New Studies in the Philosophy of Religion General Editor: W. D. Hudson, Reader in Moral Philosophy, University of Exeter This series of monographs includes studies of all the main problems in the philosophy of religion. It will be of particular interest to those who study this subject in universities or colleges. The philosophical problems connected with religious belief are not, however, a subject of concern only to specialists; they arise in one form or another for all intelligent men when confronted by the appeals or the claims of religion. The general approach of this series is from the standpoint of contemporary analytical philosophy, and the monographs are written by a distinguished team of philosophers, all of whom now teach, or have recently taught, in British or American universities. Each author has been commissioned to analyse some aspect of religious belief; to set forth clearly and concisely the philosophical problems which arise from it; to take into account the solutions which classical or contemporary philosophers have offered; and to present his own critical assessment ofhow religious belief now stands in the light of these problems and their proposed solutions. In the main it is theism with which these monographs deal, because that is the type of religious belief with which readers are most likely to be familiar, but other forms of religion are not ignored. Some of the authors are religious believers and some are not, but it is not their primary aim to write polemically, much less dogmatically, for or against religion. Rather, they set themselves to clarify the nature of religious belief in the light of modern philosophy by bringing into focus the questions about it which a reasonable man as such has to ask. How is talk of God like, and how unlike, other universes of discourse in which men engage, such as science, art or morality? Is this talk of God self-consistent? Does it accord with other rational beliefs which we hold about man or the world which he inhabits? It is questions such as these which this series will help the reader to answer for himself.
.New Studies in the Philosophy of Religion IN THE SAME SERIES Published D. Z. Phillips Death and Immortality Richard Swinburne The Concept of Miracle Vernon Pratt Religion and Secularisation W. W. Bartley III Morality and Religion Jonathan Barnes The Ontological Argument Thomas McPherson The Argument from Design T. R. Miles Religious Experience Ninian Smart The Concept of Worship In preparation D. J. O'Connor The Cosmological Argument Humphrey Palmer The Concept of Analogy I. T. Ramsey The Problem of Evil Kai Nielsen Scepticism David Jenkins The Authenticity of Faith : Existentialist Theology and the Problem of the Knowledge of God W. D. Hudson Wittgenstein's Irifluence on the Philosophy of Religion Michael Durrant The Logic of 'God'
The Concept of Worship NINIAN SMART Professor of Religious Studies, University of Lancaster Palgrave Macmillan
Ninian Smart 1972 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1972 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission. First published 1972 by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD London and Basingstoke Associated companies in New York Toronto Dublin Melbourne Johannesburg and Madras Library of Congress catalog card no. 72-77773 ISBN 978-1-349-00740-0 SBN 333 10273 8 ISBN 978-1-349-00738-7 (ebook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-00738-7
Contents General Editor's Preface Preface Part One: Worshipping Part Two: God's Existence References Vll IX 1 53 76
General Editor's Preface Professor Ninian Smart has attempted in this monograph to analyse a concept which, if any, is central to religious belief and experience. He begins by asking what can - within the normal use of the word 'worship' - be worshipped. This leads him to discuss such matters as the use of ritual, the relatively public nature of concepts of the Focus of worship, the indispensable necessity of intention in worship, the issues raised when the object of worship is believed to be omnipresent, the need to see God as a concept formed in the milieu of worship, and so on. After saying what it is for God to be an object of worship, Professor Smart turns his attention to what may follow from this so far as philosophical questions concerning the existence of God are concerned - e.g. to the view that in order to be a worthy object of worship God must be a necessary, not a contingent, being and the consequent problems which have arisen within the philosophy of religion concerning God's necessary existence. The author of this study has an equipment to conduct it which is exceedingly rare. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of comparative religion and is a trained analytical philosopher. The points which he makes are clear and precise and the material used to illustrate them is handled with expert ease. The product is an erudite, readable and penetrating study which will not only be valuable to the student of philosophy of religion but of interest to all readers who find religion a fascinating and important matter. W. D. HunsoN University of Exeter
Preface The aim of this monograph is to explore the concept of worship. In some degree the method is linguistic, but it is aimed also to place the activity of worship in the milieu of religious practices and beliefs. The philosophy of religion must always remember the variety of religious traditions. However, for the sake of familiarity of examples, I shall pay more attention to the Christian tradition than to others. NINIAN SMART