جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه "religious realism" در نشریات گروه "فلسفه و کلام"

The typical approach to religious doctrines and their relation to the world and man is among modern intellectual contemplations on religion. In many of those works, such analyses refer to the concept of fact and the role played by the language and social grounds in it, bringing about special theoretical controversies. Having joined the school of irrealism and being influenced by Wittgenstein's ideas, some philosophers of religion came to supposedly defend the religious faith against criticisms through that approach. Highlighting the practical sphere of religion and the role of language in course of understanding religion, this approach has driven religious beliefs into the interior sphere of man's life, which can only bear meaning in the personal life of the faithful. This approach apparently confirms the faithful life; nonetheless, it denies the whole validity of religion; this is why it can be recognized as the masked atheism. In his effort, the author has gone to examine the claims of the followers of this theory.

Realism/anti-realism controversy has always been crucial in the history of philosophy, so that it has affected all philosophical areas, including religious belief, in which admitting realistic/anti-realistic approach has a wide range of influences in all religious concepts. After shedding some lights on preliminary issues concerning the nature and kinds of formulation of realism/anti-realism controversy, the present study is aimed at analyzing and comparing two kinds of Anti-realism: Don Cupitt’s one which relies on his reading of modern philosophy (especially Nietzsche’s), and D. Z. Phillips’s one which uses Wittgenstein’s later philosophy of language. Based on these foundations, they end with elimination of metaphysics and lead to one kind of relativism. So, application of these views on religious belief leads their attention to practical aspects rather than conceptual and theoretical ones. At this very point, Paul Badham, on the contrary, believes as a realist that performing rituals and prayers, in the absence of religious notions would be impossible, and having a realistic approach to the one who is worshiped (namely God), is an inherent part of religious practices. Finally, we show that these kinds of Anti-realism face with the problems which are insurmountable. Also, we will show that Badham’s Realism is not strong enough to cope with Ani-realism

Don Cupitt has a Non-Realistic view of God and religious faith. He holds that “human” and “God” are historical concepts which are not dependent on rationality and metaphysics. Hence, he emphasizes on the continuous evolution of these concepts in the history of religious thought. He believes that the man chooses his value himself and makes his world on this selection. In his view, spirituality is the substance of religion and has complete individual and personal characteristics. The perspective of every individual to the world is the foundation of his view and understanding of religious faith. But, Brian Hebblethwaite, who is a defender of religious realism, has tried to critique Cupitt’s Non-Realism in detail. He has some fundamental criticisms about Non-Realism in religion that amongst the most important of them is ignoring the importance of truth and denying the objectivity of moral values. He, at first, distinguishes the defects of Non-Realistic arguments of Cupitt and his version of the procedures of religious thought in modern world and then, explains how believing to objective God is not only consistent with modern thought but a necessary component of it.