perties will hereafter be referred to as existential properties. Please note, however, that acknowledgment of such existential properties does not negate the reality or real importance of those properties, which can be contained and conveyed by the object's symbol. All real objects contain both communicable and existential properties and to disparage consideration of either category is to limit the degree to which we can understand the nature of such objects. Literal and Analogical Symbolism Statements will always be either a form of literal symbolism or analogical symbolism. The former occurs when the statement is referring directly to a real object encountered in nature. The latter occurs primarily in religious statements in which the object of reference is a thing outside of nature (supernatural). In such statements we understand that the symbol is drawing a helpful analogy between a natural object and a supernatural object which is neither wholly like, nor wholly unlike the natural object. We understand that, while the two objects are not identical, there are genuine points of similarity. For example, when we say that God is a Father, we do not mean that he is biologically responsible for our existence or that he is exactly like our own fathers. What we mean is that he is analogous to our fathers in that he is responsible for our existence and that he loves and provides for us in a fashion that is similar to the majority of human fathers. A Priori vs. Reasonable Statements Any given statement may be either a priori or reasonable. A prior statement is those statements whose truth-value is not dependent on the validity of a logical deduction from other statements. We do not reason to a priori statements. We reason from them. There are no premises which give rise to them. Rather, they are the premises upon which all other deductions are ultimately dependent. Since such statements are not the products of deductive reasoning, their truth...
