Special Revelation and General Revelation
Before you start branding me a heretic, note that this is not a new concept I'm proposing. This is one of the Church's historical doctrines, and the Bible itself speaks frequently of it. When we speak about the Old and New Testament manuscripts, these are what's often referred to as God's "Special Revelation." However, the second "book" I'm speaking of is what many theologians refer to as God's "General Revelation," or as many apologist refer to it, the Book of Nature. "God reveals himself to everyone, everywhere through general revelation. General revelation includes creation, common grace and conscience.... Through creation - the heavens and earth, flower and fly, galaxy and quark - God has made himself and his power, love and glory known. 1 " Many scriptures attest to the grandeur and order of nature along with the revelation of God Himself that can be drawn from it's careful study. Psalms 19:1 Psalms 104 Romans 1:19 Acts 14:17 What this means is that even though we use Scripture to gain a specific understanding of God's plan and what He wants from us, by looking at creation we can in many ways gain a deeper, more appreciative understanding of God and His nature.
Why is this important?
There are several reasons that knowing and understand General Revelation (Nature) is important and helpful to knowing Special Revelation (Bible). For one, it provides the background context for the specific Word to rest in. It's easy to believe in a God of beauty, order and mystery when these concepts are firmly made aware to us in a world that is also beautiful, orderly and in many ways still being discovered. We understand concepts of what's right versus what's wrong (and therefore sin and righteousness) because of the innate moral compass within us. Romans 2:15 By giving us a world that reflects His character, God has provided everyone with a glimpse of Himself so that everyone in the whole world can gain an understanding of Him. Romans 1:20 As the 4th century theologian Saint Augstine states, "It is the divine page that you must listen to; it is the book of the universe that you must observe. The pages of Scripture can only be read by those who know how to read and write, while everyone, even the illiterate, can read the book of the universe. 2 "
Why can the Book of Nature be trusted?
By giving us another revelation outside of the Bible, we are provided with a second revelation that can then be used to validate and support what is claimed within the Bible. The reason we can be confident that the Book of Nature can be trusted is a matter of authorship. Both books come to us from God and come out of His character. Therefore, it's easy to see that both nature and scripture properly understood (more on this shortly) will always match up with one another. General revelation is itself a gift of God and thus is a good and perfect thing. James 1:17 The physical world is not something intrinsically evil or to be avoided. This is evidenced by the fact Jesus Christ chose to adopt of form of physical flesh in order to be part of creation and dwell among us. John 1:14 It is for this reason that Christianity is a religion that accepts and embraces the physical world and seeks to understand it. It's often said that the sciences were birthed in a Christian worldview and it's easy to see why. Unfortunately, many people see these two as being opposites in a debate for the true nature of things. So, the question then remains of what do you do when these two books seem to contradict eachother?
Hermeneutics of Scripture and Nature
The most important thing to understand when looking at both Nature and Scripture is that the basic rules of Hermeneutics (how to translate or interpret) apply to both. We must be very careful to understand what the true meaning of the message is, rather than interpreting data and the Bible to say what we want them to say. Although the Word of God is sufficient for us to understand the gospel and God's plan for us, it is not a comprehensive book. Many of the specific details of science, philosophy or day to day events are not expressly stated in it's pages. Likewise, God's creation can inform us of his order and nature, yet does not provide specific notions of salvation or purpose. It is therefore important to respect each book for the purpose it was given. As stated, both books are gifts of God and therefore will never contradict each other. The problems of "Science vs. God" that arise today are often due to the fact that people read into these books something that the books themselves are not precisely stating.
When push comes to shove, ultimately, I have to side with Scripture as being more authoritative, being the specified revelation and therefore more easily understood and properly concise. However, there are still many things in the Bible that are not crystal clear and can be interpreted in different ways. When this is the case, I have no problem reading from science and nature in order to understand what scripture may be vague or even silent on. God is truth and therefore cannot lie. He is the author of both the Word and the World. If both are read with the authorship of God in mind, we will never see them at odds with one another and we can trust that our understanding of Him will therefore be even more robust and grounded in truth. For this reason we can be confident that any true understanding of the world will lead us to God and His word. When Genesis 1:1 tells us that God created the world, we therefore have no reason to be afraid of what future discoveries science may bring us. As Robert Jastrow stated "For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountain of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries. 3 "
1 - Doctrine, Driscoll & Breshears, pg. 38
2 - c.354-430: Saint Agustine
3 - Robert Jastrow, 9/7/1925-2/8/2008 Astronomer and Physicist.
Today's Recommendations
More Than A Theory, Hughe Ross
Again I'm recommending a book that I have not yet read. Shouldn't make a habit out of that, but again it's one whose author I really appreciate and hear great reviews about. This book expounds a scientific, testable theory of the world and it's creation that lines up with what can be understood from Scripture.
Recommended Listening
Doctrine of Revelation (Part 2), Defenders Podcast, William Lane Craig
It's William Lane Craig on the Doctrine of Revelation.... Need I say more?
Recommended Research
Two Books : Historic Harmony of Bible and Nature
A list of quotes from theologians through out history about the two books of God.
Today's Challenge
Go outside, enjoy nature. Look at the stars, take a hike or just spend time with friends. See what you can read in God's book of nature and appreciate what He's given. Just take some time this week to lose yourself in the grandeur of creation. See what aspects of God's character you can understand from general revelation and compare them to your favorite Bible verses.
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