I. Revelation
The very first step in the process of God’s message coming to us is, simply, God communicating with humanity in time and space. Everyone has to make an initial decision about whether or not God exists, for revelation could only occur if God actually exists. This is the “continental divide” between Theists and materialists/atheists. The French Enlightenment assumed “nature only,” clearly denying the reality of a “supernatural realm” in which God could exist and from which He could reveal anything. Thus, we have one of the basic reasons for the strong reaction against the Bible by 18th-19th century intellectuals and those down to our time that have followed their reasoning. Upon the Enlightenment’s materialistic/naturalistic assumptions about reality, the Bible had to be a merely human product because revelation and miracles (i.e., divine intervention of any kind) were “impossible.” However, to make this mindset work, critics had to suggest an ancient world much different than what archaeology and history have shown it to be – they assumed that no one could write in 1400 B.C., early cities and people (Genesis 10:8-14) were fiction, and the Bible writers were unknown editors producing a false and flattering picture for later Judean kings, etc. We will deal with these issues later. On the other hand, if one allows for the possibility of the existence of the God described in the Bible (and there are good reasons for doing so), then Divine revelation and intervention are very possible, even “reasonable.” It is here that our “plausibility structure” (what we are willing to believe or consider as “real”) is crucial. Atheists and Theists both work logically from their different assumptions – if there is no God, then revelation is impossible. But if God does exist, then revelation is very possible, if not probable. Early in my Christian life, I read several of Francis Schaeffer’s books - The God who is there and He is there and He is not silent – and he dealt with these issues.[1] I am now re-reading these books with great profit and am reminded that a God who exists, but does not communicate, would be of very little good or interest to us. Genuine and true knowledge about God would best originate from God Himself (revelation), otherwise our own philosophizing about the “Unknown God” would be the best we could do and that would probably not lead us to the God who is there (1Corinthians 1:21). Let’s distinguish two important terms. Revelation is what God tells us about Himself and His will, while theology is what humans conclude and speculate about God on the basis of revealed information, observing nature, cultural influences, and personal thought patterns.
The Biblical Viewpoint – Hebrews 1:1-2 summarizes God’s revelation - God expressed Himself in providence, miraculous events, various scattered communications to numerous selected people, prophetic words/messages, poetry and songs, and finished it off through Jesus and His Apostles and Prophets (cf. Galatians 1:6-9; Jude 3). The assertion of the writers is plain – their message is not their own, it is the message of God being relayed through them (Matthew 10:19,20; 1Thessalonians 2:13). The message of the Bible is that “God Has Spoken” and we are not left to philosophize and theologize and create our own conception of God’s nature and will for us. Rather, He has communicated and caused a permanent record to be made, so that all might know Him and His will. As Francis Schaeffer said, “He is there and He is not silent.” [1] Francis A. Schaeffer, The God Who Is There (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1968) and He is There and He is Not Silent (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1972).
A Ministry of Severn Christian Church (Severn, Maryland) Unless otherwise noted, all material produced by Charles E. McCoy All Scripture citations/quotations from the New American Standard Bible To send a question to Chuck: chuck@severnchristian.org
|
