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>
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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>
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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>
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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>