Llull proposed settling interreligious disputes through rational proof rather than scriptural authority

Evidence

“Think, gentlemen,” the wise man said to his companions, “of the harm that comes from men not belonging to a single sect, and of the good that would come from everyone being beneath one faith and one religion. This being the case, do you not think it would be a good idea for us to sit beneath these trees, beside this lovely fountain, and discuss what we believe, according to what the flowers and conditions of these trees signify? And since we cannot agree by means of authorities, let us try to come to some agreement by means of demonstrative and necessary reasons [raons necessàries].” — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1311

Categorization

Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims

• XREF: This presages modern interfaith dialogue models where appeals to authority are set aside in favor of shared rational ground — connects to Rawlsian public reason and Habermas’s communicative rationality.
• SEED: Angle: thirteenth-century Llull as the first ‘public reason’ theorist — a medieval anticipation of Rawls before the secular/reason divide hardened.

Related

• Llull imagined religious unity achievable through rational proof rather than authority (similarity 0.90)
• Religious conflict drove Llull to seek a rationally discoverable universal truth (similarity 0.82)