Realistic Representation of Religious Propositions from the Viewpoint of Allamah Tabatabaei and Vincent Brummer

In Allameh Tabatabai's epistemology, human knowledge is based on beliefs that are certain, fixed, and compatible with reality. Since he considers the basis of human knowledge to be axioms, he is considered to be a maximal proponent of foundationalism and bases his theology on it. In his theology, God and His attributes are objective and real, and the human mind, by using the techniques of reasoning, can realize the truth of the divine realm to its fullest extent with certainty. Without resorting to figurative language, human language also has the ability to speak of the truth of God by using the literal meaning of words (denotation). In contrast, Brummer is considered a minimalist foundationalist and considers any proposition to be questionable. In his view, human knowledge of God is limited to His manifestations, and the human perceptual system is not able to discover the truth of the divine realm. To speak of God, the language of religion is more a figurative and prescriptive language than a real and narrative one, which does not reflect the truth but seeks meaning to life and expresses the devoutly religious lifestyles and the appropriate behavior of believers in relation to God. Therefore, Allameh Tabatabai's theology is based on certainty while Brummer's is intermingled with relativity.