Revelation

In line with certainty, another interesting word is revelation. Many of those who feel certain about their religious beliefs depend solely on a writtten or verbalized word from someone who has had a revelation. I like Paine's comment on this subject, as found in his Age of Reason pamphlet. He says:

As it is necessary to affix right ideas to words, I will, before I
proceed further into the subject, offer some observations on the word
'revelation.' Revelation when applied to religion, means something
communicated immediately from God to man.

No one will deny or dispute the power of the Almighty to make such a
communication if he pleases. But admitting, for the sake of a case,
that something has been revealed to a certain person, and not
revealed to any other person, it is revelation to that person only.
When he tells it to a second person, a second to a third, a third to
a fourth, and so on, it ceases to be a revelation to all those
persons. It is revelation to the first person only, and hearsay to
every other, and, consequently, they are not obliged to believe it.

It is a contradiction in terms and ideas to call anything a
revelation that comes to us at second hand, either verbally or in
writing. Revelation is necessarily limited to the first
communication. After this, it is only an account of something which
that person says was a revelation made to him; and though he may find
himself obliged to believe it, it cannot be incumbent on me to
believe it in the same manner, for it was not a revelation made to
me, and I have only his word for it that it was made to him.

Powerful logic when it comes to acceptance of the written word of man while ignoring nature, science and most of all, reason!