OCR Text |
Show Philosophers' Question: ! God Really Meaningful? our experience and help us to see the world more coherently than we could without them." He suggested two areas where religion has meaning in life: FIRST, IT ASSISTS in such things as "human creativity, love, fulfillment of purpose, and reconstruction re-construction of the personality through prayer," he said. Second, religion gives meaning to life through such things as "mystical experiences and prophetic pro-phetic utterances." Bennett said that religion is "a way of getting around In this dark room." Henson and Bennett agreed that psychological factors were inadequate in explaining the meaningfulness of religion to the individual. Theism, simply, is "the thesis that there is at least one God." So said Dr. Richard Henson, professor of philosophy, beginning begin-ning the 1964-65 Great Issues Forum, presented by the University Univer-sity philosophy department. ALSO PARTICIPATING in the Wednesday night discussion was Dr. David W. Bennett, assistant professor of philosophy. The one man obstacle concerning con-cerning the doubt as to whether wheth-er religion is meaningful Is the "inteiligability of theism-prior theism-prior to any consideration of truth," said Henson. Religion is only meaningful, he contended, "if it is in some way confirmed by experience." Hen-said Hen-said that the meaningfulness of God also depends on His being a person. HE POINTED OUT how parents' par-ents' explanation of the Santa Claus story becomes more sophisticated so-phisticated as the child questions ques-tions the logic of it. Early in life the child is taught the literal evistence of Santa Claus, but as he grows older, his parents admit the non-existence of Santa. Instead they stress the spirit of giving that Santa is supposed to represent Henson compared this transition transi-tion to the "spiritualization" of religion as its validity is questioned ques-tioned in the modern world. Bennett said that "theism is meaningful." He pointed out that, while theological claims are not "directly testable" they do have "a connection with |