The problem of religious language considers whether it is possible to talk about God meaningfully if the traditional conceptions of God as being incorporeal, infinite, and timeless, are accepted. Various theories of religious language either attempt to show that such language is meaningless, or that it can still be meaningful. The via negativa is a way of referring to God according to what he is not. Analogy uses human qualities as standards against which to compare divine qualities. Symbolism is used non-literally to describe otherwise ineffable experiences. A mythological interpretation of religion attempts to reveal fundamental truths behind religious stories. Alternative explanations of religious language cast it as having political, performative, or imperative functions. Logical positivists argue that religious language is meaningless because its propositions are impossible to verify. Religion has also been classified as a language game that is meaningful within its own context. Others have used parables to approach the problem, such as R. M. Hare's parable of a lunatic, and John Hick's parable of the Celestial City to propose his theory of eschatological verification.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_religious_language
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1609:
While sailing aboard the Halve Maen, Englishman Henry Hudson began his exploration of the Hudson River, laying the foundation for Dutch colonization of present-day New York. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Hudson
1814:
War of 1812: Although the Maryland Militia lost the Battle of North Point, they delayed the British advance against Baltimore, buying time for the defense of the city. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_North_Point
1910:
Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8, one of the largest-scale choral works in the classical concert repertoire, was first performed in Munich. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._8_(Mahler)
1942:
World War II: The Imperial Japanese Army began the Battle of Edson's Ridge in an effort to retake Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Edson%27s_Ridge
1974:
Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia was deposed by the Derg, a military junta. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haile_Selassie
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
vocable: 1. A word or utterance, especially with reference to its form rather than its meaning. 2. A syllable or sound without specific meaning, used together with or in place of actual words in a song. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vocable
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Each civilization may choose one of two roads to travel, that is, either fret itself to death, or pet itself to death. And in the course of doing one or the other, it eats its way into the Universe, turning cinders and flinders of stars into toilet seats, pegs, gears, cigarette holders and pillowcases, and it does this because, unable to fathom the Universe, it seeks to change that Fathomlessness into Something Fathomable. --Stanisław Lem https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_Lem