I have recently been reading William James’ The Variety of Religious Experience mostly for kicks and giggles. I am only a couple of chapters in, but I think I am starting to get one of the points that James is trying to make. The podcast Philosophy Bites helped illuminate me on James and pragmatism. Basically, from what I can tell, James is not arguing about the truth of God’s existence, but instead the functionality of religious experience or belief of God for the individual. This is an interesting idea that I can get my head around.
For a Baptist Theological Circle that I am involved in I am prepping for a discussion on religious pluralism. Usually I tend to compare and contrast, looking at the similarities and differences. Perhaps this time it would be prudent to consider the functionality of God and the religious experience. How does a sense of the divine function in a Buddhist community, Hindu, or other communities? Such an approach does not stress so much the correctness of a religion, but considers the functionality of a religion. It is not an argument of ontological truth but one of intrasystematic truth (to borrow from Lindbeck).
I don't care if it is true, I want to know if it works.
2 comments:
In the interest of getting some more comments on my own blog posts, especially from one as educated and erudite at theosnob, I offer this response, brief, but I hope thought inspiring. I am currently doing a sermon series on the 10 Commandments. I ran across a quote, a Walter Brueggemann quote. (funny, spell check does not recognize brueggemann as a word and offers garbageman as an alternative) anyway, According to Walt, the first three commandments, and specifically the third, do not misuse the Lord's name, declare that God is not user friendly. As you were commenting on James and the 'functionality of God' I thought of that quote. Is it theologically sound to speak of God as functional?
Darin,
It is not so much that the name of God is functional, but the way the idea of God, or belief in God functions for an individual/community. The speech of the individual/community shows how the idea/belief functions.
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