1.8 Religious Language : Negative, analogical or symbolic

• What does Via Negativa (apophatic way) argue ?

  Via Negativa argues that since we cannot understand God, the only way to speak about God is by saying what he is not
• What did Pseudo-Dyonisus argue?

  Pseudo-Dyonisus argued that God is fully beyond our understanding. God is ‘beyond every assertion’ (including language) hence he cannot be described in positive terms. God being beyond all language means he is beyond any distinction we can make and that he doesn’t exist on any sort of meaning we can imagine
• What did Pseudo-Dyonisus conclude?

  That trying to understand God is not just pointless but actually counterproductive as it separates us from God
• What does Via Negativa help us with?

  Via Negativa helps us break free from grasping for knowledge of God. Many believe that following Via negative and giving up on trying to understand God helps us become closer to God since it was Adam and Eve’s desire for knowledge that caused separation.
• Via Negativa vs the Problem of Religious Language

  Maimonides argued for Via Negativa. His ship analogy shows that using negative language on a ship for 10 people will have the 10th person arrive closest to knowledge

  However, Brion Davies says this only works for special cases as negative language doesn’t grant us any further language but only creates a hole in our imagination
• What does Via Positiva (cataphatic way) argue?


  Via Positiva argues that although we can’t know or say what God really is, we can know and thus say what God is like
• What did Aquinas’ theory of analogy suggest?

  Aquinas thought we could go a bit further and talk about God meaningfully in positive terms if we speak analogically (in comparison)
• What did Aquinas believe about the cataphatic way?


  Aquinas believed that standard cataphatic approaches fail because Univocal and Equivocal aren’t correspondent. He instead believes he can find a successful middle approach which consists of the Analogy of Attribution and Proportion
• What does the Analogy of Attribution and Proportion say?

  The analogy of attribution says we can tell something about the creator by looking at what it causes (eg us having love and minds means God does). The analogy of proportion says God is the greatest being and has qualities to a greater degree of proportion than humans
• What does Aquinas’ Natural Theology claim?

  Aquinas claimed that Human Reason can gain lesser knowledge of God, strengthening faith. Reason is involved in the Analogies helping us to meaningfully talk about God’s qualities.
• Why does Aquinas’ Natural Theology get criticised?

  Natural Theology places a dangerous overreliance on reason. Augustine influenced Barth on the thought that the Fall had corrupted our reason. (“Finite has no capacity for the infinite”) + Our belief that we can learn about God is what led to Adam and Eve disobeying God. However, Aquinas responds saying that with God’s grace, our reason can still discover knowledge.
• What did Tillich argue about symbolic language?

  Tillich argued that religious language is symbolic. Understanding religion as symbolic helps us to understand the ‘ground of all being’. Using symbolism can also be a way of saying positive things about God without making them too small.
• What are the arguments for and against Via Negativa?

  Against – the Bible describes God in positive terms. There are some descriptions of God having a face or walking in the Garden of Eden. Also in Exodus, God describes himself in positive terms saying “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God”

  For – It helps us distinguish between transcendence and immanence since God’s transcendence is what only can be described negatively.

  (Immanence is God’s actions in the physical world which can be described positively)
• What are the arguments for and against Aquinas’ Analogy of God?


  Against – The analogy of Proportion fails as it claims a being has a quality relative to its nature but we in fact do not know God’s nature hence we cannot know his qualities. The Analogy of Attribution fails as it tells us that we can know what qualities God is the source of but it doesn’t tell us the way in which he is the source.

  For – Aquinas’ theory of analogy cleverly manages to avoid the problems of standard cataphatic way by finding a middle ground
• What are the arguments for and against Tillich’s symbolic language?

  Against – William Alston argues that important doctrines like Heaven and Hell must be taken factual and not symbolic since there’s no point in trying to determine if the statement or doctrine is true or false + Hick claims that philosophical language about God, like him being necessary existent, is not symbolic

  For – Symbols can bring out deep spiritual feelings which Tillich believes is the most important element of religious language, not cold factual descriptive beliefs.