"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." 1 Peter 2. 9 In concluding his textbook 'Groundwork of Philosophy of Religion', David Pailin offers a philosophical view of faith as finding "the story of reality and our place in it." It might seem odd that he leaves God out of his definition, except when one factors in that, rather like i

"Then Jesus' disciples said, "Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech." John 16.29 Sometimes we can feel like the disciples, frustrated that Jesus or the Bible doesn't spell things out. Why is there no explanation of the Trinity for example? Or why wouldn't Jesus be explicit about when he will return? Why didn't Job get the answer to his suffering, or Paul relief from the thorn in his flesh? These remain mysteries as does much else in relation to God. And t

“I will cause all My goodness to pass before you,” the LORD replied, “and I will proclaim My name—the LORD—in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” But He added,“You cannot see My face, for no-one can see Me and live.” Exodus 33. 19-20 Philosopher Ian T Ramsey is interested in the use of qualifiers and models in religious language. Qualifiers are the adverbs we use to enhance the adjectives we apply to Go

"But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds." James 2.18 Philosophers of religion tell us that theistic language - that is, language which speaks about God - expresses more than our faith. Such language reveals our standpoints in life and the convictions by which we life. In other words what we say about God also expresses what we believe about life and what we aspire to do and become in res

"If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10.9 Characteristic of religious language is that its assertions are more than dispassionate statements of fact or observation, they are expressions of personal conviction. Academics and commentators may enjoy playing with ideas but when religious believers talk about God, we do so with reverence and in the awareness that our words have imp

Then Jesus declared, "I, the one speaking to you - I am he." John 4. 26 Religious language - or talking about God - has to occupy a different category from the rest of philosophical discourse because of its implications. If God is real then everything depends on him and is dominated by him. Indeed, that being the case, it becomes somewhat disrespectful, even absurd, to talk objectively about someone whose presence is so significant. Imagine talking about Her Majesty The Queen

"Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a ruling rightly given." Proverbs 25.11 Ludwig Wittgenstein identified the Logical Positivists' achilles heel when subjecting the movement to a dose of its own medicine: how can something that doesn't exist be verifiable according to the "verification principle". That insight liberated Wittgenstein's thinking so that he could appreciate how language is so much richer than simply being a metaphorical tool for describing real thing

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. .." 1 John 3. 16 There is a strand of philosophy that loves nothing better than to undermine our confidence in knowing anything for certain - cloaked in the name of truth, or accuracy, or some other laudable principle. But this rarely helps our navigation through life, let alone our understanding of it. For instance, how does it help to suggest, in the face of a looming deadline, that time is artificia

"While they were still in disbelief because of their joy and amazement, He asked them, 'Do you have anything here to eat?' So they gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate it in front of them." Luke 24. 41-43 Can a religious experience be objectively verifiable? That depends on what one means by "religious experience" and the criteria one uses to verify it. The question is also begged, whether what has been so verified remains a "religious experience"? By thei

"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'" Isaiah 30.21 One might say that a person's conscience functions like an in-built moral compass. It is certainly authoritative. Try living in opposition to that inner voice and you will quickly realise how uncomfortable - intolerable even - life becomes... But is it reliable? Probably more than we realise. We might assume that our consciences are gover