Kierkegaard and the Meaningfulness of Religious Statements

Abstract

During the past thirty-five or so years, there has taken place, in philosophical circles, a questioning of the meaningfulness of religious statements. The philosophical position known as logical positivism, or, as some prefer, logical empiricism, achieved notorious fame by its thesis: Religious statements (along with metaphysical, ethical, and aesthetic propositions) are meaningless. Whether or not the discussion has yielded an adequate solution of all problems, it has not been entirely irrelevant. On the contrary, it has extreme relevance for the theologian or the philosopher of religion. And I do not see how a serious attempt at theology, or philosophy of religion, can fail to take cognizance of the philosophical controversy. I say this even though I am fully aware that the movement is not quite as vigorous as it once was and that it has been somewhat superseded by what is loosely referred to as Oxford analysis.