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Religious Language

We walk by faith, not by sight - by hearing the Word of God, heeding what the Spirit of God is saying to the heart... For now we "see through a glass darkly," which literally means "in a riddle" (ἐν αἰνίγματι). A riddle is an analogy given through some resemblance to the truth, though quite often the correspondences are puzzling and obscure. Hence, "seeing through a glass darkly" means perceiving obscurely or imperfectly, looking "through" something else instead of directly apprehending reality. We see only a reflection of reality, and our knowledge in this life is indirect and imperfect. This is contrasted with the "face to face" (פָּנִים אֶל־פָּנִים) vision and clarity given in the world to come, when our knowledge will be clear and distinct, and the truth of God will be fully manifest and no longer hidden. Being "face to face" with reality means being free of the riddles, the analogies, the semblances, etc., which at best adumbrate our way.. Such reflection should make us humble whenever we share our faith. "Now we know in part, but then shall we know in whole" (1 Cor. 13:12). An honest theology must find a place for mystery, for "seeing through a glass darkly," and for the apprehension of awe and wonder.

Topics:

Classical Views of Religious Language
Parables and Meaning
Seeing through a Glass Darkly...
Definitions and Semantic Taxonomy
Holy Spirit and Divine Illumination
The Ineffable Name of God...

A logical definition is composed of a definiens and a definiendum. The definiens is a word or words serving to define another word or expression (the plural is called definientia). The definiendum is the word or expression being defined. Regarding factual objects, definitions involve classifying "terms" as members of larger sets of referents.

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