God and revelation 4


The many do not really exist, except to be functions of the one' (The One The Three and the Many pages 17-18).0               
When looking at particulars and universals, this is a very helpful contribution from Gunton. As he goes on and says later on. The relations between the one and the many in various variations has touched the thought of every age. And although Gunton is speaking about 'Western philosophy' it ought not to be forgotten that it was through scholars such as Averroes that this rich learning passed to scholars such as Thomas Aquinas.

The One and the Many are not categories that we can escape from very easily. The many being the finite side of the divide and the One being the infinite side of the divide. Hence we can take this a stage further and speak of faith and reason. We can speak in terms of using our natural rational faculties in trying to understand the deep mystery's of the universe and of God; but we can also speak of the infinite God condescending to our level; giving our minds enlightenment that otherwise would not take place.  Religionists and secularists cannot ignore these substrates of epistemology. The One and the Many or in terms of faith and reason, we cannot escape speaking in this way. Hence it becomes of primary importance to seek out the  epistemological basis of Islam and of Christianity. If we can start with rational tools  that both Muslims and Christians agree with, then I believe that the truth will unfold for all of us without compromising the beliefs that are dear to us and influence the  way we live.  We can escape the trap of fundamentalism on the one hand and we can escape the trap of liberalism on the other hand.

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