 Section 3  will look at theories that reject (b*), i.e., that indicative statements affirmed about God are not literal assertions.  3.1  will review metaphor theories, encompassing a discussion of analogy. Interpretations of religious discourse as a form of praise or prayer, suggested by Jean-Luc Marion and Jacques Derrida, will be considered in  3.2.  These theories propose that despite appearing to literally assert religious sentences, speakers are instead employing a different type of speech act. An alternative approach is to argue that religious utterances are avowed for practical reasons rather than their truth. Ian Ramsey  (3.3)  takes this approach, as do hermeneutic fictionalists  (3.4).