Religious Fictionalism and Pascal’s Wager

2020 ◽  
pp. 207-234
Author(s):  
Stuart Brock
Keyword(s):  
Christian Religion ◽  
Pragmatic Argument ◽  
Pascal’S Wager ◽  
Antony Duff

This chapter is a re-examination of Pascal’s famous pragmatic argument (Pascal’s Wager) in support of wagering for God, first introduced in Pensées, Part III, §233. It is, in part, a consideration of whether Pascal is best interpreted as advocating a version of fictionalism about the Christian religion. Although it is ultimately concluded that Pascal should not be interpreted this way, his views are remarkably close to the religious fictionalist’s, and, in a sense, his views may be thought of as a precursor to religious fictionalism. In addition, this chapter is also a consideration of how a contemporary fictionalist might adapt Pascal’s argument. Although the new “factionalist” wager suffers from many of the same problems as Pascal’s original wager, it is not vulnerable to them all. In particular, fictionalists can dodge a thorny problem first raised by Antony Duff in 1986.

Features of the Christian values ​​system

2004 ◽  
pp. 21-29
Author(s):  
G.V. Pyrog
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Religious Values ◽  
Direct Influence ◽  
Moral Norms ◽  
Value System ◽  
Christian Religion ◽  
Mass Consciousness ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Very High

In domestic scientific and public opinion, interest in religion as a new worldview paradigm is very high. Today's attention to the Christian religion in our society is connected, in our opinion, with the specificity of its value system, which distinguishes it from other forms of consciousness: the idea of ​​God, the absolute, the eternity of moral norms. That is why its historical forms do not receive accurate characteristics and do not matter in the mass consciousness. Modern religious beliefs do not always arise as a result of the direct influence of church preaching. The emerging religious values ​​are absorbed in a wide range of philosophical, artistic, ethical ideas, acting as a compensation for what is generally defined as spirituality. At the same time, the appeal to Christian values ​​became very popular.

Is Druidry Indigenous? The Politics of Pagan Indigeneity Discourse

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-247
Author(s):  
Suzanne Owen
Keyword(s):  
Ancient Greece ◽  
British Isles ◽  
Christian Religion ◽  
Per Se ◽  
British Culture

This article asks if “indigenous,” associated as it is with “colonized peoples,” is being employed strategically by Druids in Britain to support cultural or political aims. Prominent Druids make various claims to indigeneity, presenting Druidry as the pre-Christian religion of the British Isles and emphasizing that it originated there. By “religion” it also assumes Druidry was a culture equal to if not superior to Christianity—similar to views of antiquarians in earlier centuries who idealized a pre-Christian British culture as equal to that of ancient Greece. Although British Druids refute the nationalist tag, and make efforts to root out those tendencies, it can be argued that it is a love of the land rather than the country per se that drives indigeneity discourses in British Druidry.

TEOLOGIA E PÓS-MODERNIDADE: APONTAMENTOS PARA UM DISCURSO TEOLÓGICO RELEVANTE

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (23) ◽  
pp. 051
Author(s):  
Adriano Sousa Lima ◽  
Jaziel Guerreiro Martins
Keyword(s):  
Religious Experience ◽  
Current Literature ◽  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Religion And Theology ◽  
Christian Religion ◽  
Theological Discourse ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
The Church

O artigo reflete sobre o tema “Teologia e pós-modernidade: apontamentos para o discurso teológico relevante”. Tendo como objetivo discutir se a teologia pode sobreviver como discurso, como logos e quais seriam as suas chances, bem como alguns dos caminhos que ela poderia trilhar, o artigo enfrenta questões fundamentais para o debate religioso, no sentido amplo, e teológico, no sentido específico. Trata-se da busca de respostas para indagações antigas, mas sempre relevantes: a religião cristã e a teologia são pertinentes na pós-modernidade? Quais seriam os novos desafios para a teologia nesse contexto? Quais seriam os rumos da teologia na época pós-moderna? Para responder tais questionamentos, os autores analisam a literatura mais relevante e atual sobre o tema, visando contribuir no âmbito acadêmico, eclesial e social. Ao final, os autores destacam que para sobreviver num tempo pós-moderno, é fundamental que a teologia se lance à tarefa de decifrar as implicações da pós-modernidade para ela e para a igreja. A teologia precisará ainda desconstruir os paradigmas modernos da interpretação do texto bíblico, a fim de responder com mais consistência os questionamentos teológicos da pós-modernidade. Assim, os autores concluem que a pós-modernidade não é um mal a ser combatido, mas um período a ser discernido e ao mesmo tempo, enriquecedor e propositivo para a experiência religiosa e para o discurso teológico relevante.Palavras-chave: Teologia; Pós-Modernidade; Religião; Experiência. THEOLOGY AND POSTMODERNITY: NOTES FOR A RELEVANT THEOLOGICAL DISCOURSEAbstractThe article adresses the topic “Theology and post-modernity: notes for a relevant theological discourse”. It discusses if Theology may thrive as a discourse, as a logos and what are its chances, such as some ways that Theology may walk. This present research deals religious debate fundamental issues in broader and strict senses. So, it is about the search for answers to ancient, but always relevant questions: are Christian religion and Theology pertinent in post-modernity? Which are the new challenges for Theology in this context? Which are the possible paths for Theology in contemporary times? In order to answer these interrogations, the text analyses the most relevant and current literature on the topic, aiming to contribute in academic, ecclesial, and social environments. Finally, so that it may survive in post-modernity, it is paramount for Theology to engage the task of deciphering the implications of postmodernity for Theology itself and for the Church. Theology will need to deconstruct modern paradigms of biblical interpretation, so that it may consistently respond to postmodern theological issues. This way, postmodernity is not and evil to fight against, but a period that has to be discerned with wisdom and responsibility. It is an enriching propositional time concerning to religious experience and relevant theological speech.Keywords: Theology; Postmodernity; Religion; Experience.

The priest in the novels of Graham Greene

Theology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 124 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-92
Author(s):  
David Jasper
Keyword(s):  
Roman Catholicism ◽  
Graham Greene ◽  
Pascal’S Wager

The priestly figure in Graham Greene’s fiction may or may not wear a clerical collar. But through such characters salvation may be glimpsed not only through faith but through doubt and human weakness. Saints and sinners are not far apart. Pascal’s ‘wager’ is also ever present in these novels that reflect the ambiguities of Greene’s conversion to Roman Catholicism.

Mixed strategies can't evade Pascal's Wager

Analysis ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 642-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Monton
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Strategies ◽  
Pascal’S Wager

The World as God's ‘body’: In Pursuit of Dialogue with Rāmānuja

1984 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Lipner
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Central Theme ◽  
Christian Religion ◽  
Indian Context ◽  
Religious Dialogue ◽  
The World ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Christian Thought ◽  
Religious Understanding

In this essay I propose to offer some observations in due course on how Christian thought and practice in general (though some reference will be made to the Indian context) might profit from a central theme in the theology of Rāmānuja, a Tamil Vaisnava Brahmin whose traditional date straddles the eleventh and twelfth centuries of the Christian era. The central theme I have in mind is expressed in Rāmānuja's view that the ‘world’ is the ‘body’ of Brahman or God. We shall go on to explain what this means, but let me state first that my overall aim is to further inter-religious understanding, especially between Christian and Hindu points of view. In professing a concern for inter-religious dialogue I know that I reflect a longstanding interest of Professor H. D. Lewis. I shall seek to show that the Christian religion can profit both from the content and the method of Rāmānuja's body-of-God theology. To this end this essay is divided into two sections. Section I is the longer: it contains an analysis of what Rāmānuja did (and did not) mean by his body-of-God theme – doubtless unfamiliar ground for most of the readers of this essay – and serves as a propaedeutic for what follows in section 2. In section 2 I shall attempt to ‘extrapolate’ Rāmānuja's thinking into a Christian context, with dialogue in mind. Section 2 cannot be appreciated for the promise I hope it holds out without the (sometimes involved) detail of the first section.

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