scholarly journals A comparative-philosophical perspective on divine hiddenness in the Hebrew Bible

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaco Gericke
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Philosophy Of Religion ◽  
Analytic Philosophy ◽  
Philosophical Perspective ◽  
Related Data ◽  
The Past ◽  
Divine Hiddenness ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Specific Formulation

This study is concerned with the problem of divine hiddenness as it has taken shape in analytic philosophy of religion over the past two decades. More specifically, the interest lies with providing a comparative-philosophical perspective on the most fundamental assumptions of the problem in certain formulations and its responses against the backdrop of diverse yet related data in the Hebrew Bible. In doing so the aim is not to justify or critique any particular biblical or philosophical perspective on divine hiddenness but simply to identify and clarify some crucial differences in various relevant conceptual backgrounds.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: By way of pointing out a number of similarities and differences between concepts of divine hiddenness in the theologies of the Hebrew Bible and in a specific formulation thereof in analytic philosophy of religion, this article not only reveals some neglected specifics of the historical variability of an important theological idea but also suggests taking caution when appealing to alleged biblical precursors to contemporary philosophical-theological problems.

scholarly journals Qohelet's concept of deity: A comparative-philosophical perspective

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacobus W. Gericke
Keyword(s):  
Religious Pluralism ◽  
Analytic Philosophy ◽  
Problem Of Evil ◽  
Religious Language ◽  
Philosophical Theology ◽  
Religious Epistemology ◽  
Existence Of God ◽  
Philosophical Perspective ◽  
The Problem Of Evil ◽  
Similarities And Differences

This article discusses the concept of deity in the book of Ecclesiastes (Qohelet) from the perspective of issues of interest in analytic philosophy of religion. Of concern are assumptions in the text about religion, the nature of religious language, religious epistemology, the concept of revelation, the attributes of the divine, the existence of God, the problem of evil, the relation between religion and morality and religious pluralism. A comparative philosophical clarification is offered with the aim of discerning similarities and differences between popular views in Christian philosophical theology and what, if anything, Qohelet took for granted on the same issues.

scholarly journals A new trick for the old debate

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2020.1.1) ◽  
pp. 48-57
Author(s):  
Pavel Butakov
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Philosophy Of Religion ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Analytic Philosophy ◽  
Existence Of God ◽  
Divine Hiddenness ◽  
Novel Approach

In the end of the 20th century analytic philosophy of religion has formed a new course for the debate about the existence of God, which is concerned with the problem of the divine hiddenness. The paper addresses the historical context of the origin of the new course. It shows how its originator John Schellenberg was able to formulate his Hiddenness Argument using the contemporary achievements in epistemology. In addition, the paper brings out Schellenberg’s novel approach to defense of plausibility of the Argument’s premises. Finally, it suggests promising directions for debating the Hiddenness Argument.

Lot's Offer of his Daughters to his People in the Torah and the Qur'an: A Comparative Study in Two Parts (Part One)

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-224
Author(s):  
ʿĀʾiḍ B. Sad Al-Dawsarī
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Status ◽  
Moral Problems ◽  
Moral Dimensions ◽  
Similarities And Differences

The story of Lot is one of many shared by the Qur'an and the Torah, and Lot's offer of his two daughters to his people is presented in a similar way in the two books. This article compares the status of Lot in the Qur'an and Torah, and explores the moral dimensions of his character, and what scholars of the two religions make of this story. The significance of the episodes in which Lot offers his daughters to his people lies in the similarities and differences of the accounts given in the two books and the fact that, in both the past and the present, this story has presented moral problems and criticism has been leveled at Lot. Context is crucial in understanding this story, and exploration of the ways in which Lot and his people are presented is also useful in terms of comparative studies of the two scriptures. This article is divided into three sections: the first explores the depiction of Lot in the two texts, the second explores his moral limitations, and the third discusses the interpretations of various exegetes and scholars of the two books. Although there are similarities between the Qur'anic and Talmudic accounts of this episode, it is read differently by scholars from the two religions because of the different contexts of the respective accounts.

On the Axiology of a Hidden God

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 79-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirk Lougheed
Keyword(s):  
Correct Answer ◽  
Philosophy Of Religion ◽  
Divine Hiddenness ◽  
Hidden God

The axiological question in the philosophy of religion is the question of what impact, if any, God’s existence does (or would) make to the axiological value of our world. It has recently been argued that we should prefer a theistic world where God is hidden to an atheistic world or a theistic world where God isn’t hidden. This is because in a hidden theistic world all of the theistic goods obtain in addition to the experience of atheistic goods. I complete this line of argument by showing that theistic goods do (or could) indeed obtain in a world where God hides. In doing so I indirectly argue against proponents of divine hiddenness arguments such as J.L. Schellenberg. The correct answer to the axiological question turns out to be a solution to the problem of divine hiddenness.

Beyond Perennialism and Constructivism

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayon Maharaj
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Common Core ◽  
Mystical Experience ◽  
Philosophy Of Religion ◽  
Analytic Philosophy ◽  
Cultural Conditioning ◽  
Mystical Experiences

This chapter draws upon Sri Ramakrishna’s teachings and mystical testimony in order to develop a new conceptual framework for understanding the nature of mystical experience. In recent analytic philosophy of religion, two approaches to mystical experience have been especially influential: perennialism and constructivism. While perennialists maintain that there is a common core of all mystical experiences across various cultures, constructivists claim that a mystic’s cultural conditioning plays a major role in shaping his or her mystical experiences. After identifying the strengths and limitations of these two positions, Maharaj argues that Sri Ramakrishna champions a “manifestationist” approach to mystical experience that provides a powerful dialectical alternative to both perennialism and constructivism. According to Sri Ramakrishna, mystics in various traditions experience different real manifestations of one and the same impersonal-personal Infinite Reality. Sri Ramakrishna’s manifestationist paradigm shares the advantages of both perennialism and constructivism but avoids their respective weaknesses and limitations.

The Problem of Divine Hiddenness

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. Rea
Keyword(s):  
Problem Of Evil ◽  
Philosophical Discussion ◽  
Detailed Characterization ◽  
The Past ◽  
Divine Hiddenness ◽  
The Problem Of Evil ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter provides a detailed characterization of the various meanings of the term “divine hiddenness,” carefully and rigorously articulates the version of the problem of divine hiddenness that has dominated contemporary philosophical discussion for the past twenty-five years, and then explains the relationship between that problem and the problem of evil.

Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Religion Volume 9

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
Philosophy Of Language ◽  
Philosophy Of Religion ◽  
Half Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
Past Half Century ◽  
Inclusive Approach ◽  
Past Half

This is the ninth volume of Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Religion. As with earlier volumes, these essays follow the tradition of providing a non-sectarian and non-partisan snapshot of the subdiscipline of philosophy of religion. This subdiscipline has become an increasingly important one within philosophy over the last century, and especially over the past half century, having emerged as an identifiable subfield with this timeframe along with other emerging subfields such as the philosophy of science and the philosophy of language. This volume continues the initial intention behind the series of attracting the best work from the premier philosophers of religion, as well as including work by top philosophers outside this area when their work and interests intersect with issues in the philosophy of religion. This inclusive approach to the series provides an opportunity to mitigate some of the costs of greater specialization in our discipline, while at the same time inviting wider interest in the work being done in the philosophy of religion.

scholarly journals A Little Something Goes a Long Way: Little in the Old Bailey Corpus

2021 ◽  
pp. 007542422098206
Author(s):  
Claudia Claridge ◽  
Ewa Jonsson ◽  
Merja Kytö
Keyword(s):  
Good Deal ◽  
Functional Profile ◽  
Prepositional Phrases ◽  
Related Data ◽  
The Past ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Old Bailey ◽  
Version 2.0 ◽  
Data Source ◽  
Late Modern

Even though intensifiers have received a good deal of attention over the past few decades, downtoners, comprising diminishers and minimizers, have remained by and large a neglected category (but cf. Brinton, this issue). Among downtoners, the adverb little or a little stands out as the most frequent item. It is multifunctional and serves as a diminishing and minimizing intensifier and also in non-degree uses as a quantifier, frequentative, and durative. Therefore, the present paper is devoted to the structural and functional profile of ( a) little in Late Modern English speech-related data. The data source is the socio-pragmatically annotated Old Bailey Corpus (OBC, version 2.0), which allows, among other things, the investigation of the usage of the item among different speaker groups. Our research charts the semantic and formal uses of adverbial little. Downtoner uses outnumber non-degree uses in the data, and diminishing uses are more common than minimizing uses. The formal realization is predominantly a little, with very rare determinerless or modified instances, such as very little. Little modifies a wide range of “targets,” but most frequently adjectives and prepositional phrases, focusing on human states and circumstantial detail. With regard to variation and change, adverbial little declines in use over the 200 years and is used more commonly by speakers from the lower social ranks and by the lay, non-professional participants in the courtroom.

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