Analogy: Strengths, Weaknesses, Scholars

Analogy Weakness: language

How do we know the language Aquinas uses is relevant to God?

C Stephens Evans (counters Blackstone)

There is nothing wrong with accepting God as mysterious as long as the believer understands enough to worship

Analogy Strength: applicable

can apply language to God from a 'spatio-temporal' universe

Analogy Strength: mystery

preserves a degree of mystery about god

Analogy Weakness: limited

Analogy is still using human language which is limited when describing God

Analogy Weakness: truth

Does analogy actually reveal any truth about God?

Swinburne (Analogy)

Sometimes words can be used univocally. e.g. God is good, just as humans are but God is good to a greater degree

William Blackstone

Thomist doctrine is unhelpful because we have to translate the analogies into univocal language before they meaning anything

Analogy Strength: avoids anthropomorphism

avoids anthropomorphism of God which univocal and equivocal language lead to

Analogy Strength: method

enables us to talk about God meaningfully by comparison

Analogy Strength: easy to understand

makes concepts easier to understand by simplifying into tangible ideas

Analogy Strength: religion

shows religious language is not absurd

Analogy Weakness: Analogy of proportion

univocal language could just be applied to a greater degree

Analogy Weakness: reflections of God

what if we are not reflections of God/made in the image of God/created by God?