Most religions claim a "Higher Authority" in order to set it off from just being the ideas of a mortal person. The key to which "Higher Authority" to trust in lies with an intellectually honest appraisal of the said "HA's" ability to demonstrate that reality.
Christians, including Isaac Newton, believe that by examining the prophetic reliability of the Biblical text, as well as the circumstantial evidence of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; we can trust in the Biblical God's veracity. Couple that with personal experiences of supernatural transformation, and you have a group of people coming up with a Constitutional Republic.
You seem to be saying much the same thing you said before. The "appraiser" of the Higher Authority is apparently armed with a pre-existing set of principles by which to judge the validity and worthiness of the Higher Authority. ("I will follow X, because X meets my criteria for a Higher Authority.") Doesn't this make the Higher Authority the rough equivalent of an elected official?
"Christians, including Isaac Newton, believe that by examining the prophetic reliability of the Biblical text, as well as the circumstantial evidence of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; we can trust in the Biblical God's veracity. Couple that with personal experiences of supernatural transformation, and you have a group of people coming up with a Constitutional Republic."
What on earth does formation of a constitutional republic have to do with "prophetic reliability" and "personal experiences of supernatural transformation"?