The Importance and Necessity of Special Revelation - Part Two

Part Two Continued

In addition to numerous philosophical problems relating to interpretation, it should be clear that matter has nothing to say within the framework of non-believing philosophy. What could it say? Within this framework, matter is ultimately an accident and therefore meaningless. In addition to this problem, all men have a priori commitments, which are at work and from which truth or falsity is deduced. The question is not does man have these commitments, but what are they? Do these commitments acknowledge God in the reasoning process? If one starts with non-Christian premises it is impossible to arrive at biblical truth. For a conclusion to be valid it cannot contain information not stated in the premises. The non-believer cannot have accurate knowledge because his presuppositions, starting premises, or axioms, which govern interpretations, are false.

When non-believers seem to arrive at conclusions consistent with biblical revelation, it is by accident, inconsistency, or theft. Many times the non-Christian worldview steals the ethical conclusions from the Christian worldview. This borrowing or more properly stealing from the Christian worldview is why non-believers at times seemingly speak the truth without having the necessary presuppositions to arrive at the truth. The non-believer, because of the bankruptcy of his position, is forced to live on stolen concepts. Thankfully, many non-believers rejected Nazism's "final solution." In other words, at times, by God's common grace, the non-believer sees the reductio ad absurdum and horror of where his own philosophical commitments lead.

Since God is the creator, He gives the true interpretation of all things. All true interpretation must come to a grip with God's revelation, in which is found the meaning and interpretation of matter. When dealing with the difference between right and wrong one deals with specifics. Natural or general revelation is only good as far as it is intended. It is right and true as far as it goes. It is intended to show man that God exists and testifies of His eternal power and Godhead (Romans 1:18-20). General revelation testifies but its testimony is not intended to address specifics in the area of science, logic and ethics. It is to special revelation in the Bible that we must turn.

Any theory of knowledge that attempts to build a philosophy without God's special revelation (the scriptures) is doomed to failure. Reformed Christians believe that general revelation is sufficient to condemn man. Special revelation, i.e. biblical revelation, adds to man's culpability. God's purpose in general revelation is not to give man specific knowledge in many areas. To illustrate, matter does not give specifics concerning the difference between first degree murder and manslaughter nor adultery and fornication, or whether fornication (pornea) is a category under which adultery is defined. This is found in special revelation, e.g., in the case laws of the Old Testament.

As has been seen, Christians have a solid basis for knowledge. All men have God's moral law stamped upon their conscience. The diligent reader should consult Ronald H. Nash's The Word of God and the Mind of Man4 and his The light of the mind: St. Augustine's theory of knowledge.5 These two books explain and develop for the modern reader elements of Augustine's philosophy in the area of epistemology that is found in his De Magistro.6 These works deal with the mechanics of how the Christian receives knowledge into his mind. Man has a moral awareness of right from wrong, not learned from matter or uncertain sensations but from our mind being illuminated directly by God. We read: "That was the true Light which gives light to every man who comes into the world" John 1:9; and, "For in Him we live and move and have our being?" Acts 17:28a. God directly illuminates man's mind so he knows the difference between right and wrong. God's law is stamped upon our consciences. This knowledge gives man his moral awareness and is the result of man being created in the image of God.

In summary, to press non-belief further, it can be said the apostate worldview man has erected is full of contradictions. Oftentimes, if consistent with this materialist worldview, he cannot know anything, since consistent empiricism leads to agnostic skepticism which he then uses as a smoke screen or cover to justify ignorance and hostility to God's law. If not consistent with the philosophical conclusions of a materialistic worldview derived from sensations, he then claims as an atheist to have certain knowledge of right and wrong using his reason, alone which is in defiance to biblical knowledge. Philosophically unbelief vacillates between these two positions of knowing and not knowing. These two opposite poles of allegiance constitute a never-ending dilemma, thus revealing the futility of non-Christian epistemology. Does any of this affect the non-believer? No, the philosophy of non-belief presses on irrationally, certain of its uncertainty, oblivious of the self-refuting contradiction being advanced. To illustrate, for example, some non-believers claim absolutely that there are no absolutes. The philosophy of non-belief contradicts itself when it claims not to know (uncertainty, agnosticism) and to know (certainty, atheism). Both atheism and agnosticism are two sides of the same coin. Fallen man's contradictory uncertainty and certainty are manifestations of his epistemological and ethical rebellion against God.

Also no less devastating, many examples could be given of non-believers asserting absolutes and omniscient statements within the framework of a system that does not allow absolutes. When finite man without biblical authority asserts absolute omniscient statements, it is indefensible. Also, it should be noted the absurdity of atheism's claim when asserting "there is no God." The absurdity is this: it is impossible to prove a universal negative. Furthermore, when the atheist that "there is no God" the second question of the Socratic technique "how do you know that?" reveals the failure of this unverifiable claim. So much for the non-believer's demand for verification. The agnostic claims for himself ignorance concerning the existence of God. It should be noted that this claim of ignorance is not an argument against the existence of God. Rather, it is a sign of epistemological bankruptcy and what could be described as a deficiency of knowledge, or a self-confessed mental condition.

In essence, fallen man has erected a closed system. His system is closed to God. He does not allow God to speak. Since man rejects the Creator, he has nothing within his closed system that he allows to speak with ethical certainty. He is left to himself. As long as fallen man excludes the biblical God from his system, he cannot know anything with certainty. Non-believing thought has no basis for absolutes. If there are no absolutes there can be no meaning attached to anything since everything could be said to be true and not true at the same time, which is unacceptable nonsense. Thus, fallen man is left with only endless matter, unintelligible sensations, or his atheistic apostate reason. This is the bankruptcy of atheistic materialistic humanism.

It is only the Christian that has a rational basis for knowledge. This is because we allow God to speak to us in creation and Scripture. Our system is not closed like the non-Christian. The Bible tells us about general revelation and man's requirement to worship the creator. The Bible tells us the specifics on how to worship the creator. It is only because we have special revelation that an intelligent conversation on these matters can be carried on. General and special revelations are biblical concepts. It would be impossible to have a discussion about these concepts without God's special revelation, the Bible, since biblical revelation is where the concepts appear. Clearly, without special revelation there would be no discussion of ethics, science, and logic with any certainty.

In conclusion, without the Bible, i.e., special revelation we would not be able to talk about the concept of general revelation. This is because, it is in Scripture we learn of general or creation revelation. The objector to my previous article recognized the truth of Christian revelation, but gave away unnecessary ground to non-belief by not fully grasping the effects of the fall and therefore missed the thrust of the argument, which was directed against non-believing philosophy. Our knowledge of general revelation is dependent upon special revelation. Therefore, special revelation is indispensable. The importance and necessity of special revelation is absolutely essential. Without special revelation we would be left in a swamp of autonomous empirical subjectivity which is where the non-believer finds himself. The non-believer is left in the dark as long as they suppress the truth of God that has been revealed to them. God has spoken. This is certain: God speaks to us in the Scriptures (special revelation) with human language utilizing logically structured sentences in which He tells us the difference between right and wrong. Consequently, the strength of the Christian worldview is clearly seen by the impossibility of the contrary.

End notes part two

4. Ronald H. Nash, The Word of God and the Mind of Man, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: The Zondervan Corporation, 1982).

5. Ronald H. Nash, The Light of the Mind: St. Augustine's Theory of Knowledge, (Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 1969).

6. Augustine, De Magistro in Augustine: Earlier Writings, Editor, John H. S. Burleigh, (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, MCMLIII).

Mr. Kettler is an ordained Presbyterian Elder and the owner of Undergroundnotes.com where his theological, philosophical and political articles can be read. He has worked in corporate America for over 25 years and is now realizing his dreams as a successful home business entrepreneur. Mr. Kettler can be reached through his business site at: http://www.internationalhomebusinessonline.com .

Permission is hereby granted to reprint this article as long as my web site is retained in the biographical information.

---

The Power of The Holy Spirit

Hello, My name is Mellody Davis and here is my... Read More

Geralds Story - A Tribute to Valor

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that... Read More

Payday Someday

Let us face reality squarely in the face by acknowledging... Read More

Penthouse or Basement? The Spiritual Realm is Topsy-Turvy

Am I dreaming? The sign outside the skyscraper reads: "Spiritual... Read More

The Storms of Life

Life is full of ups and downs, trials, and tribulations.... Read More

10 Interesting Facts about Archangel Uriel

1. The name Uriel means "Light of God" or "Flame... Read More

What Are You Leaving On The Table Of Life?

Our Creator is an infinitely loving and generous provider -... Read More

First Things First-- Balancing Your Priorities!

I'm not sure Paul had the Japanese culture in mind... Read More

Slow Leak

In God's world, everything can be used as an anology... Read More

Spiritual Growth: Measures for How Youre Doing

In my yard are quarter-circles of grass growing taller than... Read More

Bringing Heaven to Earth: Becoming a Spiritual Scientist

Would you like an exciting and wonder-full resolution for the... Read More

Karma: Is It Good or is It Bad? You Decide!

We hear this word so often and have one thing... Read More

Jesus The Great Comforter! When Life is not fair!

We see it all the time in people's lives some... Read More

Ten Suggestions For The Overscheduled Child

Ever wonder what happened to the family dinner hour? Or... Read More

Who Am I?

Who Are you?Have you ever asked yourself the question 'Who... Read More

Why Dont I Get What I Want?

The smart 'spiritual' answer is 'you always get what you... Read More

Accepting Non-Acceptance

It's not always easy to stand in the midst of... Read More

Unconditional Love Really Means Unconditional Radiance

The fastest way to raise your frequency is to do... Read More

So None of Us Arrived With an Owners Manual! A Fresh Perspective on the Drive to Lead (part 1)

So, none of us arrived with an Owner's Manual, neatly... Read More

GOD Loves Us All

God, what a wonderful spirit. He, is our ever present... Read More

Secrets of Effortless Action

Action dakini gets everything done. When wanting and grasping hold... Read More

Relieve Me of Myself

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself... Read More

Spiritual Inspiration Music and The New Age

Spiritual Inspiration Music is about Love, Growth, Spiritual and Personal... Read More

Seven Soul-Nurturing Suggestions for Busy Women

Looking for some ways to feed your soul in the... Read More

Change Your Beliefs -- Change Your Health

To many people in the Western world Metaphysical Healing is... Read More

Starved Spirits, Sorrowful Souls

Give us today our daily bread. Matthew 6:11 (NIV) We... Read More

Soul Provider

I had the intention of writing about Soul Mates but... Read More

No Star-Studded Career

What is success? It probably means different things to different... Read More

It Seems We Have All Taken a POW

Just for a moment think of what is stopping you... Read More

Where Do You Cast?

"Cast all your anxiety on Him for He cares for... Read More

Immaterial Gain

Among some of us who deem ourselves spiritual, the use... Read More

Neither White-washed Nor Unmarked

When I was 10 years old my father decided to... Read More

Fishing Around For Wealth

In Feng Shui, water symbolizes wealth. The word "fish" in... Read More