RELS 108 1nd Edition Lecture 5 Outline of Last Lecture II Appearance of the Sacred III 3 Patterns of Sacred Manifestation IV Sacred Persons V Sacred Objects VI Sacred Time VII Cosmology VIII 4 Noble Truths IX What is the Eightfold Path Outline of Current Lecture X 3 Ways to Talk or Not Talk about the Sacred XI Other Ways to Talk about the Sacred XII Allegory Current Lecture Language of the Sacred 3 Ways to Talk or Not Talk about God 1 Paradoxical Language EX Neti Neti in the Hindu tradition Brahmin the highest conceivable divine object in Hindu is Neti Neti which means not this not that EX St John of the Cross God is everything and nothing Paradoxical language meant to shock the mind preconceived notions we have about the divine 2 Cataphatic Expressing the Divine through positive terminology EX God is love goodness EX Bhakti traditions devotional traditions in Hinduism 3 Apophatic Expressing the Divine through negation Speak only in terms of what may not be said about God EX neither existence nor non existence applies to God EX God is not ignorant Other Ways to Speak of the Sacred Myth from the Greek Mythos Story speech thought These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Joseph Campbell says there are 4 specific functions of myths o Metaphysical Function myth allows human access to cosmic mystery o Cosmological Function offers explanations for the physical observable world o The Sociological Function the ability of myth to conform social order o The Pedagogical structures the various stages of life that an individual encounters For example rites of passage Allegory Fictional stories Plato s Allegory of the Cave found in his text called The Republic o Dialogue between Plato s brother and Socrates Plato s Theory of Forms o Ideal noumenal Ideas o Real phenomenal Things o Goal of philosopher is to make people aware of the ideal form
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