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    [fullTitle] => Metaphor and Theological Realism
    [abstract] => In this paper, I argue that there are indispensable and irreducible metaphors in religious language and that this does not threaten a realist interpretation of religion. I first sketch a realist theory of religious language and argue that we cannot avoid addressing the problems metaphor poses to semantics. I then give a brief account of what it means for a metaphorical sentence to be true and how metaphors can refer to something even if what they mean is not expressible in literal terms. Finally, I discuss how this realist theory of metaphor influences our understanding of negative theology and gives a new perspective on religious pluralism.
    [authors] => Array
        (
            [0] => Array
                (
                    [givenName] => Sebastian
                    [affiliation] => University of Trier
                )

        )

    [keywords] => Array
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    [doi] => 10.24204/ejpr.v6i1.192
    [datePublished] => 2014-03-21
    [pdf] => https://www.philosophy-of-religion.eu/menuscript/index.php/ejpr/article/view/192/version/141/160
)
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Metaphor and Theological Realism

Sebastian
University of Trier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24204/ejpr.v6i1.192

Abstract

In this paper, I argue that there are indispensable and irreducible metaphors in religious language and that this does not threaten a realist interpretation of religion. I first sketch a realist theory of religious language and argue that we cannot avoid addressing the problems metaphor poses to semantics. I then give a brief account of what it means for a metaphorical sentence to be true and how metaphors can refer to something even if what they mean is not expressible in literal terms. Finally, I discuss how this realist theory of metaphor influences our understanding of negative theology and gives a new perspective on religious pluralism.

Keywords:

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