God Of Religion Research Articles

Commoditization of God in religion: Marketing ‘Pentecostalism’ in the Nigerian public space

ABSTRACT Religion cannot thrive on its own without the use of a Supreme Being or the use of God as a symbol of the supernatural on the society. In Nigerian society, religion has become a major occupation and most sought after by the people. This paper explores the invaluableness of God in religion through the use of marketing and how Pentecostal practitioners commodify God in the public space. This paper argues that God in religion has been converted into services and marketable product in the Nigerian public space, which leads to ‘rivalry’ among Pentecostal churches to gain mass appeal, membership, promotion of church and theological affiliations, and the creation of businesses, which is largely fuelled by massive socio-economic and political disorder in the country.

GOD AND HUMAN FREEDOM. By Leigh C.Vicens and SimonKittle. Cambridge Elements: Elements in the Philosophy of Religion. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2019. Pp. 73. $18.00.

Religious Studies ReviewVolume 48, Issue 1 p. 114-115 Short Reviews of Recent Publications: Philosophy of Religion GOD AND HUMAN FREEDOM. By Leigh C. Vicens and Simon Kittle. Cambridge Elements: Elements in the Philosophy of Religion. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2019. Pp. 73. $18.00. First published: 28 April 2022 https://doi.org/10.1111/rsr.15784Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume48, Issue1Georges Bataille and the SacredMarch 2022Pages 114-115 RelatedInformation

The Interpretation of Vaiṣṇava Divinity Doctrine by The Maha Warga Bhujangga Waisnawa in Bali Island

Doctrinal issues are often a matter of contention between religious communities or beliefs. Therefore, to build a harmonious life, a bridge of dialogue and efforts to interpret doctrine is needed to create a spirit of appreciation amid different forms and religious expressions. The study is qualitative research in philosophy which examines the nature of the divinity of Vaiṣṇava and the meaning of the doctrine of the divinity of Vaiṣṇava by the Maha Warga Bhujangga Waisnawa in Bali. This research is also an effort to bridge the knowledge of Vaiṣṇava divinity philosophy, which developed in the great Hindu civilization in India and Indonesia, which was built in the religious discipline of Visnu-Bhujangga Waisnawa worshipers. Bali has an old Vaisnava group inherited from the past that combines devotional service and mature philosophy. In the Hindu tradition, philosophy is essential and even strengthens the position of religion or belief. From a Hindu perspective, the Ṛgveda, the oldest religious literature in the world, together with the main Upaniṣads containing philosophical and religious thought, has provided the basis for developing philosophical and religious systems. The Hindu  thinkers after Sankara built their philosophical system known as Bhakti-Vedānta or philosophy combining it with a thick system of devotional service, known as Vaiṣṇava philosophy. The intellectual spirit combined with the devotional movement builds its strength in the body of Sanatana Dharma and has a significant influence on the survival and revival of Hinduism. The Vaiṣṇava system holds that revelation and reason support each other, Vedānta is called theo-philosophy. Understanding God at the level of nature encourages thinking of respect for differences, the spirit of unity, and not fighting over differences in doctrine and different concepts. Dialogue in the realm of philosophy and theology will encourage a harmonious and mutually respectful life. This study concludes that the divine doctrine for Maha Warga Bhujangga Vaishnava is to live Vishnu at the same level of the essence as Brahman. Brahman is the highest reality, the God of religion, and the highest object of worship.

The God of Religion and the God of Philosophy Debate Revisited: Hartshorne, Peirce, and Weil

Abstract This article explores the relationship between “the God of religion” and “the God of philosophy” via four key concepts: existence, actuality, reality, and mystical experience. The exploration of these key concepts relies heavily on the thought of Charles Hartshorne, but it also relies on crucial insights from Charles Sanders Peirce and Simone Weil.

The God of Religion and the God of Philosophy Debate Revisited

This article explores the relationship between "the God of religion" and "the God of philosophy" via four key concepts: existence, actuality, reality, and mystical experience. The exploration of these key concepts relies heavily on the thought of Charles Hartshorne, but it also relies on crucial insights from Charles Sanders Peirce and Simone Weil.

Tuhan dalam Basic Concept of the Quran: Pembacaan atas Pemikiran Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

Studying aspects of God in religion is an important thing that must be understood. Studying the concept of God in a religion can lead people to understand religion and about values as a guide for human life. Explanation of God has experienced a long journey, is Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, a modern Islamic thinker from India, one of those who tried to explore the meaning of God. Coming from a very conservative family, Azad then tried to break away from that thinking towards modern thinking. This influenced Azad in his thinking and produced a new view of God in his interpretation, Tarjuman al-Qur'an. In this paper we will discuss the meaning of God in Surah al-Fatihah which according to Azad in it is the main content of the Koran, in the book Basic Concept of the Quran, a summary book Tarjuman al-Qur'an Azad about the interpretation of Surah al-Fatihah. The meaning of God carried out by Azad was found in his interpretation of Surah al-Fatihah with the conclusion that God has three distinct but interrelated attributes namely rububiyyah, rahmah, and ‘are. Azad's reading of the Qur'an was carried out using a textual-theological approach and a comparative approach to religion.

GOD’S OWN ETHICS: NORMS OF DIVINE AGENCY AND THE ARGUMENT FROM EVIL. By Mark C.Murphy. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2017. Pp. x + 210. $70.00.

Religious Studies ReviewVolume 46, Issue 3 p. 392-392 Short Reviews of Recent Publications: Philosophy of Religion GOD’S OWN ETHICS: NORMS OF DIVINE AGENCY AND THE ARGUMENT FROM EVIL. By Murphy, Mark C.. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2017. Pp. x + 210. $70.00. First published: 11 November 2020 https://doi.org/10.1111/rsr.14758Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume46, Issue3Special Issue: Religion and SexualitySeptember 2020Pages 392-392 RelatedInformation

Pancasila internalization and implementation as a deradicalized effort in Indonesia

The issue of diversity has recently been challenged by the rise of religious radicalism and terrorism groups that can cause the splitting of national unity. In the context of Indonesia they want to replace the ideology of Pancasila into an ideology of religion by forming Indonesia into a Khilafah state. The rise of religious radicalism groups often lead to acts of intolerance and terrorism, both in various countries and in Indonesia. Various incidents of intolerance and acts of violence in the name of religion occur in various places in the world. These incidents cause dehumanization which is very degrading to human dignity. In addition to the rampant intolerance and terrorism in Indonesia there is also a tendency for the politicization of religion as a tool for practical politics. This has led to national divisions which can threaten the existence and continuity of the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI). The Pancasila ethics are the efforts to understanding the concepts of God in religions where the conditions of the population are compound, so tolerance in implementing the religious life can be happened among diverse community in Indonesia. Besides, it needed to revitalize the understanding of the deity that has a good culture in education, the Indonesian policy or acculturation of Pancasila value in Indonesian citizen. Therefore, by internalizing and implementing Pancasila Indonesia could become a large and developed nation.

The Ascent to the Kingdom of Heaven: An Interpretation of Plato’s Republic

「국가론」 제1, 2권에서의 ‘정의’(올바름)를 주제로 한 소크라테스와 그의 대화 상대자 간의 대화, 그리고 제6, 7권에서의 ‘태양’, ‘선분’, ‘동굴’이라는 세 개의 비유를 통하여, 플라톤은 삶과 교육이 추구해야 할 최고의 이상이 ‘좋은 것의 형식’이며 그 이상의 실현은 ‘교육’에 의해서 가능하다는 것을 보여준다. 세 개의 비유를 통해 플라톤이 보여준 바로는, ‘좋은 것의 형식’은 종교에서 ‘신’이라고 부르는 것과 다르지 않고, 좋은 것의 형식에 이르기 위한 교육의 과정은 ‘천국에의 등정’과 다르지 않다. 현대의 교육 이론에 비추어 보면 플라톤은 교육의 외재적 목적을 비판하면서 교육의 내재적 목적을 주장한 셈이다. 그 점에서 보면 플라톤의 ‘좋은 것의 형식’이, 피터즈의 ‘내재적 목적’에 의하여, 현대의 교육이론 체계로 설명될 수 있을 듯하지만, ‘실재’를 배제한 채 교육을 설명하려 한 피터즈의 이론은 플라톤의 교육론을 이론적으로 체계화하는 데에 한계를 지닌다. 플라톤 「국가론」의 교육적 관점은, 형이상학적 ‘실재’뿐만 아니라 형이상학적 마음으로서의 ‘심성’을 가정하고 교육에 의해 그 존재가 확립되는 것으로 설명하는 ‘메타프락시스’ 이론에 의하여 보다 잘 설명될 수 있다.In the dialogue between Socrates and his interlocutors on the subject of ‘justice’(right) in Book One and Two and the metaphors of the ‘Sun’, ‘Line’ and ‘Cave’ in Book Six and Seven, Plato shows that the best ideal that life and education must pursue is the ‘Form of the Good and that its realization is possible through education . If we take a closer look at Plato s three metaphors, we can catch that the Form of Good is not different from what is called God in religion and the process of education to arrive at the Form of Good is not different from the Ascent to the Heaven. In the context of modern educational theory, it may be said that Plato’s theory supports the intrinsic aim of education as against extrinsic aim, and in this sense is in line with R. S. Peters’ theory of education. However Peters’ attempt to explain education without ‘reality’ has a limitation for the theoretical systematization of Plato s theory of education. The educational views of Plato’s Republic can be elucidated by the concept of ‘metapraxis’ which assumes not only metaphysical reality but also metaphysical mind which education helps to establish.

Transcending Architecture: Contemporary Views on Sacred Space ed. by Julio Bermudez

Reviewed by: Transcending Architecture: Contemporary Views on Sacred Space ed. by Julio Bermudez Ryan Patrick Budd J.D. Julio Bermudez, ed. Transcending Architecture: Contemporary Views on Sacred Space Washington, dC: Catholic University of America Press, 2015 xviii + 332 pages. Paperback. $34.95. This volume's title is an apt one: As a multidisciplinary collection of essays from authors of various religious convictions (including, it seems, "nones"), one realizes that to understand this book is to go beyond the purely architectural aspect of sacred space. In other words, the various authors bring with them to architecture various views about what the sacred or the "numinous" is, and these views more than any architectural school shape how they look at architecture in its relation to the sacred. Each author, in respect of his or her views of the sacred, appears sui generis, and thus the compilation has much to say for itself as a collection of highly diverse points of view. As Thomas Walton begins his particular essay, "one only needs to peruse the table of contents to know that this volume is a rich panorama on the theme of transcendence" (260). The book, to this end, does well in sporting a thorough index whereby one can see how different authors engage the same terms and concepts. Furthermore, its generous use of images helps the reader to understand what the various authors see as a representation of the sacred or "numinous." One can identify in this volume two prevailing general perspectives on the purpose of sacred architecture. One is that sacred architecture's role is to create a feeling of the sacred; that its matter of study is the science of religious experience itself, in the tradition of Mircea Eliade and his successors, so as to help those who frequent the space to transcend the particulars of their daily lives. Here, Lindsay Jones's description of this point of view—with its inherent possibility for manipulation—is instructive (esp. 173–175). I will call this the "emotive approach." The other general view—distinctly in the minority in this volume—is that sacred architecture is to express or proclaim truths. Jones (170–207), Father Kevin Seasoltz (113–129), and Duncan Stroik (239–246) all offer descriptions of this viewpoint from the Christian tradition. This [End Page 184] second approach focuses on helping the believer enter more deeply into truths he has grasped intellectually; here, architecture serves as an aid to what Blessed John Henry Newman would call passing from "notional assent"—assent to a proposition as concept—to "real assent"—assent to a proposition as reality. I will call this the "dogmatic approach" because it necessarily presumes doctrinal commitments, whereas the "emotive approach" can certainly be agnostic or relativistic. Another important but ultimately helpful trend in this volume is a more-or-less explicit contrast between "purity" in spiritual experience and "religion," where the latter is seen as grasping, man-made, and commanding (e.g., Juhani Pallasmaa, 19–32). Indeed, as Rudolf Otto understood "the numinous"—an important concept to many of the authors—creeds could seem to be foreign to any genuinely religious frame of mind, because the numinous is ultimately undefinable (Michael J. Crosbie, 225–230). There is something profoundly true in this recognition: it thereby seems clear why the only true religion can be the one God commands men to practice—anything else would be an attempt to systematize the Purely Actual, to degrade the Wholly Other and chain Him to the human intellect. Thus, in their distaste for "religion", these authors actually help us discern something of what idolatry is and why it is treated so harshly in Scripture. Of course, as Christians we believe that we have received from the Church the very religion God has indeed commanded men to practice. Perhaps, however, the uniqueness of this claim has been lost on us; recognizing that, to one without faith, what we believe must appear a sort of appropriation of an unfathomable mystery ought to inspire us with gratitude and confidence toward the God Who has revealed to us the true path to beatitude. Indeed, confidence in Christianity as the true religion is often (perhaps almost proverbially) missing in...

PELAKSANAAN PEMBELAJARAN PENDIDIKAN AGAMA ISLAM OLEH GURU SEKOLAH DASAR PADA GUGUS I LUBUK SIKARAH KOTA SOLOK

Implementation of Islamic Education Teaching in Primary School Cluster I Lubuk Sikarah Solok. Thesis Magister Program of Management of Islamic Education at Post Graduate Program State College of Islamic Studies (STAIN) Batusangkar, 2014. Cluster I Lubuk Sikarah Solok City is one of the existing Primary School Cluster with a focus to create the best performing students, berbudii noble character, morality based on religious values and customs with the steps instill a sense of faith, morality, and religion God Almighty, improve discipline each school community, improving the professionalism of teachers, educators complementary infrastructure, involving the whole element involved in education to participate actively in order to achieve educational goals. This study aims to describe the habits of Islamic religious education teachers in preparing lesson plans, habits Islamic religious education teachers in the implementation of learning, habits of Islamic religious education teachers in the evaluation of learning outcomes. This study is an ethnographic research design that uses a qualitative approach with descriptive method of analysis. Data was collected by (1) observation; (2) interview; (3) documentation. Key informants collected by sampling jugmen while additional informants by means of snowball sampling. The results of this study are: (1) Islamic religious education teachers have been professional in preparing lesson plans, (2) Islamic religious education teacher has been a professional in the implementation of learning, (3) Islamic religious education teacher has been a professional in the evaluation of learning outcomes. Kata Kunci : Pembelajaran, Pendidikan Agama Islam, guru

ISLAM MITOS INDONESIA (KAJIAN ANTROPOLOGI-SOSIOLOGI)

The Muslims in Indonesia, appreciated the tradition’s value so much, remarkably, the one which becomes the part of the religiousity practices and becomes one with it. Therefore, the Islamic religion manifestation in every community group is different, because of the tradition’s differences cover it; the position of tradition and the ancestors precepts which are placed equally with religion, it is toward the invisible matter or supernatural. Their exiatences are worshipped, honored, respected and even considdered cult, treated as the God in religion. Supernatural is often anthropomorphic, it means that the supernatural is often treated as the other creatures which have the ability and characters like human, animals, or plants. The community divinity concept and perception is not purely monotheism, but it is monopluralistic. Tradition which is accomodated in their religious practices is often connected to the myth existence. The myth truth is the community faith matter, emotion and mental. All of the religion processes related to doctrine, history and its development can not be separated from the existence of the myth, included religion which is claimed as the revelation religion. The myth element becomes very important in this contextual Islam, because the myth knowledge is considered as the holy story, the primordialic event about the universe genesis, the past time, and the other life. Frazer described that the myth position in the community religion is like the holy book in the modern religion. In every tribe and group who claim as Muslim, they have the myth practices which become the base in arrenging local Islamic practices. In the study of anthropology and sociology, the function and the role of myth, religion, and tradition can not be substancially distinguished, since every one contains the invisible element. The myth as a story which is considered sacred as like the holy book which is able to describe the transendental primordial event. Myth is related to the traditional religion and the holy book is related to modern religion. The Sociology defines that myth is as the social stucture in creating the community condition. As a belief which is able to strengthen the community mystical side in order to be able to conserve the adhesive social values in the community.

God and the Other: Ethics and Politics After the Theological Turn. By J. AaronSimmons. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2011. Pp. xii + 376. $30.00.

Religious Studies ReviewVolume 39, Issue 4 p. 239-240 Philosophy of Religion God and the Other: Ethics and Politics After the Theological Turn. By Simmons, J. Aaron. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2011. Pp. xii + 376. $30.00. Amos Yong, Amos Yong Regent University School of DivinitySearch for more papers by this author Amos Yong, Amos Yong Regent University School of DivinitySearch for more papers by this author First published: 09 December 2013 https://doi.org/10.1111/rsr.12077Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume39, Issue4December 2013Pages 239-240 RelatedInformation

The God of Religion, the God of Metaphysics and Wittgenstein's "Language-Games"

The God of Religion, the God of Metaphysics and Wittgenstein's "Language-Games"

How Does God Enter Into Philosophy?

HOW DOES GOD ENTER INTO PHILOSOPHY? ''HOWDOES GOD enter into philosophy?" To respond to this Heideggerian question is the purpose of this communication.1 Heidegger's O'Wn response is that God enters into philosophy as causa sui, but that " man can neither pray nor sacrifice " to this God, nor "make music nor dance " nor fall on his knees before him.2 There is no doubt that such a ' God ' is inadequate to religion, but there is likewise no doubt that this is not how God has in fact entered into philosophy. This paper will offer an account of that entrance; it will be an historical and thematic study at once, and will present only the argument of a work in progress QO times its length. In order to specify how God does enter into philosophy, we must first explicate the matter at issue in philosophical reflection and then clarify in a minimal way the God of religion. This done, we will be able to pose the question in a rigorous way: How do the Being that philosophy brings to discourse and the salvational Power that appears in religion relate to each other? It is their identity or coincidence that will answer the question. However, since there is always more to Being than is proper to the salvational Power, and reversely, this identity will at once be a difference or divergence. Accordingly, the argument will fall into three parts: the matter at issue in philosophy (Being) , the correlate of the religious project (the salvational Power), and their identity and difference. 1 Martin Heidegger, "Die onto-theo-logische Verfassung der Metaphysik," in Identitat und Differenz (Pfullingen: Neske, 1957), p. 70. Hereinafter quotation marks ("like this") will mark only quotations, and inverted commas ('like this') will indicate metaphor, irony, and so on. 2 Ibid. 165 166 DANIEL GUERRIERE I. THE BEING OF PHILOSOPHY This part will have two main sections: the circumscription of the philosophical object, and then the articulation of this object as far as our question demands it. A summary will serve as the transition to the next part. A. The Circurnscription. of the Philosophical Object The first task is to specify what is always at issue for philosophy , that in terms of which the philosopher tries "to save the phenomena," that horizon within which philosophic discourse interrogates anything at all. The history of philosophy is the display of this proper object: the philosophic tradition takes its coherence from a discernible matter peculiar to it. In a formal and neutral way, the matter at issue may be circumscribed as the Arche. It is the 'origin' in the sense of that by reason of which things are and not not, that in virtue of which there is anything at all rather than nothing, that in everything on account of which anything at all is. It is not one origin among others, but is the originary origin: the origin at work in all possible origins. Other neutral names for the Arohe are: the Foundational, the Apriori, the Radical. No matter what' content' be ascribed to it, no matter what ' identity ' be discovered in it, no matter how explicitly it be discussed, no matter through what approach it be first and subsequently defined, this Arche is what remains at issue in the tradition of philosophy. The matter at issue in philosophy is: the ultimate condition for the possibility of any phenomenon whatsoever, that which renders possible the appearance of anything at all, that because of which everything becomes possible. This matter may be delimited in a formal way through various questions which, in the end, are only variations on one question. How does it happen that things are in the first place? Why, ultimately, should anything be? What accounts for the HOW DOES GOD ENTER INTO PHILOSOPHY? 167 fact that anything at all is-not' is in this way or that way,' not ' is of a certain type,' not ' is this particular one instead of that one,' but simply is? How do things emerge as be-ing (in the participial sense 3) - not 'be-ing this, that, or the other,' not 'be-ing in one way instead of another,' but simply be-ing...

Is Ross's God the God of Religion?

Is Ross's God the God of Religion?

A Priori Argument in Theological Disciplines

MPIRICAL theology flourished in the Deist movement of the Enlightenment period. One learned about God from nature, not from revelation or the authoritative deliverance of the Bible, church, or clergy. However, the weaknesses of empirical theology were apparent even then. Indeed, the most severe intellectual crises of the period were those in which the assumptions of empirical theology were thrown in question. The Lisbon earthquake of 1755 troubled Voltaire deeply in that it seemed to cast doubt on God's beneficent providence, and Hume was apprehensive about the furor that would result from publishing his devastating attack on the argument from design. To be sure, impressive empirical theologies have been developed since that time, especially by J. S. Mill and F. R. Tennant, and occasionally one still finds attempts to revive the argument from design. Nevertheless, contemporary Western culture lacks the sense of necessary progress in history, the confidence in human nature, and the conviction of absolute orderliness in the physical world which buttressed empirical theology in its heyday. The cultural death of the God of empirical theology meant the end of rational theology as well, because the rational alternatives to the empirical approaches, notably the ontological argument, appeared to be even weaker. The result has been, of course, that rational theology has come to be radically questioned. The purpose of this essay is to show that rational theology depends not at all on the acceptability of empirical theism or on any of the traditional theistic proofs. I will argue that any adequate theology must be based on what is conceptually required by the ideal object of worship and indeed that a priori argument is preeminently appropriate to the God of religion. Furthermore, I will give a sample of what can be substantively achieved by a priori argument in theology, and I will relate my findings to some recent studies in the epistemology of religion. The question I will ask is: How must we talk, if we are to talk at all, about the God who is the adequate object of religious worship? In the Kantian spirit, I intend that this be an exercise in critical, rather than speculative, philosophy. In order to achieve perspective on the problem, let us examine the traditional place of argument in religion and the relation of argument to the religious life. We should note initially that the role of argument has not been limited to the theistic proofs. There are also arguments for the impossibility of God's existence, for the

The God of Religion and the God of Philosophy

Ever since the time of Pascal men have feared that the ‘God’ worshipped by believers and the ‘God’ contemplated by philosophers were somehow different. The former was personal, historically active, slow to anger and plentiful in mercy: the latter was dubiously able to be described in personal terms at all, and infinite in such a way as to baffle the imagination. The ‘God’ of the former at least had the advantage of complying with what was alleged to be religious experience: and so it was not surprising that religious men feared that the ‘God’ of philosophy threatened that experience itself; whereas at times philosophers have fed such suspicions by denying to God various properties not on logical grounds but because close involvement with man seemed to them not to comport with the divine dignity.

Analogy and Metaphor

One very obvious feature of the current theological scene is a divorce between—in Pascal’s celebrated distinction—the God of the Philosophers and the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That is to say, the people most interested in religion, mostly members of the ‘counter-culture’, are generally hostile to the intellectual exploration of religion and religious language. Their religion centres on ‘love and consolation’, to use Pascal’s phrase, not upon rational argument or analysis. Another way of putting this is to say that the God of Religion is naturally spoken of in metaphorical language, while the God of the Philosophers can only be spoken of in analogical language. I am concerned to argue that, despite the anti-intellectualism of the ‘counter-culture’, it is still necessary to have a philosophical foundation for religion, and that this involves accepting the validity of analogical language, even if the most significant religious language we have today is to be found in the metaphorical speech of singers, poets and story-tellers. It is important, therefore, to establish the right relationship between analogical and metaphorical language. The following analysis of a sonnet by Hopkins is offered as a brief preface to a discussion of the two-dimensional structure of any language that purports to discuss God.

An empirical study of religious mysticism.

Religions mysticism (hereinafter referred to as R.M.) is defined as (alleged) direct experience of ultimate reality seen as personal or hyper-personal. It may take any one of three forms: nature mysticism, theistic mysticism, and monist mysticism. In nature mysticism, the percipient feels the whole of Nature, including man, to be pervaded and directed by Mind (the capital letters are used deliberately). Wordsworth's Prelude and Tintern Abbey provide classical examples. In theistic mysticism, the percipient feels himself to be aware of the God of religion in a purely spiritual manner, which in respect of its immediacy is felt to be analogous to sensory perception. Thomas Aquinas, in fact, defines this kind of experience as ‘direct awareness of God, analogous to sensory perception.’ In monist mysticism, the percipient feels himself to be the One-and-Only Mind. The Yogi mystic, Swami Vivekananda, provides the classical example of this latter type of experience, proclaiming ‘I am the Blissful One’.