Issue 11, January 1988
Pel-Jung Fu
Pages 159-178
On the Meaning of Religious Language
Religious language is what we use to express religious experience which can be found in various places and times. But, has religious language any meaning, or more properly, can it be understood by those who never have or never want to admit such experience? If the answer to this question is positive, then what kind of meaning is this? The present article aims to tackling this problem. It begins with defining "religious language" , then ponders the discussion of some analytic philosophers like A. J. Ayer, A. Flew, I. Ramsey and others. Following this is an exposition of four ways in using religious language; they are: the negative way, the dubious way, the analogical way, and the qualification way. The conclusion shows that the meaning of religious language is based on a more comprehensive understanding of reality and an adequate definition of existence.