Dr Paul Allen

The Westminster Confession of Faith is one of the most important Protestant confessions, for it gave substantial definition to Reformed theology in the seventeenth century. It is often compared to similar confessions of faith, such as the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Scots Confession, and the Thirty-Nine Articles. There was an internal debate as to where to begin a study of Reformed theology: with the doctrine of God or with the doctrine of Scripture. It is significant that the Westminster divines began their confessional statement with sacred Scripture. They were concerned about two principles.  One, which is at the very heart of Christianity, is the concept of divine revelation. Christianity is a revealed religion, constructed not on the basis of speculative philosophy but in response to what God Himself has made manifest. Second is the principle of sola Scriptura, developed by the Reformers.  It acknowledges that the final authority in all matters of theology and

How does God reveal? Two-fold distinction: - Special revelation in Christ and scripture (2 Tim 3:16 and Heb 1:1) - General revelation through external world and internally through being the image of God (Ps 19:1-4, Ps 94:8-10, Rom 1:19-21) Calvin on Special revelation: “Despite the brightness which is borne in the eyes of all people, it is needful that another and better help be added to direct us aright to the very creator of the universe . It was not in vain that God added the light of the Word by which to become know unto salvation. In order that truth might abide forever in the world with a continuing succession of teaching and survive through all ages…it was God’s pleasure to have recorded the oracles on public tablets.” (Inst. I, VI, 1,2) Hodge on special revelation: “It is not denied that God reveals by God’s works and has done so from the beginning of the world. But all the truths thus revealed are clearly made known in God written word. The Bible contains all of th

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (vv. 1–2).- Hebrews 1:1–4 During the Protestant Reformation , people were looking for a word from God, just as they search for a word from Him today. The Reformers, including individuals such as Martin Luther and John Calvin , proclaimed that there is but one place to find special revelation —the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments . They asserted the doctrine of sola Scriptura : the only source of special revelation for the church today is the Bible; thus, the Bible is the only infallible authority for the church. Since God has provided special revelation to people in other forms such as dreams (Gen. 40), how do we know special revelation today is found nowhere else besides Scripture?   Hebrews 1:1-4 helps answer that question. God did speak to His peop

GENESIS 40:8b "Joseph said to [ Pharaoh 's officers], 'Do not interpretations belong to God ) Please tell [your dreams] to me.'" In the Westminster Confession of Faith , which was written by men who embraced the biblical theology of the Protestant Reformation , we read that although natural, or general, revelation manifests the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, it is insufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation. However, God did not leave us without revelation that teaches us how we can be saved. Thus, "it pleased the Lord, at sundry times, and in diverse manners, to reveal himself, and to declare" His will of salvation to His people (1.1). Here, the confession references what we call "special revelation." Special revelation is that revelation from God that tells us the way of salvation and what it means to live in a manner that pleases Him. Typically, we identify Scripture as special reve

Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God , and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."  Reformation -era debates regarding divine revelation focused on the authority of Scripture and its relation to the authority of the church and the authority of church tradition. Though the Reformers and the Roman Catholic Church would finally disagree with respect to the final authority and sufficiency of Scripture , there is one aspect of divine revelation on which they did find a large measure of agreement.  Both Roman Catholic theology and Reformation theology confess that God reveals Himself in His creation.  We speak of God's revelation of Himself in the created order as natural revelation . This is in contrast with special revelation , wherein God speaks directly to His people via a prophet or an Apostle. God's revelation of Himself in natural revelation is less direct and is addressed not to a specific person or community but rather to humanity in general. 

English: The Apostle Paul (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) What General Revelation Is In order to understand the doctrine of general revelation, it is necessary first to have a clear grasp of what we mean by the term "revelation." The word "revelation" simply refers to "revealing" or "unveiling." It can refer to God 's act of communication to man or to the content of that communication. Article 2 of the Belgic Confession states the distinction in the following words: We know Him [God] by two means: First, by the creation, preservation, and government of the universe; which is before our eyes as a most elegant book, wherein all creatures, great and small, are as so many characters leading us to see clearly the invisible things of God, even his everlasting power and divinity, as the apostle Paul says in Romans 1:20 .  All which things are sufficient to convince men and leave them without excuse. Second, He makes Himself more clearly and full

Rembrandt's Timothy and his grandmother, 1648. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The Bible presents two types of revelation. 1)  General revelation  refers to the knowledge of God that is revealed in creation. This is spoken of in Scripture in places like Psalm  19:1-2: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. Scripture teaches that, because of what is evident in creation, every human being has received enough knowledge about God to be justly condemned before him for their sinful rebellion against his rule. As Paul says in Romans 1:18-20, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceive

English: The Bible (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) What is the distinction between God 's infallible revelation and our fallible  interpretation  of that revelation. Many Christians affirm that God's special revelation is infallible, but not God's general revelation . We must affirm that both kinds of revelation are infallible. But why are some Christians  reluctant to affirm the same.  Many believers are hesitant to affirm the infallibility of general revelation because they rightly believe that not every scientific theory is compatible with the Word of God.  Scientific theories are not the same thing as general revelation. General revelation (like special revelation) refers to an infallible action of God (or to the content revealed through that action). Scientific theories are the fallible interpretations of what Christians know to be God's created works. Since general and special revelation both proceed from God, they cannot ultimately conflict.

Painting image of Joan of Arc (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Joan of Arc, slandered by Shakespeare, who presented her as a whore and a witch in Henry VI, Part 1. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) I don’t know for sure whether God has or not. Certainly there are abundant cases in church history where people claim to have heard voices that were the audible voice of God . Joan of Arc would be Exhibit A. That testimony has come more than once from people whom we generally recognize as being reputable saints, and so I hesitate to cast aspersions on their testimony. On the other hand, we find that even in sacred Scripture , during a time when God was giving direct communication of divine revelation , the occurrences of an audible voice of God were extremely rare. I can only think of three times in the New Testament that there’s a record of God speaking audibly, and all three of them were occasions where the Father made a public declaration about his Son, who incidentally is no longer with us on t

Image via Wikipedia The noted theologian Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) is our fourth example of faith from church history. Even as a child he exhibited a tremendous intellectual talent that would later be applied to the matters of theology. At the age of nineteen he joined the Dominicans , much to his parents chagrin. They kidnapped Aquinas and forced him to stay at home, but when his mother saw him continue to observe the monastic order even there, she helped him to escape. Aquinas’ peers called him a “dumb ox” because of his physical appearance and soft-spoken ways. Over time, however, they began to recognize his fine mind and preaching gifts. They came to believe Aquinas’ teacher who said that “this dumb ox will change the world.” Image via Wikipedia One of the most important contributions that Aquinas made to the church was his teaching on God ’s revelation. During the thirteenth century, Islam was spreading rapidly and Islamic philosophers became famous both inside and outside o