatest thing we can imagine, but he points to a God beyond our imagination.
What are the strengths of the via negativa?
- the via negativa, to some extent implies the positive. To say that God is not limited by time tells us something about God, however limited.
- the via negativa successfully conveys the mystery and otherness of God. This encourages a sense of awe and respect and pressures the transcendence and majesty of God.
- the via negativa prevents anthropomorphising God by not bringing him down to human level by not talking about him in human terms
- since God is transcendent/at an epistemic distance from us, positive language fails to accurately describe God and can lead to contradiction and a loss of faith (Maimonides).
What are the weaknesses of the via negativa?
- the via negativa gives a very limited understanding of God at best. It can be more confusing than helpful (especially for non-believers) because there is no starting point for understanding God - to say that white is the opposite of black doesn’t help someone who has no concept of white.
- scripture (considered to be the word of God) describes God in positive terms using analogy, symbolism and poetry. For example, it describes God as ‘father’, ‘love’, ‘just’, ‘good’, ‘saviour’, ‘liberator’, ‘redeemer’, ‘creator’, ‘shepherd’, ‘rock’ etc.
- if language of God cannot be used at all then we are not able to do theology or philosophy since discussion relies on words having at least some positive meaning.
Why did Aquinas reject the via negativa?
Aquinas rejected the via negativa because he insists that we can make positive, factually true claims about God (albeit in a limited manner) - the via positiva. He argued that Christina’s need to speak about God in positive terms so they can build a relationship with him.
