My Final Thoughts on GR, SR and the Existence of God

Using the reason within human nature, through general revelation is enough to show us that some things are clear, specifically about the nature of the Eternal. Although, there has been a rejection of general revelation, thus requiring there to be more knowledge, this found in scripture, but because scripture presupposes the existence of God, it is a necessity to learn the essentials from general revelation. I am not undermining the importance of redemptive revelation and sacred scripture; however, I am implying the importance to strive to have wisdom about the Eternal before one relies solely on scripture. With this said, because general revelation is available to all persons at all times, when studied rationally and properly, as I have done thus far, we will find there is a rightful path to follow, and that not all religions lead to the same Ultimate Truth, as John Hick states. A foundation must be established in order to find a commonality within the world’s different religions; general revelation is that foundation.

Skeptics believe that we cannot know about the Eternal because it is not clear, but now, with an understanding of general revelation, we come to see that this knowledge is clear. While knowing what is clear about the Eternal, brings meaning to life, because if nothing is clear then there can be no meaning. This meaning must be sought for; otherwise humans are living a meaningless, empty life. In Anselm’s preface to the Proslogion he states:

“I do not try, Lord, to attain Your lofty heights, because my understanding is in no way equal to it. But I do desire to understand your Truth a little, that truth that my heart believes and loves. For I do not seek to understand so that I May believe, but I believe so that I may understand. For I believe this also, that “unless I believe, I shall not understand” (6).

Understanding and seeking knowledge about the world and what is clear about the Eternal (God), puts meaning into one’s life. For what we can know about the Eternal from general revelation is that there must be something eternal. For one to deny this argument, one would have to give up reason. As reason and rationality are our gifts of being human, it would be shameful to deny this assumption. But on the contrary, this is precisely why there are distortions within different religions. My claim is that if everyone thought critically and sought to understand the nature of God through general revelation, it would be clear that there can be a commonality, a correct path to attain the knowledge of God. Religious pluralism only delays conflicts we have in the world, it does not solve them. It does not solve these disputes precisely because not all religions lead to the same Ultimate Reality. Once general revelation is understood, clarity is found, leading one to know how to live and understand special revelation. But special revelation can never be fully comprehended until one accepts and values the necessity of general revelation to know the nature of God.

The First Step: Denying Religious Pluralism and Understanding General Revelation

The possibility of adhering to only one religion today, and to consider it the only true religion, may seem unattainable, even absurd. In fact, for hundreds of years man has fought with people of other religions because each religion thinks they hold the real truth. If allowing different religions throughout the world keeps man in constant turmoil, the need for a religious commonality, though seems absurd, should actually be the goal for humanity. By using the reason within our own human knowledge there must be a way to solve these divisions and find common ground. Indeed the only way to solve these divisions is to have an understanding for a clear general revelation. Today, the difficulty of religious pluralism may lead one in an overwhelming paradox; given that there is no universal scripture leading everyone to the same higher Truth, the theory of general revelation proving God’s existence, must be accepted as the starting point for religious belief for all humans.

The central idea behind religious pluralism is to have an understanding that one’s religion is not the only religion while keeping a peaceful relationship between these groups; this is the belief that more than one religion can teach the truth. John Hick, being the most influential philosopher with the association of religious pluralism, believes that all religions hold the same basic orientation and share the same hope for salvation. For Hick, the Ultimate Reality (God) is at the center of all religions and that although these religions are different, they are also complementary and that they each are at attempts to approach this Reality.

Another way to interpret religious pluralism is to understand the term by Rosemary Reuther called ‘ecclesial ethnicity’. This is to say that a person is generally apart of their religious community due to being born into that religion; therefore, “one’s religious commitment is usually a matter of ‘religious ethnicity’ rather than of deliberate comparative judgment and choice” (1). John Hick’s pluralistic view of religion leads us to believe that, regardless of ethnicity, all religions have something in common making it possible to compare them. If this be the case, then Hick would conclude that the concept of the Ultimate Reality is the commonality.

My claim is that religious pluralism only delays conflicts we have in the world, it does not solve them. It does not solve these disputes precisely because not all religions lead to the same Ultimate Reality. In order to rationally understand what this ultimate reality is we need to have a full understanding of what general revelation is. This is our starting point. This starting point of knowledge shows the possibility that humans can know some things about what is eternal. The term transcendent is particularly important in theology as it is generally used in reference to God, as God is beyond the material world. To understand the concept of God you must first understand that this means there must be something eternal, which I will later argue. So in referring to God, the transcendent, I mean the Eternal.

Comprehension of the correct view of the Eternal is the key aspect to having knowledge of general revelation. In Theism, for example, they believe in one God, the eternal who created all things. In here, we will come to learn that there must be something eternal, without beginning, and without end, that is the creator. Although, many religions do not believe in a single Eternal, if even an Eternal at all. How do we come to an understanding of the Eternal and if it even exists? With the proper use of reason we can reveal the existence and nature of the Eternal and that this knowledge can be known by all persons at all times. It is also important to be consistent when determining the recognition of the Eternal. It would be inconsistent to say that the material world is eternal because this concludes that the material world is self-maintaining, and thus produced its own parts, and therefore itself. This view, like many others, is inconsistent with the use of reason, henceforth, sets up the need for a clear general revelation of what we can know about the Eternal. By understanding general revelation we are able to find that there is a common knowledge about the Eternal that is accessible to all humans. It may be argued that many people don’t have the access to knowing the Eternal, and that without this access they are then not required to seek knowledge about the Eternal. This is a false analysis and demonstrates that general revelation has been rejected.

(1) Hick, John. Problems of Religious Pluralism. London: Macmillan, 1985.