The Truth of Broken Symbols

Provides a cross-cultural analysis of how religious symbols function from a theological and philosophical perspective.
This book provides a cross-cultural analysis of how religious symbols function from a theological and philosophical perspective. Showing how religious symbols can be true in various qualified senses, Neville presents a theory of religious symbolism in the American pragmatic tradition extending and elaborating Tillich's claim that religious symbols participate in the divine realities to which they refer and yet must be broken in order not to be idolatrous or demonic. The Truth of Broken Symbols offers a theory of religious symbolism treating reference, meaning, and interpretation, and discussing different functions of religious symbols in theological, practical, and devotional contexts. It shows that religious symbols are to be properly understood as true or false and that symbol-systems such as myths, theologies, or liturgical symbols are to be used to engage divine realities while internally exhibiting semiotic structures of reference, meaning, and interpretation.

About the author

Robert Cummings Neville is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Religion, and Theology at Boston University. His many books include Metaphysics of Goodness: Harmony and Form, Beauty and Art, Obligation and Personhood, Flourishing and Civilization, also published by SUNY Press.

Product details

• Authors: Robert Cummings Neville
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 16.11.1995
• EAN: 9780791427415
• ISBN: 978-0-7914-2741-5
• No. of pages: 320
• Dimensions: 155 mm x 231 mm x 23 mm
• Weight: 635 g
• Series: Suny Series in Religious Studi; Suny Religious Studies
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Other religions; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Religion: general, reference works