Symbolic language
something that does not state anything but can be interpreted in any way, may even have a deeper meaning,
e.g. the crucifix has a deeper meaning of jesus dying on the cross and saving our sins
with symbolic language we must read between the lines, symbols make us see different worlds
e.g. burning a flag is not just burning coloured cloth, but also disrespecting the nation itself and what it stands for
Tillich
God symbolic language
God is my father
God is my shepard
God is my saviour
tillich follows Aquinas idea that ordinary human language cannot convey ultimate truth,
tillich tells us that literal language of God is unhelpful and conveys fake impressions of the nature of God
Tillich dislikes the idea of calling God a "being", this is because the word connotes that something created God and that he is not the prime mover and all powerful.
the word being refers to things in our world and therefore brings God to the same level as humans
Tillich goes to the extent of saying that God does not exist, but he is existence in itself, and is the reason why everything else exists. Meaning that God must exist because we exist
AO3
Tillich use of symbolic language is useful to talk about god
Tillich use of symbolic language is not useful to talk about God
it preserves the mystery if God and the sens that God is beyond words, so avoids anthropomophism while communicating something deeper than just words,
this can be applied to the bible, we can find deeper meanings and stories within text, helps us learn more about God
symbolic language allows us to say something unlike the apophatic way, symbolic language changes over time meaning that it can stay relevant and active in a modern day society.
Hick argues against Tillich and states what is meant by "God is good" - is the whole sentence the symbol of the underlying concept of the goodness of God
symbolic language chages over time and is open to interpretation, we have to use human reasoning to read between the lines, at the same time our human reasoning is flawed - meaning that the way we interpretate some of the text may be very wrong.
additionally if the meaning changes over time, this means that there may have never been a distinct definition or right idea in the first place - suggesting that it is too subjective and non-cognitive
Randall suggests instead that symbols are non-cognitive and have no objective reality, like music or art touches people in different ways, we can see that symbolic language may do the same - no level of objectiveness