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Philosophical Study of Religion

1. WlLat is religiolls stlldies?

Religious studies is the single field of study constituted by the question <lbout about the Ineaning meaning and validity of re1igionreligion, including the validity of such claim as religion may make or imply to decisive existential authority and truth.

2. WlLat What is tILe task ofphilosoplLical stlldy ofreligiollthe task of philosophical study of religion?

The task of philosophical study of re1igion religion is to ask and answer the properly systematic question (as distinct from the historical and practical questions) constituted by the constitutive question of religious studies about the meaning and validity of religion, especially the validity of such claim as religion may make or imply to decisive existential authority and truth.

3. How is religioll religion to be defilled mid explailled?

Religion is to be defined as the primary form of culture, or "cultural system" (Geertz), through which human beings explicitly answer the existential question of the meaning of ultimate reality for us, and thus express or imply a cl<lim to decisive existential authority and truth; and religion is to be explained, <lccordingJy, in the same way in which forms of culture generally are to be explained-namely, as one of a number of systems of concepts/symbols created by human beings and transmitted nongenetically through which they understand their existence and act to lnaintain or transform themselves together with others in society. 

Wiki Markup_&nbsp;_{_} 4.1. Why is it Ilecessmy to disti1lguish strata ofmeanillg ill religiolls 11ll1gwzge?

*_{*}{_}It{_}{*}{ *}{_}is necessary to distinguish strata of meaning in religious language because, allowing that at least some religious language cannot possibly mean literaJJy but only nonlitera\]\]y (symbolically, metaphorically, analogically, or what have you), one can uphold the claim that such language is cognitively meaningful, as it has to be if religion is to be defined as explicitly answering the existential question of the Ineaning of ultimate reality for us, only by identifying at least some religious language that can mean literally or necessarily ilnpliesimplies assertions that can._* *{_}4.2. What issue did tile posi tiLlistie critique oftheology serve to force?_{*}{*}{_}The issue the positivistic critique of theology served to force is whether religious language does or does not have "literal{_}{*}{*}_\['=_* *{_}cognitive\] significance" and, if it does, how one is to give an adequate account of the truth claims that it expresses or implies, including the procedures necessary to validate them._* *{_}4.3. Wluzt did the "theology and falsification debate" slicceed ill establishillg about the mealling ofreligiolls Itl11gwlge?_{*}{*}{_}The "theology and falsification debate" succeeded in establishing three main points about the meaning of religious language:_{*}{*}_(1)_* *{_}There are two basic issues about the meaning of religious language; L whether it is to be understood as expressing assertions; and 2. whether,_* *{_}if{_}* *{_}it is to be so understood, it expresses meaningful assertions. (2) Given the assumption that the only meaningful assertions (excluding the purely analytic assertions of logic and mathematics) are factual assertions, in the sense of assertions that can be factually falsified, there are three different positions that can be taken on these issues: 1. religious language expresses assertions, and they are meaningful assertions (fVtitchell, Hick); 2. religious language expresses assertions, but they are not meaningful _{*}{*}{_}assertions (Flew, Nielsen); and 3. religious language does not express assertions{_}*

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5.]. What are tile "will things to be observed about tlte cOllstitutive cOllcept of theistic religiollreligion, "God"? The main things to be observed about the constitutive concept of theistic religion, "Cod," are two:

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5.2. What is the significallce oftile so-cll11ed pmblem ofevil problem of evil for aJ1swerillg the question ofti,e meaning alld trlltit oftheistic religion? The significance of the so-caUed problem of evil for answering the question of the meaning and truth of theistic religion is that

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