The logic of authoritative revelations

Despite the tendency to think that the justification of revealed truths depends on a verifiable contact with divine reality, this essay argues that the authoritative status of revelations is due to their role in defining a distinctively religious order of judgment. Rather than being immediately appa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal for philosophy of religion
Main Author: Whittaker, John H. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer Science + Business Media B. V 2010
In: International journal for philosophy of religion
Further subjects:B Conceptual truths
B Authority
B Revelation
B Kierkegaard
B Divine
B Matters of principle
B Mistaken and revised revelations
B Wittgenstein
B Human communication
Online Access: Volltext (JSTOR)
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Parallel Edition:Electronic
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Summary:Despite the tendency to think that the justification of revealed truths depends on a verifiable contact with divine reality, this essay argues that the authoritative status of revelations is due to their role in defining a distinctively religious order of judgment. Rather than being immediately apparent to everyone, this kind of authority is local to particular forms of judgment that depend on the principles that frame these ways of thinking. Revelatory claims are logically exempted from the normal demands of justification because of this role they have as definitive judgments, and they share their immunity from ordinary forms of justification with other axiomatic principles. Yet their authority can in certain cases be challenged, and it is a secondary purpose of this essay to bring the various ways of challenging their truth to light.
ISSN:1572-8684
Contains:Enthalten in: International journal for philosophy of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s11153-010-9260-7