as symbolic

• the thinker behind religious language as symbolic is Tillich
• for some, symbolic language about God solves the problem with analogy + with the Via Negativa
• main features of Tillich's account

  • symbols point to a reality beyond themselves
  • they 'participate' in the power to which they point
  • they open up levels of reality which would otherwise be closed to us
  • at the same time they open up levels of the soul which correspond to those realities
  • symbols cannot be produced intentionally, they grow out of the human consciousness
  • symbols are produced + die within a cultural context
• strengths of Tillich's view:

  • it avoids the danger of anthropomorphism while allowing believers to experience a deep sense of meaning in their lives through the use of symbols
  • it permits the use of one literal statement about what is meant by 'God' without the need for metaphysical concepts
  • it reflects what is known through religious experience + so helps us to understand what is meant by sin, salvation, the Kingdom of God, etc - symbols surface from the unconscious mind, not from conscious thought
• weaknesses of Tillich's view:

  • his idea of symbols participating in reality is not clear to ordinary people - and even some philosophers
  • the abstract concept of God as 'Being-itself' is not held by most Christians, who think in terms of God as a separate and transcendent being
  • many of the most important things that people want to say about God come from the rational thought and debate of philosophers