Axiomatic Thinking-Applied to Religion

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to show that axiomatic thinking can also be applied to religion provided a part of the language used in religion (here called: Religious Discourse) consists of propositions or norms. Although David Hilbert was not concerned with religion when he gave his famous talk “Axiomatisches Denken” in 1917, his published essay (in 1918) treats this topic in such a broad sense that such an application seems appropriate. This application is done in the following way: The first part discusses the possibility of applying axiomatic thinking to religion by considering the necessary preconditions to be satisfied for a successful application. The second part discusses the specific logical language that will be used in the application. The third part offers two concrete examples of such an application: a short and preliminary axiomatic theory of omniscience and omnipotence.