Ramsey

What did Ramsey claim about religious language?

allows discolsure of what has been discerned about God and results in commitmenmt

where did Ramsey make this claim?

in his book ‘Religious Language’

What is necessary for Ramsey?

that religious language is ‘odd’ as it is expressing a moment of wonder

For the ‘First Cause’, what is a qualifier?

a word added to adapt the model and provide disclosure. It qualified the model and then dveelops it in a useful direction. ‘First’ is the qualifier that directs us to the special way that we should understand the model

what is a model?

a word which we are al familiar with and can be used to enable us to recognise features of an unfamiliar situation. ‘cause’ is the model we are familiar with that is being applied to a less familiar situation so that we recognise it

how do religious believers describe God?

they use models - we understand the meaning of these mdels from everyday life

what do believers not intend these models to be?

interpreted literally: God is beyond everyday life. Qualifiers must be employed to show how the model is being used differently

what si an example of this?

‘first cause’ - the qualifier directs the interpretation towards asking what is a moment of discernment in which one apprehends a myster - God

what did Ramsey not believe?

that a logical formula could establish God as the ‘first’ cause; belief is a discernment that occurs when contemplating a model and its qualifier

What is an example used for disclosure?

A judge arrives in court, wearing an outfit (wig and robes) in order to depersoanlise himself. The defendent is a long-lost friend and they don’t recognise each other until a word is dropped, there is now depth and a personal eleemt added to their situation

what is disclosure?

the moment where the ‘something more’ quality as become conscious

what did the example of the judge show?

the disclosure made the situation personally meaningful

what does a believer have that is similar?

they have a similar sens ef discernment in the midst of everyday situations about the ultimate source of life

What does Ramsey believe about the disclosures of religious language?

it grew out of religious situations became relevatiory in the sense that those experiences referred to disclosures

what are the difficulties of using analogies to talk about God?

it’s not always clear in exactly what respects two different things are being considered similar - in what respects might the love or justice of God resemble our own?