Llull asserted the articles of faith cannot be proven but only approached through faith

Evidence

In the age of belief, God reveals his laws to mankind and shows the truth of his law through miracles, such as those performed by Moses or by Christ and the apostles. In the age of understanding, there is no longer any need for miracles, as man through “necessary reasons” can come to comprehend the truth through his own power. This scheme of history, which Llull develops over the course of his various works, sets him apart from the Dominicans and Franciscans whose works he criticized. The Jews and Muslims were stuck in the age of belief, for Llull, whose strategy was to bring them to Christian truth through understanding; the Dominicans’ denial that rationes necessariae could prove the truth of Christianity showed that the Dominicans, too, Llull implies (though he does not say so in so many words) were stuck in the age of belief and could have little luck in converting infi- dels; instead of guiding them from mere belief to true understanding, Dominicans like Martí were asking infidels to exchange one set of beliefs for another. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1305 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

The sage, whose religious affiliation is deliberately not mentioned, speaks for all three: just as there is only one God, there can only be one true religion. If we could discover it rationally, using “necessary reasons,” war and strife could be eliminated and mankind would be united under the banner of true religion. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1312 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Llull’s apparent evenhandedness masks a strategic defense of Christianity; Llull could not convince even in a debate he staged to vindicate his rationality.; Aquinas held faith provable only as non-contradictory, not demonstrable (+10 more)

Broader Connections

• Reason can defend but not prove the Christian faith. #corroborates (0.95)
• Llull believed reason, not miracles, would eventually prove Christian truth #contradicts (0.92) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1305
• Religious conflict drove Llull to seek a rationally discoverable universal truth #complicates (0.75) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1312