John Hick Reading Questions
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School
SUNY New Paltz *
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Course
130
Subject
Religion
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
Pages
2
Uploaded by samiraybenkhallouk
1.
Right off the bat, what is Hick’s ‘working definition’ of religion? (1
st
sentence)
Hick defines religion as "the human responses to and awareness of that which is
holy, numinous, spiritual, or divine."
2.
Hick speculates that the early Mesopotamian and Indus valley religions were a reflection
of
what
(as opposed to the result of divine revelation or illumination)? (p134-135)
Hick speculates that these religions were a reflection of human speculation and
aspiration rather than the result of divine revelation or illumination.
3.
Hick contends that around 800 B.C. The ‘golden age of religious creativity’ began. How
does he characterize this period? (p 135-136) What thesis, or “suggestion”, does he want
us to consider about these transformations in religious thought? (p 136)
Hick characterizes this period as a transition from a mythological to a more
reflective, philosophical approach to religion. He suggests that significant
transformations in religious thought occurred during this time.
4.
Why does Hick think that at the time of these changes, revelation needed to be, as he
calls it,
pluriform
? (p 136-137)
Hick suggests that revelation needed to be pluriform during this period to
accommodate the diverse cultural contexts and human capacities for understanding
divine reality.
5.
What lesson does Hick think is to be learned from this history of world religion, “from
the standpoint of religious faith”? What does Hick think this teaches us about the
“relations between the different world religions and of the truths they embody”? (p138,
2
nd
paragraph)
Hick believes that from the standpoint of religious faith, the lesson to be learned is
that different religions embody different aspects of the same divine reality. This
teaches us about the interconnectedness and complementarity of the truths they
embody.
6.
According to this picture, all (modern?) religions have their basis in the same revelation
of divine reality. What explains the differences between the religions? (p 139)
According to Hick, the differences between religions stem from historical and
cultural factors rather than from fundamentally different revelations.
7.
OK, but what’s the looming
theological
problem with a view like Hick’s? (he begins
discussing this on p. 139).
The problem with Hick's view is the apparent contradiction between the belief in
one ultimate reality and the diversity of religious beliefs and practices.
8.
What is the first thing Hick draws to our attention in solving this problem? (still p. 139)
What does he think follows from this? (p 139-140)
Hick draws attention to the necessity of recognizing that human perceptions and
interpretations of the divine are conditioned by cultural and historical contexts. This
recognition leads to a more humble and tolerant attitude toward other religious.
9.
What two qualifications does Hick make regarding his own theory? (p 141)
First, that the concept of divine revelation needs to be understood in a more
inclusive and pluralistic sense; Second, that his theory does not entail relativism or
the denial of religious truth claims.
10.
What lesson does Hick come away with after considering the similarity of the various
prayers? (p 143) Is this a
justified
conclusion?
Hick concludes that the similarity of various prayers across different religions
suggests a common human response to the divine, reinforcing the idea that different
religions share a common foundation in the same divine reality. Whether this
conclusion is justified depends on one's perspective.
11.
What is the next problem that Hick considers for his view? (p143 – 144)
The next problem Hick considers is the problem of evil and suffering, particularly
how it fits into his understanding of a benevolent and omnipotent divine reality.
12.
How does Hick resolve this problem? It might be helpful to figure out what Nirguna and
Saguna are (you can probably get this from the context).
Hick resolves this problem by suggesting that the experience of evil and suffering is
a necessary aspect of the human journey toward spiritual growth and development.
He proposes that ultimate reality, whether conceived as Nirguna (without qualities)
or Saguna (with qualities), includes within itself the potential for both positive and
negative experiences and that these experiences serve a purpose in the overall
process of spiritual evolution.
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