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Religious Studies
Summer Independent Learning
2020
Philosophy of Religion
4 a and b
Religious language
And
Retrieval Practice Christianity
Themes 1 and 2
Read the booklet and then
complete all the tasks.
Bring in on the first day back after the
holidays
Assume you have RS on that day
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Philosophy of Religion
Theme 4: Religious language – Booklet 1 A and B
A.
Inherent problems of religious language: Limitations of language for traditional conceptions of God such as infinite and timeless; challenge to sacred texts and religious pronouncements as unintelligible; challenge that religious language is not a common shared base and experience; the differences between cognitive and non-cognitive language.
B.
Religious language as cognitive (traditional religious view), but meaningless (Logical Positivists' view): Verification (A. J. Ayer) – religious ethical language as meaningless; there can be no way in which we could verify the truth or falsehood of the propositions (e.g. God is good, murder is wrong); Falsification - nothing can counter the belief (Antony Flew). Criticisms of verification: the verification principle cannot itself be verified; neither can historical events; universal scientific statements; the concept of eschatological verification goes against this. Criticisms of falsification: Richard Hare – bliks (the way that a person views the world gives meaning to them even if others do not share the same view); Basil Mitchell – partisan and the stranger (certain things can be meaningful even when they cannot be falsified); Swinburne – toys in the cupboard (concept meaningful even though falsifying the statement is not possible).
C. In booklet 2
Religious language as non-cognitive and analogical: Proportion and attribution (St Thomas Aquinas) and qualifier and disclosure (Ian Ramsey). Challenges including how far analogies can give meaningful insights into religious language. A consideration of how these two views (Aquinas/Ramsey) can be used to help understand religious teachings.
Issues for analysis and evaluation will be drawn from any aspect of the content above, such as:
The solutions presented by religious philosophers for the inherent problems of using religious language.
The exclusive context of religious belief for an understanding of religious language.
The persuasiveness of arguments asserting either the meaningfulness or meaninglessness of religious language.
How far Logical Positivism should be accepted as providing a valid criterion for meaning in the use of language.
To what extent do the challenges to Logical Positivism provide convincing arguments to non religious believers.
Whether non-cognitive interpretations are valid responses to the challenges to the meaning of religious language
Watch this video on the Inherent problems of religious language
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pzGW1XfDTg&list=PL2ggVdhXSioxVEVyZsyinGanBhv5ywAL7&index=1
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Inherent problems of religious language:
The key role of ‘Religious Language’ is God-talk, which is, being able to talk about God in a meaningful
and coherent manner. The problem of religious language arises when we consider ‘what can be said
about God?’
The religious language debate is not concerned with whether or not God exists, or what God is like or why there is evil in the world. It is solely concerned with working out whether or not religious language means anything.
Task 1 Key terms - write full definitions as you progress through the topic
a. Cognitive
b. Non-cognitive
c. Analytic (include your own example)
d. Synthetic (include your own example)
e. Anthropomorphism
f. Metaphysical
Religious Language has meaning
On the one side of the debate, you have the centuries old tradition of religious believers who believe that you can speak and write about God,
because God is a reality.
Religious Language does not have meaning
On the other side, are the Logical Positivists and those that they influenced who claim that
statements about God have no meaning because they don’t relate to anything that is real.
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Task 2 Complete the spider diagram below
Hick has identified two main issues related to the use the religious language
a. This relates to the unique way that religious terms are used when they are applied to God
b. This relates to the basic function of religious language e.g. do religious statements that
have the form of factual assertions (God loves humanity) refer to a special kind of fact –
different to scientific fact – or do they fulfil a separate function altogether?
Why and when is religious language
used and studied?
e.g. during worship . . .
To speak about metaphysical
concepts
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Task 3 Examples of terms used in a special way to describe God identified by John Hick – explain what
you think religious people do not mean by these statements.
a. ‘Great is the Lord’ – It does not mean God is physically large
b. ‘the Lord spoke to Joshua’ – Does not mean . . .
c. God is good – Does not mean . . .
When words are used in a secular (non-religious) and theological (religious) context the secular meaning
comes first and is adapted to describe God.
Describing God using human terms runs the risk of anthropomorphising God. This means giving God
human characteristics. The problem with this is that it limits God and risks God being seen as some form
of super human. For example, believers might refer to God’s love but they would not see it as the same
as human love.
d. Give five examples of words that are used to describe God
_____________________________________________________________________________________
e. Using the example of love explain why its meaning is more complex in the theological context.
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Task 4 Read the list of problems on page 8 and complete this table
Specification content Explanation and examples (a, b, c or d?)
1. Limitations of language for traditional conceptions of God such as infinite and timeless;
2. Challenge to sacred texts and religious pronouncements as unintelligible;
3. Challenge that religious language is not a common shared base and experience;
4. The differences between cognitive and non-cognitive language
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Task 4 – use the information below to complete the table
a.
Some philosophers and believers assert that religious language is cognitive and
therefore something about God can be known. If religious language is classed as
cognitive then it communicates knowledge, information and facts about God.
The problem with this is that religious statements are not about objective facts that can be proved true
or false. The argument put forward is that if we are unable to validate religious statements based on
objective facts that are open to cognition then religious language is considered to be meaningless.
Others claim that religious language is non-cognitive. This is a view of religious language
which argues that its function is not to inform and does not contain facts that could be
proved true or false. Non-cognitive language includes ethical and moral propositions
(statements) linked to some theories of ethical language, or an expression of an emotion
such as a scream. This problem is further highlighed because religious stories can be
interpreted literally and non-literally, this could lead to problems if believers accept different
interpretations of sacred texts, for example, Biblical stories of Creation and The Fall in the book of
Genesis
b.
Some philosophers believe religious language is inherently problematic becasuse it is not based on ideas
that can be agreed upon by all as it is not based on a common shared base or experience. Human
language in based on experience or common truths, there is no commonly agreed experience of God, so
language about God is problematic. If a believer claimed ‘God’s hand guided me’, there is no empirical
or experience based means to establish the truth of that statement. In addition, religious language is
often specific to one religious community for example, the ‘work of the Holy Spirit’ in Christianity and if
it is used in more than one community then it might have different meanings. The term karma is used
with slightly different meanings in both Buddhism and Hinduism and in secular society.
c.
Religious language communicates ideas about religions, for example, it describes objects or places of
worship, sacred texts or physical actions. This is understandable and relatable because it is observable
and experienced in the empirical world. However, religious language that describes God or gods or
teachings about the afterlife may not be understandable and even seen as unintelligible. Some of the
words are abstract, metaphysical or puzzling. They are difficult to understand. An example could be the
concept of the Virgin Birth or an omnipotent God and truly free humans. The words used are
contradictory to our logic and everyday language to talk about God can lead to misunderstanding.
d.
Meaningful communication is based on the ability to relate to what we are being told. This means we
need to have an experience base upon which to build our understanding of the language we share
e.g. my car is black. Religious language is metaphysical and goes beyond our physical realities which
makes is difficult to understand e.g. ‘God is timeless’ is difficult for humans to understand and any
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attempt to describe God will fail or be so partial that we are saying nothing meaningful.
Task 5 Memory aid on the problems of religious language - to complete in class
CATLICK
Cognitive
Anthropomorphic
Timeless
Limitations of language
Ineffable
Contrary to logic
Karma – not a common shared base
Stretch and challenge - to come back to during revision
Write out 5 religious statements that would be classed as meaningless under the verification principle.
Explain why they would be considered meaningless.
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4 B Religious language as cognitive (traditional religious view), but meaningless (Logical Positivists' view):
Logical Positivism
A Philosophical movement that developed from the work of a group of philosophers known as the
Vienna Circle (because they met in Vienna and sat in a circle, honestly!).
They believed language to be the mean by which all human knowledge was transmitted and wanted to
develop a method to reduce all knowledge to basic scientific and logical formulations.
The Verification Principle
Verification (A. J. Ayer) – religious ethical language as meaningless; there can be no way in which we could verify the truth or falsehood of the propositions (e.g. God is good, murder is wrong);
Key Vocab
Verified – shown to be true, through the use of evidence
Falsified – shown to be false, through the use of evidence
Cognitive – conveys information
Meaningful – in this context it is not a psychological term, as when we speak of ‘a very
meaningful experience’ or to say ‘something means a lot to me’; it is a logical term. To say that
something has meaning is it say it is, in principle verifiable.
The Vienna Circle was a group of philosophers who gathered together at Vienna University in 1922. The
members of the Vienna Circle had two main beliefs about philosophy:
1. Experience is the only source of knowledge.
2. Logical analysis performed with the help of symbolic logic is the preferred method for solving
philosophical problems.
The ideas of the Vienna Circle were adopted by other philosophers throughout
Europe, and the philosophy that developed became known as logical positivism.
One development from logical positivism was the verification principle. This is the
idea that the meaning of a statement lies in the method of its verification, so that
any statement that cannot be verified, even if only in theory, is meaningless. The
logical positivists only accepted two forms of verifiable language:
Analytic statements or propositions (a priori) – propositions that are
necessarily true, independent of fact or experience. Knowledge is gained
though logical analysis (reasoning). These are propositions that are true
by definition, for example, ‘all quadrupeds have four legs’. We know this
proposition is true because a quadruped means a four-legged animal. It
would be a contradiction to deny an analytical truth, for example, to
‘A quadruped has four legs’ is a
meaningful analytic statement.
‘This cat is totally cute’ isn’t a
meaningful statement (according
to Logical Positivists)
This
Meow
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refer to a ‘two-legged quadruped’. A two-legged animal would be a biped.
Synthetic statements or propositions (a posteriori) – propositions in which the predicate (the subject of
the sentence) is not part of the meaning or definition of the thing. These propositions are proved true or
false (verified) by some form of sense experience or experiment. For example, the statement ‘a cat is a
quadruped’ could be verified by discovering whether or not cats have four legs. I can use by eye sight, look
at a cat and see that it has four legs.
Task 6
Identify which of the following propositions are analytic statements and which are synthetic statements.
i) Every widower has lost a spouse.
ii) Most widows do not remarry.
iii) The Moon is made of green cheese.
iv) 9 + 2 = 10
v) It is raining outside
All the above propositions would be accepted as meaningful statements by the logical positivists as it is
known how to verify them. The principle is stating that we know the meaning of a statement if we know
the conditions under which the statement is true or false. The statement, ‘the moon is made of green
cheese’, is false, but for the logical positivists it is still meaningful as we know the conditions under which
the statement is proved true or false: that is, astronauts visit the moon and bring back rock samples to
verify whether or not the moon is made of green cheese. ‘9 + 2 = 10’ is the wrong answer, but it is still
meaningful for the logical positivists as we know the conditions under which the statement is true or false:
that is, in mathematics 9 + 2 = 11.
Even if we are not able to verify a statement as true or false at the moment, but know the conditions under
which the statement could be verified true or false in the future, then for some logical positivists the
statement is still meaningful. For example, ‘there is life in other galaxies’ cannot be verified as our
spaceships are not capable of reaching other galaxies, but we know that if we had such ships then we could
prove the statement true or false.
If the conditions are not known under which a statement may be proved true or false, then the statement
is meaningless. This is because, according to the method of verification principle, it is not logical to make
such a statement.
A sentence is factually significant to any given person if, and only if, he knows how to verify the
proposition which it purports to express – that is, if he knows that observations would lead him, under
certain conditions, to accept it as being true or reject it as being false. Meaning was also accorded to
sentences expressing propositions like those of logic or pure mathematics, which were true or false only
in virtue of their form, but with this exception, everything of a would-be indicative character which
failed to satisfy the verification principle was dismissed as literally nonsensical.
A. J. Ayer, The Central Questions of Philosophy, 1973
Task 7
‘This cat is a quadruped’ is a
meaningful synthetic statement
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Why does the verification principle regard any statements about the existence of God, the attributes of
God and life after death as meaningless? Read the information above very carefully.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
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_______________________________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________________________
Ayer realised that there is a problem if synthetic propositions are only accepted as meaningful based on
our own observations. There are statements whose meaning no one would wish to deny.
Consider, for example, the case of the general propositions of law – such … as ‘arsenic is
poisonous’; ‘all men are mortal’; ‘a body tends to expand when it is heated’. It is of the
very nature of these propositions that their truth cannot be established with certainty by
any finite series of observations.
Ayer, Language, Truth and Logic, 1936
In other words, the number of observations of such propositions is limited as we can only observe it a finite
(limited) number of times. For example, if I drink the arsenic and die, I will no longer be observing the
arsenic’s effects. Ayer accepted that such statements are not limited to finite observation. Arsenic remains
poisonous even though I am dead and no longer observing it. Therefore, such statements have been
verified by others with certainty.
Strong and Weak Verification
This led Ayer to develop a distinction between ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ verification.
Strong verification occurs when the truth of the statement can be established with
certainty, practical verifiability.
Weak verification occurs when there is a possibility of error in what is currently
accepted as true. This applies to many scientific and historical statements. For
example, a physicist might develop a theory to explain something, but this theory is
later proved to be wrong. An historical event that has been accepted as accurate may be brought into
question when new evidence is uncovered. Verifiability in principle.
Here are two examples of weak verification: propositions that were accepted as true but now, in the light
of new evidence, are doubted.
1 The steady-state theory was accepted for many years as an accurate description of the universe. Now it
is rejected by most physicists in favour of the Big Bang theory.
2 It was accepted that the first European to discover America was Columbus in 1492. New evidence has
been found that supports the view that America was discovered much earlier.
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These are examples of weak verification because the conditions are known under which these statement
may be verified true or false, but it has to be allowed that evidence may change whether the statements
are true or false.
Task 8 – start the summary below (or on paper) using pages 10 -13
Verification
The Vienna
Circle
Rejected language
The Logical Positivists Rejected language
Ayer – Strong and
Weak
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Task 9 The Verification Principle – a summary
Fill in the missing terms – experience, weak, picture, verification, Vienna, God, meaningful, historical, probable
Who Wittgenstein (1889-1951)
What He influenced the Logical Positivists as he initially set out a narrow
view of what could count as being a meaningful proposition. He said
the function of language was to ___________ the world. Therefore
every statement needed to correspond to some information about
the world itself (verifiable through sense __________). The statement
the cat sat on the mat is meaningful if you can observe the mat sitting
on the mat.
Who Vienna Circle (R.N. Carnap, Moritz Schlick)
What They held the belief that theological interpretations (using God as an explanation) of
events and experiences belonged to the past, to an unenlightened age when ___ was
used as an explanation for anything that science had not yet completely mastered. They
wanted to find a way of showing statements to be ____________ and either true or false.
They attempted to apply the theories of maths and science to language statements.
The meaning of statements comes from the method of ___________. A statement is only
meaningful if it can be proved to be true or false through such evidence. Experience is key
to determining whether a statement is meaningful or not.
Friedrich Waismann (one of the __________ Circle) ‘Anyone uttering a sentence must
know under what conditions he calls it true, and under what conditions he calls it false. If
he is unable to state these conditions, he does not know what he has said. A statement
which cannot be conclusively verified cannot be verified at all. It is simply devoid of any
meaning.’
Who A.J. Ayer (Language, Truth and Logic, 1936)
What Strong and ______ Verification
Strong – There is no doubt the statement is true – verified using sense experience. It excludes things
that people considered to be true, such as ____________ statements and general laws of science.
Therefore, philosophers started to reject the strict form.
Weak (developed by Ayer) He rejected the necessity of conclusive verifiability and instead argued that
for meaningfulness it was enough to know what sense experience would make the statements
___________. However, even this is not possible with religious statements since ‘the notion of a person
whose essential attributes are non-empirical is not an intelligible notion at all’. Through the misuse of
language people assume that because a word existed there was some corresponding reality.
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Implications of the Verification Principle for religious language
Statements about God are neither analytically true nor open to verification by
observation, and are therefore meaningless. Claims such as ‘The Lord is my
shepherd’, ‘God created the world’ and ‘God has a plan for all of us’ cannot be
shown to be either true or false using the senses.
Claims to have experienced God are subjective, not universal and therefore are not
reliable grounds for testing them; hence they cannot be the basis for empirical
propositions about God.
The question ‘Does a transcendent God exist?’ is rejected because although is seems to
be cognitive (asking a question about an objective reality), our sense experience of the world
does not include any transcendent beings.
Wider implications of the Verification Principle
All statements that express unverifiable opinions and emotions are invalid
Universal statements ‘All ravens are black’ cannot be conclusively verified because one day
someone might see a white raven.
such as ‘The Battle of Hastings happened in 1066’ can’t be verified as we can
have no sense experience of it happening
The status of the verification principle itself can be called into question. What
observation could be made to verify or falsify it?
Task 10
a. Explain how Wittgenstein influenced the Logical Positivists.
b. What were the aims of the Logical Positivists?
c. Why does the Verification Principle seem to cause a problem for religious believers?
d. How can the wider implications be turned into criticisms of the Verification Principle?
Meaningless
Meaningless
Meaningless
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The Falsification Principle - nothing can counter the belief (Antony Flew).
Who: Anthony Flew
When: 1955 article ‘Theology and Falsification’
What: A rule that the meaningfulness of a statement lies in the method of falsification. This would mean
that any statement that could not, even if only in theory, be falsified, was empty of meaning.
Why: An attack on the meaningfulness of religious language. It is a response to the Verification Principle.
Summary
Karl Popper, a philosopher of science, argued that when conducting experiments, we
should not look to verify theories, but to falsify them. Only in that way does science
progress – we recognise, through continual criticism, weaknesses in our existing
theories, discard them, and try to produce better ones. Popper claimed that
statements gained meaning if you knew how they could be falsified and gave the
example of astronomy and astrology to demonstrate this.
Task 12 – add a definition of astronomy and astrology to the table below
Flew, influenced by Popper, revisited the debate started by the Logical Positivists
however, he insisted that religious statements should be falsifiable rather than
verifiable. He reached the conclusion that religious statements were meaningless as
there is nothing which can count against them. Religious statements can neither be
proved true or false because religious believers do not accept any evidence to count
against (falsify) their beliefs. For Flew, there is no difference between non
falsifiability and meaningfulness.
Astronomy Astrology
Astronomy is . . . Astronomy is meaningful because . . .
Astrology is . . . Popper said astrology is meaningless because . . .
Task 11 Cornell
Method
What questions could
you write to help you
remember this
information?
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Flew referred to John Wisdom’s parable of the gardener; in this parable two
explorers come across a clearing in the jungle, in the clearing there are both flowers
and weeds. One explorer is convinced that there must be a gardener who comes to
the clearing to look after it, but the other disagrees.
The two explorers decide to settle the debate by lying in wait for the gardener, but
he never appears. The believer claims that there is an invisible gardener. So the two
explorers set up traps, and no gardener is found. The believer still qualifies his assertion that there is a
gardener, by saying he is ‘invisible, silent, intangible’ until the sceptical explorer asks ‘But what remains
of your original assertions? Just how does an invisible, intangible and eternally elusive gardener differ
from an imaginary gardener or even from no gardener at all?’
Flew draws a parallel between the believer and a religious person who makes claims such as ‘God loves
us as a father loves his children’ and ‘God has a plan’.
Flew said that these beliefs about God are challenged by evil and suffering, but religious believers don’t
accept they are wrong and God doesn’t love us or have a plan. Believers then qualify their claim by
saying ‘God’s love is not like human love’, ‘we can’t understand God’s plan, and it is a mystery’.
Believers meet every challenge to faith with qualifications and modifications until eventually there is
nothing left of the original assertion.
Extract from Hick ‘Philosophy of Religion’
Many people, who are not religious, often believe that there is no way to convince a religious individual
that his or her religious beliefs are incorrect, that “‘There wasn’t a God after all’ or ‘God does not really
love us then’”
Instead, when a religious individual sees a frantic father who is concerned about the health of his child,
yet they cannot see an apparent concern coming from God, they are not swayed into believing that ‘God
does not really love us as a father loves his child’, rather that God’s love is slightly different then what
was originally asserted.
What then, Flew asks the religious, “would have to occur or to have occurred to constitute for you a
disproof of the love of, or the existence of, God?” Is there anyway to show you that your assertion is
incorrect, and that the opposite is true? Flew believes that there is not, and therefore, that their
‘assertions’ can never be disproven, and are therefore, merely utterances.
But what is an assertion? Flew next gives the basic idea of what an assertion is. An assertion typically
asserts that “such and such is the case”.
Anything that negates this assertion, that proves that such and such is not the case, would be proof
against the assertion.’
Flew said believers claims about God die a ‘death of a thousand qualifications’.
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He claimed if a statement is to have any meaning it has to;
assert something, for example ‘x is y’
deny the opposite of that assertion ‘x is not true’
For example - ‘I am standing on a mountain’ rules out ‘I am sitting’ ‘I am lying down’.If you were asked
‘Under what circumstances would your claim to be standing on a mountain be false? You could say ‘if I
were weeding in my garden’.
Flew argues when theists talk about God they refuse to rule out any state of affairs, if you asked them
‘Under what circumstances would your statement that God loves us be false? They would not think of
any, as they claim their belief can’t even be falsified in principle their belief is meaningless.
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Task 14
Complete in detail
a. Complete your own summary of the FP including ‘Who, when, what and why’
Who
When
What
Why
b. What point is being made by Flew in the parable of the gardener?
c. Think of three examples that could be used to argue against God’s goodness. Link to the
Problem of Evil and Suffering topic.
d. List reasons that a believer might give to argue why a good God would allow this to happen?
Link to the theodicies and the Free Will Defence.
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Criticisms of the verification principle: the verification principle cannot itself be verified; neither
can historical events; universal scientific statements; the concept of eschatological
verification goes against this.
Are, therefore, religious statements to be considered meaningless?
The verification principle should give no reason to believe this; it is one of the most
discredited theories of the twentieth century.
1.It is suggested that the verification principle is not in itself verifiable (there is no sense experience
that could count in its favour); it is meaningless, therefore cannot be verified using the verification
principle.
2. Richard Swinburne in ‘God-talk is Not Evidently Nonsense’ challenges
verificationism giving the example ‘All ravens are (at all times) black’. Swinburne
points out that whilst people generally accept ravens are black, there is no way to
ever confirm this statement, as however many ravens you look at there is always
the possibility of there being one more raven that is not black. Therefore,
according to verificationism, the statement is meaningless. Also, universal
scientific statements cannot be verified but they do have meaning. For example,
all humans are mortal – we can’t test this – but we accept that it is true.
3. John Hick - Eschatological verification
Hick challenged the verification principle on the grounds that there are some propositions that cannot be verified by everyone, or that to be verified it is sometimes necessary to take action.
Sometimes it is necessary to put oneself in a certain position or to perform some particular operation as a prerequisite of verification. For example, one can only verify ‘there is a table in the next room’ by going into the next room; however, it is to be noted that one is not compelled to do this.
Hick, Philosophy of Religion, 1990 To verify whether or not there is life after death then it is first necessary to die. If there is life after death then the truth of ‘continued conscious existence after bodily death’ is proved, but, as Hick points out, if there is no life after death then the fact that such a belief is false can never be falsified as the fact that it is ‘false can never be a fact of which anyone has experiential knowledge’. This fact does not undermine the meaningfulness of the hypothesis of life after death for, as Hick states, ‘if its prediction is true, it will be known to be true’.
Hick calls this idea ‘eschatological verification’ and uses the parable of two travellers on the road to the Celestial City to support his argument.
Two people are travelling together along a road. One of them believes that it leads to the Celestial City, the other that it leads nowhere; but since this is the only road there is, both must travel it. Neither has been this way before; therefore, neither is able to say what they will find around each corner. During their journey they meet with moments of refreshment and delight, and with moments of hardship and danger. All the time one of them thinks of the journey as a pilgrimage to the Celestial City. She interprets the pleasant parts as encouragements and the obstacles as trials of her purpose and lessons in endurance, prepared by the sovereign of that city and designed to make of her a worthy citizen of the place when at last she arrives. The other, however, believes none of
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this, and sees their journey as an unavoidable and aimless ramble. Since he has no choice in the matter, he enjoys the good and endures the bad. For him there is no Celestial City to be reached, no all-encompassing purpose ordaining their journey; there is only the road itself and the luck of the road in good weather and in bad.
Hick, Philosophy of Religion, 1990 The believer expects to experience the Celestial City at the end of the journey whereas the atheist does not. When they turn the last corner, it will be clear which one of them is right. What they believed to be the destination at the end of the road affected the way that they felt about the road and the way that they behaved on the journey. Similarly, believers and atheists have very different expectations about what will happen after death, and therefore live their lives differently. If the believer is right, according to Hick, there will be ‘continued conscious experience’ and knowledge of the existence of God.
In conclusion, the Logical Positivists did make a distinction between a statement that was meaningful
and a statement that was true (or false). The criterion of meaning was concerned to distinguish
statements that were meaningful. The issue of whether the statements were true of false was a
different area of discussion.
4. Many philosophers actually disagree with the verification principle because they argue that in trying
to verify statements, concepts or beliefs, it relies on the abilities of the individual trying to verify the
experience. An example: think of the case of a blind man who is asked to verify that the sky is blue, or a
young deaf girl who is asked to verify that the sound of pop music is enjoyable; does the statement not
appear to be meaningless in both cases? Why is this?
5. Yet what about people who have normal visual abilities and people who have no hearing difficulties;
what does the statement mean to this group of people? Hence whilst it could be claimed that
statements about God cannot be verified by a person who does not have a faith, to people who share a
common faith, religious statements are meaningful to them.
6. This has brought about the conception of an idea to prove that religious language does have meaning
even if it cannot be verified or falsified. Some philosophers argue that it is wrong to classify religious
statements in the same way as other statements. They propose that religious statements are non-
cognitive; they do not contain facts that could/should be proved true or false.
7. When a verification is weak; then it can actually support some religious statements,
e.g. the statement God is the creator of world, can actually be supported by the
evidence that there is some design to the world; in other words the statement is not
meaningless unless the possibility of the evidence (in this case-from design) is
meaningless.
6. There is also historical evidence which supports many statements, i.e. St. Peter was the first Pope of
Christ’s Church; Jesus was crucified by Pontius Pilot and rose from the dead on the third day (despite
ones beliefs, because of the fact there are many people in the world who do believe, this allows for
verification for all of those believers).
This idea is supported by R.M. Hare who claims, “...although religious language cannot make
factual claims, it still has meaning-not because it imparts knowledge, but because it
influences the way in which people look at the world..”
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8. Keith Ward (Holding Fast to God 1982) stated that the Verification Principle excluded nothing, since
all experiences are allowable because of the criterion of ‘verifiable in principle’. He argues that the
existence of God can be verified in principle since ‘If I were God I would be able to check the truth of my
own existence’.
A further challenge to the Verification Principle – useful for AO2
Talking about God through negatives - The Via Negativa
The via negative uses only negative terms to speak of God, as a way of
avoiding belittling God by attributing human qualities to him
(anthropomorphise)
It is the idea that it is possible to talk about God by saying what he is not. It is
often used by mystics such as St John of the Cross.
St Augustine and others claimed that positive attributes of God should be
countered by the recognition that human language is inadequate when
describing God. In particular scholars have frequently appealed to the importance of negation and
analogy. The appeal to negation is easy to understand and is best thought of as an attempt to prevent
people from misrepresenting God. It emphasizes the unknowability of God and argues that though one
can talk significantly about God one can only do so by saying what God is not.
Some examples of statements that via negativa Christians might make about God are:
God is not light or darkness
God is neither human nor divine
God is not visible and not describable
God is ineffable
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Task 15 AO1 Criticisms of the verification principle (also useful for AO2 questions)
The verification principle cannot itself be verified; neither can historical events; universal scientific
statements; the concept of eschatological verification goes against this.
Criticisms Explanation of the criticism and any counter arguments
The verification principle is not verifiable
Historical evidence
Historical events can‘t be verified e.g. This means according to the VP they are ______________________
Universal scientific statements Swinburne
Universal scientific statements e.g. all bodies expand when heated, the sun always rises in the east become meaningless according to the VP because . . .
The concept of eschatological verification
How did Hick’s idea of eschatological verification challenge the verification principle?
Religious language as Non-cognitive
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The most convincing criticism of the Verification Principle is..................
This is because.....................................
The least convincing criticism of the Verification Principle is..................................
This is because..................................
Task 16 Complete the sentences below in preparation for AO2
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Criticisms of falsification: Richard Hare – bliks (the way that a person views the world gives meaning
to them even if others do not share the same view); Basil Mitchell – partisan and the stranger (certain
things can be meaningful even when they cannot be falsified); Swinburne – toys in the cupboard
(concept meaningful even though falsifying the statement is not possible).
R. Swinburne – The toys in the cupboard (the concept is meaningful even though falsifying the
statement is not possible)
Swinburne has claimed that we don’t have to specify what would count against an assertion for it to
have meaning.
For example; we can’t specify what would count against scientific theories of the beginning of the
universe as we don’t know enough about the scientific theories involved. It doesn’t make the theories
meaningless as we accept, hypothetically at least that something could count against the theories.
For Swinburne’s objectives to work we have to allow that something could count against the existence
of God, even if we can’t specify what it means.
Swinburne shows us how we can understand some statements even though we cannot falsify them;
the example of the toys in the toy cupboard:
We cannot prove that the toys do not come out of the cupboard when
we are asleep at night; yet, although we cannot falsify the statement
that the toys do not move around, we still understand the meaning of
the statement. Perhaps we understand the statement through our
visual and mental perception?
R. M. Hare and bliks (the way a person views the world gives meaning to them even if others do not
share the same view)
The philosopher R. M. Hare writes: “I must begin by confessing that, on the ground marked out by Flew,
he seems to me to be completely victorious.” Hare thinks Flew’s conclusions follow if you accept Flew’s
assumptions, particularly Flew’s assumptions about what counts as verification and falsification. Hare
agreed that religious statements are non-cognitive.
But, Hare says, Flew does not realize that different people have very different standards for verification
and falsification. What counts as falsifying evidence for one person might not count for another. In
Hare’s terms, not everyone has the same blik. A blik is a frame of reference in terms of which data is
interpreted – a mental filter in terms of which the notion of evidence is defined. Hare says: “ ... without
a blik there can be no explanation; for it is by our bliks that we decide what is and what is not an
explanation.”
Hare illustrates this with the parable of the paranoid man. “A certain lunatic is
convinced that all dons want to murder him. [A “don” is a tutor at a British university.]
His friends introduce him to all the mildest and most respectable dons that they can
find, and after each of them has retired, they say, ‘You see, he doesn’t really want to
murder you; he spoke to you in a most cordial manner; surely you are convinced now?’
But the lunatic replies, ‘Yes, but that was only is diabolical cunning; he’s really plotting
against me the whole time, like the rest of them; I know it, I tell you.’ However many
kindly dons are produced, the reaction is still the same.”
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The paranoid man’s entire frame of reference is paranoid. Any evidence that might count to falsify the
claim that dons are all killers (e.g. a large number of mild, kindly dons) simply does not count as
evidence in a paranoid’s frame of reference. Many kindly dons would eventually convince a non-
paranoid man that not all dons are killers. But for the paranoid man, the kindly dons only serve to
reinforce the paranoid belief.
What does this have to do with religious belief? Hare says religious people have a religious blik. Once
you accept the religious blik, you have a brand-new way of looking at the world. Your frame of reference
is radically altered, and with it, your evidentiary standards. Suddenly all sorts of things that previously
did not count as evidence for God begin to count. Your evidentiary filter becomes much more porous.
The existence of God becomes so obvious that nothing can falsify it.
In other words, Hare is implicitly agreeing with Flew that meaningful assertions must be falsifiable; he
tries to avoid Flew’s trap by arguing that what appear to be religious assertions aren’t really assertions
at all (rather, they are expressions or affirmations of frames of reference for interpreting data). As
frames of reference, they aren’t falsifiable, and can’t be falsifiable (because verification and falsification
occur only within frames of reference). But this seems odd. Consider what this would mean. For a
religious person, “God exists” expresses a fact about the universe. When a religious person says “God
exists,” he means that the universe is actually different from how it would be if no God existed, i.e., the
claim is falsifiable. So when Hare depicts religious “assertions” as non-falsifiable, he is actually far
removed from Christian orthodoxy. As Flew says, “If Hare’s religion really is a blik, involving no
cosmological assertions about the nature and activities of a supposed personal creator, then surely he is
not a Christian at all?”
Furthermore, although Hare is probably right when he says explanations explain only within a blik, Hare
gives no way to rank-order bliks. Religion is a blik, science is a blik, paranoia is a blik. But surely we don’t
want to leave it there. Some bliks are surely better than others. Surely Hare does not want to say
paranoia is every bit as legitimate a blik as science or religion. Paranoia is a sick blik.
Basil Mitchell – partisan and the stranger (certain things can be meaningful even when they cannot be
falsified)
Often a person would accept a statement as meaningful simply on trust. Although evidence might be
against the beliefs, they continue to trust in God because the evidence in not sufficient to prove them
false.
Rather than religious believers refusing to allow anything to count against their belief, Mitchell was
arguing that the believer’s prior faith maintains their trust in God even when the evidence appears to
undermine that trust.
Basil Mitchell agrees with Flew that religious assertions are genuine assertions. However, Mitchell takes
issue with Flew’s implicit assumption that religion is a matter of being intellectually convinced of the
truth of certain propositions. Mitchell points out that the truth is not always cut-and-dried; we may be
more or less convinced that a claim is reasonable to believe; and we might reasonably believe claims
whose truth is objectively unknown.
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Mitchell emphasizes that religion is a matter of relationship, rather than intellectual conviction. He
illustrates this in his parable of the Freedom Fighter:
“In time of war in an occupied country, a member of the resistance meets one night a stranger who
deeply impresses him. They spend that night together in conversation. The Stranger tells the partisan
that he himself is on the side of the resistance – indeed that he is in command of it, and urges the
partisan to have faith in him no matter what happens. The partisan is utterly convinced at that meeting
of the Stranger’s sincerity and constancy and undertakes to trust him.
“They never meet in conditions of intimacy again. But sometimes the Stranger is seen helping members
of the resistance, and the partisan is grateful and says to his friends, ‘He is on our side.’
“Sometimes he is seen in the uniform of the police handling over patriots to the occupying power. On
these occasions his friends murmur against him: but the partisan still says, ‘He is on our side.’ He still
believes that, in spite of appearances, the Stranger did not deceive him. Sometimes he asks the Stranger
for help and receives it. He is then thankful. Sometimes he asks and does not receive it. Then he says,
‘The Stranger knows best.’ Sometimes his friends, in exasperation, say, ‘Well, what would he have to do
for you to admit that you were wrong and that he is not on our side?’ But the partisan refuses to
answer. He will not consent to put the Stranger to the test. And sometimes his friends complain, ‘Well, if
that’s what you mean by his being on our side, the sooner he goes over to the other side the better.’”
What does this parable mean?
According to Mitchell, statements like “The Stranger is on our side” or “God loves us” are genuine
assertions, in that they can be falsified. But, given the partisan’s experience of the stranger, “The
Stranger is on our side” is not obviously false. The partisan has reasons to believe it; the partisan has
met the stranger and been impressed by him. When the partisan asks the stranger for help and doesn’t
receive any help, the partisan is not logically compelled to say “The Stranger is not on our side.” The
partisan can say instead “The Stranger is on our side but he has reasons for withholding help.” In other
words, the partisan can give the Stranger the benefit of the doubt – just as you would give the benefit of
the doubt to a friend. The real question is: “How long can he uphold [this position] without its becoming
just silly?” How many times must you give a friend the benefit of the doubt? Mitchell’s answer: “I don’t
think one can say in advance.”
Mitchell is insightful here. He says the partisan can’t just “blow it off” when the Stranger appears to
betray him. If the partisan has faith in the Stranger, the faith is only really tested if the partisan feels the
full force of the apparent betrayal. The problem of evil is just as real for a believer as for an unbeliever.
There is no solution but faith. But it’s not unreasonable or illogical to maintain faith in a person with
whom you have a relationship.
For many Christians, the essence of their faith is a personal relationship with God. So Mitchell’s analogy
speaks to them. But there are numerous philosophical problems with Mitchell’s parable. For one thing,
Mitchell seems to miss the point of Flew’s argument. Flew’s point is that religious assertions are
nonsense. It’s not that we don’t know whether religious claims are true or false; in order to be true or
false in the first place, religious assertions must mean something, and according to Flew, they don’t
mean anything. When religious people say “Just believe,” Flew replies, “Believe what? There’s nothing
to believe; the claims don’t say anything in the first place!” Statements like “The Stranger is on our side”
28
or “God loves us” are potentially compatible with all states of affairs, especially since you can’t say when
to stop giving God the benefit of the doubt.
Furthermore, there is the pesky problem of religious encounter. The parable of the Stranger works if
you’ve had an impressive encounter (religious experience), but not everyone has religious experiences.
Finally, Mitchell’s parable is especially weak as a “solution” to the problem of evil. The analogies do not
hold. The Stranger of Mitchell’s parable is a man; he is neither omnipotent nor omniscient. “But suppose
the Stranger is God. We cannot say he would like to help but cannot: God is omnipotent. We cannot say
he would like to help if only he knew: God is omniscient. We cannot say that he is not responsible for
the wickedness of others: God creates those others.”
Thus, Flew (who gets the last word in the exchange) thinks his case has been proved: religious assertions
can’t be falsified. Therefore they fail the verificationist test of meaningfulness, and fall into the category
of nonsense.
Task 17 Answer the questions using the information above – read it all again
1 Explain Swinburne’s toy cupboard analogy.
2 How does it challenge the falsification principle?
3 Why did Hare believe religious language had meaning?
4 Outline and explain Hare’s university parable.
5 Fully explain Hare’s idea of a ‘blik’.
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6 Why does he believe religious beliefs are ‘bliks’?
7 Explain why Flew rejected Hare’s ideas.
8 What was Mitchell’s aim and desired result?
9 Why did Mitchell dismiss Flew’s theory?
10 Write a summary of Mitchell’s parable of the freedom fighter.
11 What is Mitchell attempting to demonstrate with this parable?
12 How did Flew respond to Mitchell.
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AO2 Strengths of the Verification and Falsification Principle (Logical Positivism)
1. The Logical Positivists challenge people to give a good account of their religious language by applying
some sort of test for its truth or falsity. Truth and meaning are only given to those statements which
either logically fit together (analytic statements0 or those statements which are factually based
(empirically verifiable). This does allow us to separate sense from nonsense.
2. Religious language can be puzzling, abstract and seemingly contradictory,
and these principles can be ways of making religion observe similar rules to
other areas of life. After all, if I said that there is something living in my garden
shed which could not be seen, touched or heard, then I doubt that you would
believe me. Phrases such as God being omnipresent will strike us as odd and we
may find this impossible to understand. After all, if I said that I was everywhere,
I doubt you would believe me. In everyday life we are quick to pick up on
people when they make a contradictory set of remarks and so this shold be
applied to religion, too. So, the Logical Positivists emerge as having made some
strong points against religious language.
3. In everyday life we do look to verification and falsification as ways of showing
meaning. For example, if I said, ‘my cat is a great dancer’, you would surely ask me to
show you some evidence to verify this statement. Imagine that I said this in 2017. By
2030, after observation, no evidence of dancing skills had been found. Then my cat
becomes immobile due to old age, yet I still insist that I am right. My original
statement would not be considered meaningful as it is has neither been verified, nor
have I allowed it to be falsified.
4. The Logical Positivist base their ideas on a posteriori evidence. This is a strength, as many of the
classical arguments for God’s existence are based upon this type of argument, such as the design
argument. The Logical Positivists are simply asking religion to be consistent in its use of criteria to
demonstrate meaning.
5. Some would say that some religious events defy logic, such as the Virgin Birth or the
Resurrection. The Logical Positivists have a strong case when they ask for events to pass
certain tests before they are considered to be meaningful. They would argue that the two
events just mentioned would fail their test and are therefore meaningless. In an age of
testing and logic, their views stand firm.
6. Some would agree with Flew when he said believers will never give up their
religious claims. There may be those people who we know that seem to hold
beliefs (religious or not) when those beliefs defy logic, have little evidence in
favour of them and a lot of evidence against them. Flew may therefore be right in
observation thus providing the Logical Positivists with another strong argument.
Overall, the strength of the Logical Positivists is that they leave us with a warning about being careful
when we talk about God. They make religious language conform to rules that other walks of life have
to conform to. This has resulted in religion providing ways of talking about God in meaningful ways.
Extract from D. Ellerton Harris
Task 18 – Create your own summary notes on strengths of the Verification and
Falsification Principles
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Sample questions for Philosophy Theme 4 A and B
AO1
19. Write and revise brief essay plans for the following questions.
1. Explain the inherent problems of religious language.
3. Explain the verification principle with reference to Ayer.
4. Explain the falsification principle with reference to Flew.
5. Explain how the verification and falsification principles challenge religious language.
4. Examine the criticisms of the verification and falsification principles.
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33
Summer Independent Learning REP
Christianity Theme 1 ABC and DEF Retrieval Practice Booklet
1 A Jesus – His birth
Theme Matthew Luke
Characters
Locations
Perspectives
Audiences
Old Testament
prophecy
34
1 A Recall quiz
1. Which two Gospels tell the nativity story?
2. What term means that Jesus is both Fully God
and Fully Human?
3. Give one thing which might cause people to
question the historicity of the nativity story?
4. What does the visit from the Magi tell
Christians about Jesus’s nature?
5. What does “redaction” mean?
6. What is generally considered to be Matthew’s
main concern?
7. …And Luke’s?
8. Why do Jews and Muslims reject the doctrine
of the incarnation?
9. What is ‘kenosis’ in this context?
10. Name one of the three song in Luke’s birth
narrative.
AO2
The extent to which the birth narratives provide insight into the doctrine of the incarnation.
Three areas to evaluate
1. Scientific challenges and fiction –accounts are myths or historically accurate
2. Consistent with Christianity – virgin birth makes sense of incarnation, show Jesus was different to
everyone else
3. Biblical harmony of the birth narratives – fits with the bible BUT the word virgin could be a translation
error
The relative importance of redaction criticism for understanding the biblical birth narratives.
Three areas to evaluate
1. What’s the evidence? Redaction Criticism explains the differences in Matthew and Luke
2. One powerful story – both concentrate on different aspects
3. The Bible is a human book? Written by humans
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1 B Jesus – Resurrection
The Bible
on . . .
Death Soul Resurrection Afterlife
Matt 10:28 Do not fear others
since they can kill
only the body, but
not the soul
The soul is
more
important
than the
body
God has power over
the soul; the soul
and the body can be
destroyed in Hell
John 20:
21
Physical death will
occur unless Jesus
returns soon; prior
to his death, Peter
is to serve the
Church
Jesus’ resurrection body was not
separate from his physical body –
because the tomb was empty, He was
transformed; there were still wounds,
but he could walk through doors and
prepare a meal. Jesus’ resurrection body
was not immediately recognisable by
those who knew him (i.e. Mary a the
tomb)
For Jesus the afterlife
involved (i) pre-
ascension afterlife
(the resurrection
appearances) and (ii)
his life with God and
the ascension
1
Corinthians
15
Death is the result
of the sin of one
human being
(Adam) and is the
last enemy to de
defeated by God.
Christ died for our
sins, Those who are
dead will one day
be raised again. In
this present life,
one can ‘die daily’
in the sense of
being alive to God
and dead to the
sinful ways of the
world.
Adam had a
soul but
Christ has
the power to
give life to
souls
Christ's resurrected body was seen by
many. It is a foretaste of our own
resurrection and shows that our sins
have been forgiven. Pauls uses the
image of a seed dying, falling to the
ground, and growing again – to compare
our earthly body to our heavenly body.
Our earthly body is physical and our
resurrected body is spiritual
We have hope for
our own resurrection
because of Christ.
Adam is the man of
‘dust’’ Jesus is the
man of ‘heaven’. All
things will eventually
be subjected to God
so that God will be
in everything
Philippians
1:21-24
For the Christian,
departing from the
flesh is to be be
with Christ
The believer desires
to live, but also
desires death
because he/she gets
to be with Christ.
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Wright Bultmann
Bad arguments
Bible – full of myths e.g.
Swoon Modern people
Did not expect Demythologise
Mutation (ideas) Meaning behind –
Periphery – belief in resurrection moved from
periphery of jewish belief to centre
Facts vs. faith
Messianic expections Existential awareness – faith is moment of existential
awareness awakened by our own experience of Jesus
as a risen reality
Awaken - hope
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1 B Recall quiz
1. Give one thing that is interesting about the
structure of John 20.
2. What is important about Thomas in this story?
3. What were the risen Jesus’ 3 commands to
Peter?
4. What does St Paul compare the resurrected
body to in 1 Corinthians 15?
5. How is Jesus’ resurrection different from Jarius’
daughter and Lazarus?
6. Which key scholar writes about the need to
demythologise the resurrection?
7. Why does he want to do this?
8. Which scholar speaks about trying to find the
‘best historical explanation’?
9. How did they say Christian ideas were different
from Jewish ideas?
10. What made the early Christians believe that
Jesus was the real messiah?
AO2 – use these brief notes to create mini plans
The historical reliability of resurrection
1. There are discrepancies/ differences– Mark, Matthew and Luke
2. There are alternative explanations – Swoon, disciples had to mutate faith Vs Wright
3. History doesn’t matter – Doesn’t need to be a historic event Bultmann
The nature of the resurrected body
1. Is it a transformed body? Paul, seed analogy, continuity and discontinuity
2. Is it a spiritual body? Wouldn’t need to believe empty tomb, but contradicts biblical accounts
3. Is it a mystery?
38
1 C The Bible as a source of wisdom and authority in daily life:
Complete this summary table
Moral advice
Ecclesisastes 12: 13-
14
This can be interpreted positively as ‘awe’
..
Luke 6:36-37 Mercy means
A guide for living
Psalm 119:9-16 Delighted to know God’s ways and not
just . .
Psalm 119: 105-112
Meaning and purpose of life
Genesis 1:26-28 This means ….
Ecclesiastes 9:5-9
Comfort and encouragement
Psalm 46: 1-3
Matthew 6:25
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1 C Recall quiz
1. What does the word “Bible” mean?
2. Give two ways a Christian might use The Bible
in their life.
3. How many books in the New Testament and
Protestant Old Testament?
4. What is original sin?
5. What does the Bible say is the purpose of life?
6. What does Jesus say about the law in Matthew
5:17-18?
7. What might this mean for Christians?
8. Give one passage which may comfort Christians
who are feeling their life isn’t very good.
9. Why according to St Paul have the scriptures
been written?
10. Why might someone think the Psalms doesn’t
give a practical guide for Christians today?
AO2 – use these brief notes to create mini plans
The relative value of the Bible as teaching on the meaning and purpose of human life
1. Meaning through narrative of human history– origins of life, God’s control throughout history Vs.
evolution Big Bang, history of victors, Jesus human
2. Meaning through morality – advice given to humans – counter arguments
3. Value through influence – Culture and laws, rituals, calendar Vs. modern moral issues, culture changing
and secular rites
The extent to which the Psalms studied offer a guide to living for Christians
1. Irrelevant context? – for use in Temple in Jerusalem, reflect Old Testament values Vs. Jesus quoted Old
Testament, Christians view Bible as one
2. Most important inspiration? Model of worshipful living, frequently used VS. Christian worship has many
sources, Gospels more important
3. Missing issues? Ancient, irrelevant Vs. addresses questions such as ‘why are we here’ …
1 D The Bible as a source of wisdom and authority:
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Use this mark scheme to create your own plan to this question in five bullet points
2018 A Level 2. (a) Explain how the Christian biblical canon was established. [AO1 20]
Candidates could include some or all of the following, but other relevant responses will be credited.
Deciding on the canon was, in some ways, not difficult since most early Christians came to see that the Hebrew
Scriptures, the letters of Paul and the four Gospels were invaluable for their churches. However, disagreements
about some books emerged and there were different versions of the Hebrew Bible in circulation at the birth of
Christianity. There were also some books that claimed to be written by figures important to believers, but which
were falsely using names to gain authority.
The Jewish canon was not closed at the time of the New Testament. Since the New Testament writers used the
Greek version of the Hebrew Bible (the Septuagint) some Jewish writings written only in Greek and excluded from
the Jewish canon remained in the version adopted by the early church. Generally speaking, the opinion of
Augustine and others prevailed and the following books made it into the Old Testament: Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2
Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch – as well as additions to Daniel and Esther. With regard to these books,
differences in the Roman Catholic canon and the Protestant canon exist today. Protestants use the term
Apocrypha to refer to this collection, a term that came to take on the meaning of ‘false, heretical’ for many
Christians. Martin Luther raised doubts about their inclusion. He viewed 2 Maccabees 12.46 as giving support to
the doctrine of purgatory. This doctrine, in turn, undermined the theme that was most important for Luther:
justification by faith, as a gift of God – not something to be earned through purgatory or other means. Protestant
Bibles soon began to put the Apocrypha into a separate section – or omitted these altogether from the Bible. The
Roman Catholic canon was reaffirmed at the Council of Trent in 1546. As with the Hebrew Bible, there is no
written list of criterion to guide the selection of books to the New Testament Canon; however there are 3 factors
that clearly guided the early church: (i) books considered ‘Scripture’, had to have a connection to the Apostles,
either being written by them or by someone in direct contact with them, (ii) the writings had to have a connection
with churches, recognised as supporting faith and practice by Christians in diverse places, (iii) the books had to
conform to the faith of Christianity.
Even though there was wide consensus on the books that came to be in the New Testament, there were
disagreements. In the 2nd Century, a church leader named Marcion created a Bible composed of only the Gospel
of Luke (without the birth narratives) and the letters of Paul. Despite popular belief about the Constantine, he had
nothing to do with compilation of the Bible. By looking at the writings of the Apostolic Fathers in the late first
and 2 nd centuries CE we have a very good idea which books in the New Testament were universally accepted as
well as which ones were debated. There was some debate about both the book of Hebrews and the book of
Revelation, for example, because of a lack of clarity about apostolic authorship as well as the fact that some
Christian groups considered to be heretical favoured some teachings from these books. Eventually the church
came to believe that these books had apostolic origins and affirmed the Christian faith and so they were included.
Summary of different views about the Bible
Objective view – Athenagorus flautist analogy –Author or producer?
Subjective view – Enlightenment, human inspiration
Fundamentalism – inerrancy or plenary verbal inspiration. Problems for poems or stories?
Propositional and non-proposisitional
Subjective – Barth – Jesus is the ‘word of God’. Inspiration comes from the readers experience
II Timothy 3:16 the Bible is ‘useful for teaching . . . And training in righteousness’
Accommodation – Calvin - nurse analogy
1 D Recall quiz
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1. What is the literal translation of “Canon”?
2. What are the 3 parts of the Jewish Canon? (1
for each)
3. What language is the Septuagint written in?
4. How was the Christian canon decided?
5. Name one book that is in the Roman Catholic
Bible, but not (normally) in protestant Bibles.
6. Why did the early church want to create a
canon?
7. Is the metaphor of a flautist playing a flute
emphasising the objective or subjective view of
inspiration?
8. What does inerrancy mean?
9. Which scholar said that God used “baby talk”?
What name is this given?
10. Where in the Bible would you find ‘All scripture
is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness?
AO2 – add three brief arguments under each ‘issue’ for evaluation
1. The extent to which the Bible can be regarded as the inspired word of God.
2. Whether the Christian biblical canonical orders are inspired, as opposed to just the texts they
contain.
1 E The Early Church (in Acts of the Apostles)
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Fill in the 6 aspects of the Kergyma and your own summaries/explanations of the quotes
1 E Recall quiz
Kerygmata Example
1. Fulfilment . . . Acts 2:16 ‘this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel’
25 ‘David said about him . . . .’
Acts 3:22 ‘For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet
like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells
you.’
2. Jesus – .. . Acts 2:22 ‘Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles,
wonders and signs.’
Acts 2:24 ‘put him t death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from
the dead.’
3. A…………………. Acts 2:33 ‘Exalted to the right hand of God.’
4. …… ………………… Acts 2:33 ‘received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured
out what you now see and hear.’
5. ………….. and …………. Acts 3:21 ‘until the time comes for God to restore everything.’
6. Christians must …………… and
……………………………..
Acts 2:38 ‘Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptised’
Challenges to the kergygma
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1. What other book did the author of Acts write?
2. When was it written (aprox)? And what impact
does this have on its historicity?
3. Which scholar had a 6 point summary of the
kerygma?
4. How did he come up with this?
5. What is realised eschatology?
6. What did Rudolf Bultmann want to do to the
Kerygma?
7. What is one of the myths that he said was
irrelevant to contemporary society?
8. What is left after Bultmann’s process?
9. Give one reason why Christians might think
that the speeches in acts are important today.
10. What is the difference between kerygma and
didache?
AO2 – add three brief arguments under each ‘issue’ for evaluation
1. The extent to which the kerygmata (within the areas of Acts studied) are of any value for
Christians today.
2. Whether the speeches in Acts have any historical value.
1 F Two views of Jesus
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Complete this table with brief summaries of the key ideas of Crossan and Wright
Wright: Jesus the true Messiah; critical realism; texts as ‘the articulation of worldviews’; seeks to find the best explanation for the traditions found in the Gospels.
Crossan: Jesus the social revolutionary; using apocryphal gospels; seeing Jesus as a product of his time; what the words of Jesus would have meant in Jesus’ time.
1 F Recall quiz
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1. Which scholar claimed Jesus was the “real
Messiah”?
2. What is the name of the process he uses?
3. What does he think is important about the
context at the time?
4. What is a name of one of the “failed”
messiahs?
5. Which scholar claimed Jesus was a “social
revolutionary”?
6. What types of sources does he use?
7. Name one of these sources.
8. What makes his method unusual?
9. What is meant by “meals and magic”?
10. What did he teach which was socially
revolutionary?
AO2 – add three brief arguments under each ‘issue’ for evaluation
The validity of using critical realism to understand Jesus.
The validity of using apocryphal gospels to understand Jesus
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Answers to Recall quizzes
1 A
1. Matthew and Luke
2. Incarnate/Hypostatic union
3. Luke’s dates don’t seem to match Matthew's/supernatural events/census isn’t mentioned elsewhere.
4. Jesus is the saviour of more than just the Jews in his area/Christianity is beyond just Judaism/Jesus is royal
5. Finding out about the theology and motivation of the gospel writers.
6. Jesus fulfils Jewish prophesy
7. Jesus helps the poor and gentiles
8. Because it goes against the transcendence of God.
9. Jesus ‘set aside’ some of his divine properties when he became incarnate.
10. Benedictus or Nunc dimittis
1 B
1. Chiasm, a mirroring structure (evidence, individual recognition, HSp, individual recognition, evidence)
2. Thomas says he will only believe when he touches the wounds
3. Feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep.
4. A seed being planted and growing into a plant.
5. It is not resuscitation, there is some change.
6. Rudolf Bultmann
7. Because the NT myths are too different from our own.
8. NT Wright
9. More consistent view on resurrection more definite.
10. That he resurrected.
1 C
1. The books.
2. Bible study /worship/ veneration/ prayer/ discussion etc…
3. 27 and 39
4. The Sin of Adam and Eve which all humans inherit.
5. The purpose is connected to God.
6. “I have come not to abolish the law but fulfil it”
7. The key message of the laws still apply but specific laws (like dietary requirements and cleanliness do not apply)
8. …almost any quote
9. “for our instruction” “we might have hope”
10. Because it was written ages ago/ because it is Temple Judaism/ vagueness.
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1 D
1. Ruler or measure.
2. Torah (Law) / Nevi’im (Prophets)/ Kethuvim (Writings) (TNK/TaNaK).
3. (Koine) Greek.
4. In Church councils.
5. Tobit/ Judith/ Wisdom of Solomon/ Sirach/ Barzuch/ 1&2 Maccabees
6. To avoid heresy like Marcion’s canon and Gnosticism
7. Objective
8. Without error
9. Calvin, Accommodation
10. 2 Timothy 3:16.
1 E
1. Luke
2. 80-90 AD. About 40-50 years after the events so may not be accurate.
3. CH Dodd
4. Looking at Paul’s writings then comparing to Acts
5. That “heaven” can exist now on earth.
6. Demytholgise it
7. Virgin birth/ 3 tiered universe
8. The existential truths
9. Teaches how to preach/ summarises beliefs / …
10. Kerygma is preaching, direct proclamation; Didache is moral teaching.
1 F
1. NT Wright
2. Critical Realism
3. There was a world view with a desire for a messiah and background in temple Judaism
4. Simeon ben Kosiba, Judus the Galilean
5. JD Crossan
6. Apocryphal Gospels
7. Gospel of Thomas
8. He dates sources specifically and ranks them.
9. Jesus shares collective meals breaking social barriers and preforms actions which heal social injustice
10. That people should change society, give up family life, avoid hierarchy etc.
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Christianity Themes 2 ABC and DEF Retrieval Practice Booklet
Topic 2A The Nature of God
Add as many ideas around the image as you can think of, without using notes to the box in one colour.
Then look at your notes to add in a different colour anything extra you didn’t originally come up with:
God should be described using male imagery and terms
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God should be described using female imagery and terms
50
God is gender-neutral and all imagery and terms should be approached with caution
51
God can suffer God can’t suffer
52
2A Recall quiz…
1. Who is the key scholar who claims Christians use the wrong metaphors to speak of God?
2. Give one problem the scholar has with using only male language about God.
3. Why does the scholar decide “mother” is more appropriate than “father” for speaking about God?
4. What are the three metaphors the scholar uses about God?
5. Give one criticism of this scholars view.
6. What word is used to describe God’s inability to suffer?
7. Which scholar talks about identifying with the crucified Christ?
8. What does this scholar see as being important about “Medieval mysticism of the cross”?
9. What is Docetism?
10. What is Jesus’ dying cry according to Matthew?
Issues for analysis and evaluation will be drawn from any aspect of the content above, such as:
The validity of referring to God as mother.
The theological implications of a suffering God.
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Topic 2B The Trinity
Draw a model that explains the Trinity without notes, then using your notes add more and annotate it
fully:
THE TRINITY EXPLAINED
54
Create 280 character TWEETs about the following:
1. Christian Doctrine of Trinity
2. Heresies that lead to formulation of Trinity
3. Filioque Controversy
4. Barth on Trinity
55
2B Recall quiz …
1. What word means the idea that there is only one God?
2. What are the 3 co-’s of the trinity?
3. When was it formalised?
4. What heresies was it designed to counter?
5. What clause did the Eastern Church dislike in the Toledo adaption of the Nicean creed? BONUS: Why?
6. What word refers to the trinity as what God IS?
7. What word refers to the trinity as what God DOES?
8. Which scholar talks about God being revealed in the objective an subjective manner?
9. What is Moltmann’s criticism of this scholars ideas?
10. What is the literal translation of Logos asarkos? And why is it relevant?
Issues for analysis and evaluation
The monotheistic claims of the doctrine of the Trinity.
Whether the doctrine of the Trinity is necessary to understand the God of Christianity.
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Topic 2C The Atonement
Explain these terms to a 10 year old
Write what you can remember about these three
models/theories of atonement in one colour, then
using notes add anything you may have forgotten in a
different colour (how will you remember these?)
Christus Victor inc. Sacrifice and Ransom
Satisfaction and Substitution Moral example
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2C Recall quiz
1. What is meant by original sin?
2. What does the word atonement mean?
3. What does it mean to expiate something?
4. What is propitiation?
5. What is one criticism of the Sacrifice (or Ransom) model?
6. Which theologian wrote the book Christus Victor?
7. What group preferred the Penal Substitution model?
8. Why might a pacifist object to it?
9. What is the key difference in the Moral Example theory?
10. Which monk is most associated with this theory?
Issues for analysis and evaluation
The extent to which the three theories of the Atonement are contradictory.
The extent to which the three theories suggest that the Christian God is cruel.
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Topic 2D Religious Life. Faith and Works
Explain what is happening by annotating the drawing
Add as many key words as you can think of for each column in ONE minute…use notes to add extra in
another colour…what did you forget and how will you remember?
Luther Council of Trent Sanders
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2D Recall quiz…
Who is the key scholar who speaks of Justification “sola fide”?
Why does the Roman Catholic Church say priests have the ability to grant absolution?
Complete the quote from Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified …..”
Which passage did this scholar struggle with?
What council did the Roman Catholic Church call as a response to Luther?
What is the Roman Catholic position on justification?
What is the Protestant criticism of this?
Which modern scholar writes about the Rabbinic context of Paul?
How do they see justification?
What is one criticism of this scholar?
Issues for analysis and evaluation
The extent to which both faith and works are aspects of justification.
The extent to which the New Testament letters support arguments for justification by faith alone.
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Topic 2E The Community of Believers
Look it up in your notes/Bible or www.biblegateway.com Learn it and then write a paragraph on what
Acts 2:42-47 tells us about the early Christian community…leave nothing out…
Check and see how much you remembered
Acts 2:42-47 is how Christians should live today
Agree Disagree
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2E Recall quiz
1. What does the word kerygma mean?
2. What does the word didache mean?
3. What 2 things could “breaking of the bread” refer to? (2 points)
4. What is the “body of Christ” on earth?
5. What is a sacrament?
6. Which quote from acts might show that the early church aimed to evangelise?
7. Give one way the church today is different to this NT model.
8. Give one way the church today is following this NT model.
9. Complete: “All the believers were__________ and_________________________________________.”
10. How might this statement be used to critique EITHER the concept of priesthood OR The Roman Catholic
Church OR Prosperity Gospel.
Issues for analysis and evaluation
Whether the main role of the church is to provide religious teaching.
The extent to which contemporary Christian churches should follow the New Testament model.
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Topic 2F Key Moral principles
There are TEN key texts that EDUQAS expect you to know…refresh your memory of these then test
yourself out by writing about and paraphrasing as many as you can remember:
1. –
2. –
3. –
4. –
5. –
6. –
7. –
8. –
9. –
10. –
Retell the story AND its meaning by annotating the image:
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2F Recall quiz
1. What name is given to a moral theory where what is good is what God commands?
2. What does Leviticus 19:34 say you should love? (BONUS: Why?) [Bowie used the phrase]
3. How does Jesus reinterpret the Mosaic law in the Sermon on the mount?
4. What does the word “Agape” mean?
5. Why is God’s Omni-benevolence important to Christian morality?
6. Complete the quote from Ephesians 4:25-27 “Speak the ________________________for we
are______________.Be angry but do not sin; do not ___________________________________” (3
marks)
7. What word means an inner sense of right and wrong?
8. What develops the conscience for Christians?
9. What does the Lords Prayer (Our Father) claim is the reason why Christians should forgive?
10. How many times does Jesus claim you should forgive others in Matthew 18?
Issues for analysis and evaluation
Whether love of neighbour is the most important moral principle in Christianity.
The extent to which God’s behaviour towards humans is the basis for Christian morality
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Answers to self-tests
2A
1. Sallie MacFague
2. It supports the patriarchy/ it does not fully consider the nature of God/It can be taken too literally….
3. Because it emphasises the caring and involved side of God, rather than seeming domineering or
controlling.
4. Mother, Lover, Friend
5. Specific instruction to address God as Father, OT rejects Goddess culture of the East, God as a father
allows transcendence and immanence, better reveals God as powerful.
6. Impassability (apatheia)
7. Jürgen Moltmann
8. It recognised the suffering on the cross and saw it as an identification with the oppressed.
9. The heresy that Jesus did not suffer on the cross because his body was not human.
10. “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
2B
1. Monotheist
2. Co-existent , co-eternal, co-equal
3. 325CE in the Nicean creed.
4. Adoptionism (Jesus becomes God at baptism), Arianism (“Highest among the angels”) Sabellianism (Jesus
was not human at all)
5. Filioque (because it seemed to the Greeks to create a hierarchy in the trinity.)
6. Immanent trinity
7. Economic trinity
8. Karl Barth
9. Disliked the use of the term Seinsweise instead of Person because it tended to modalism.
10. Word without Flesh. Pre-incarnation Jesus.
2C
1. The sin of Adam and Eve which all humans inherit.
2. “Being at one” or “reconciliation”
3. To make amends for something.
4. Making an offering to turn away anger.
5. God is not loving/ increases Satan’s power / God lacks control
6. Gustaf Aulén
7. Protestant Reformers
8. God is seen as vengeful / violence is central / punishes the innocent cruelly.
9. The aim is to guide people to God, not to make up for wrongs. Humans are empowered to act.
10. Peter Abelard
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2D
1. Martin Luther
2. Because they act as a conduit to God, so can act on God’s behalf.
3. …through faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
4. James 2:24 (a person is justified by works, not faith alone”)
5. The Council of Trent
6. Justification is in 2 parts. 1st: through Grace at Baptism. 2nd:through works
7. Biblical support for sola fide/ salvation produces good works.
8. E.P. Sanders
9. Justification is EARNED by Jesus, but MAINTAINED through works
10. Non-biblical / uses rabbinic texts / doesn’t consider contradictory evidence.
2E (Q 10 has 3 parts…hence 10,11,12)
1. Proclamation or preaching.
2. Teaching, or ethical instruction.
3. Eucharist/eating together
4. The Church
5. An outward visible sign of God’s inner grace.
6. “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
7. Not following Jewish prayer rituals/not having everything in common/not always following only apostolic
teachings/use of sacraments (?)
8. Still teach and worship/use Eucharist/ involved in mission/give to charity.
9. Together. Had everything in common.
10. 10 a Priesthood: All together means no separate special place for a priest.
11. 10 b RCC: not having all things in common/ priesthood/less joyful (?)
12. 10 c Prosperity Gospel: they sold property and possessions
2F
1. Divine Command Theory
2. The Alien, “because you were also Aliens in Egypt”
3. “your neighbour” is extended to all and hatred is no longer acceptable for your enemies
4. The highest form of love for all people.
5. Human Agape is based on a mirror of God’s love for all.
6. “speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not
let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil.”
7. Conscience
8. The Holy Spirit and the Bible
9. Because you have been forgiven by God
10. 70x7 (or 77)
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.