Revelation: From Metaphor to Analogy

by Richard Swinburne

The great religions often claim that their books or creeds contain truth revealed by God. How could we know that they do? In Part I of this important new book by one of the world's leading philosophers of religion, Swinburne investigates the general philosophical issue of how general truth
can be conveyed in unfamiliar genres of poetry or parable, by analogy and metaphor, and within false presuppositions about science and history. Part II considers the general question of what would show that some book or creed conveys revealed truth. Part III explores what would show that the
Christian creeds and the Bible convey revealed truth. A notable feature of the book is the sustained discussion of the criteria for which passages in the Bible should be taken literally, and which should be taken metaphorically.

Genres: Theology, Philosophy

244 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Richard G. Swinburne is an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford. Over the last 50 years Swinburne has been a very influential proponent of natural theology, that is, philosophical arguments for the existence of God. His philosophical contributions are primarily in philosophy of religion and philosophy of science. He aroused much discussion with his early work in the philosophy of religion, a trilogy of books consisting of The Coherence of Theism, The Existence of God, and Faith and Reason.