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EXPLAIN HOW RELIGIOUS LANGUAGE CAN BE SEEN AS NON-COGNITIVE AND SYMBOLIC -…
EXPLAIN HOW RELIGIOUS LANGUAGE CAN BE SEEN AS NON-COGNITIVE AND SYMBOLIC
INTRO:
a symbol is, according to Dinkler-von Schubert "a pattern or object that identifies the concept it is referring to and participates in the meaning of that concept"
e.g. national flag - patriotism and national identity / the cross - salvation, sacrifice and hope via the death and resurrection of JC
RL can otherwise be thought of as 'God-talk' e.g. 'the Lord is my shepherd'
Tillich and Randall were the main scholars who considered RL as non-cognitive and symbolic
Tillich redefines God as that which concerns us ultimately and faith as the state of ultimate concern
he puts forward six stages for symbols
an understanding of the difference between signs and symbols
symbols participate in the reality to which they point
symbols open up levels of reality and evolve
symbols open up dimensions of the soul
symbols develop naturally or from the collective unconscious
symbols grow and die
argues symbolic language alone is able to express the ultimate and go beyond the limits of finite reality
Randall defines RL as "human activity which makes a special contribution to human culture"
Hick summarises Randall's four functions of symbols:
arouse emotions and stir people to action
bind communities together
communicate qualities of experience that are hard to articulate
clarify human experience
sees symbols as functioning to express human emotion and action (non-realist)