7. Religious Language: Symbols
- Created by: Alasdair
- Created on: 17-06-17 15:59
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- 7. Religious Language: Symbols
- Tillich
- Religious language operates as a symbol - points towards "Being-Itself"
- Not as a sign as signs do not participate in what they signalise (they have no meaning outside of context)
- Systematic theology - symbols are not literal assertions
- Point to something beyond themselves
- Participate in that to which they point (intrinsically linked)
- Symbolism opens up otherwise hidden levels of reality and many interpretations
- Open to all people to understand
- Open up levels and dimensions of the soul that corresponds to those levels of reality
- Symbols are independent of empirical criticisms:
- "you cannot kill a symbol by criticisms in terms of scientific and historical research"
- God can only be expressed through the use of symbolic language
- Religious language operates as a symbol - points towards "Being-Itself"
- Rhandall
- Symbols are motivational -
- fire up passionate emotions
- They are social
- Strengthen social bonds and have common social understanding
- Communicative
- Express faith better than religious language due to limitations of religious language
- Clarify and disclose our experience of the divine, same way as poet/artist reveal hidden depths
- Symbols are motivational -
- Criticisms
- Tillich is too vague in saying symbols partake, it is the person not the actual symbol partaking
- William Alston
- Tillich removes real and existential significance of religious statements
- E.g. "God loves His creatures", Tillich says it must be taken symbolically, however Alston says this renders the statements meaningless
- Tillich removes real and existential significance of religious statements
- John Macquarrie
- Criticises Tillich but not symbols
- There is no difference between a sign and a symbol
- E.g. clouds are both a sign and symbol of rain
- Proposes an existential response
- Symbols and sign link to human existence as they evok feelings of awe, devotion, trust - akin to feelings we should have towards God.
- Good example: the rile of washing in religions - the ritual symbolises the cleansing of sin
- Symbols and sign link to human existence as they evok feelings of awe, devotion, trust - akin to feelings we should have towards God.
- Similarity of relation
- Symbols are like analogies.
- E.g. the images of Jesus in The Gospel of John: the Living Water, the Light of the World, Good Shepherd; the True Vine. Symbolic relations of proportion are in operation
- Symbols are like analogies.
- Tillich
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