I found this article on Christianity Today through Exploring Our Matrix.
The main thrust of Moreland’s session with the Evangelical Theological Society seems to be concerning the proper understanding of sola scriptura and the interplay between special revelation (i.e. miracles, prophecy, the bible) and general revelation (i.e. physical universe, human conscience, providence)
I found this quotation compelling: “Suppose an archaeologist discovered a portion of the ancient city of Jerusalem that was specifically described in the Old Testament, Moreland said:
‘Could the archaeologist have discovered the site without the use of the Old Testament? Once discovered, could the archaeologist learn things about the site that went beyond what was in the Old Testament? Clearly the answer is yes to both questions. Why? Because the site actually exists in the real world. It does not exist in the Bible. It is only described in the Bible and the biblical description in partial.’”Also, “because the human soul/spirit and demons/angels are real, it is possible, and, in fact, actual that extra-biblical knowledge can be gained about these spiritual entities. … Demons do not exist in the Bible. They exist in reality.”
I found this comment from John Frame useful:
Personally, I’ve always seen the distinction between what I read, feel, and see to be a touch confusing, especially in evangelical Christianity. No big discussion questions on this one, I think just your reactions to all this would be interesting.
Sola Scriptura is an important Reformation doctrine, and we should not lose it. But we should understand what it means. It doesn’t mean that all truth can be found in the Bible, not even that all theological truth is found in the Bible. What it means is that Scripture contains all the WORDS OF GOD that we need for theology or anything else. I think this gives us a balance between Scripture and general revelation. The way to knowledge is to learn from general revelation, but to interpret it in the light of Scripture, recognizing that Scripture alone gives us ultimate, inerrant truth.
Here are a few other blogs that are discussing this article:
Ancient Hebrew poetry
Ryan Beiler at Sojourner’s via Beliefnet
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November 20, 2007 at 15:57
I also believe that what is revealed to us in the scriptures is what God wanted us to know in relation to salvation and our daily Christian living. However, there is more to life than what scriptures reveal. For example, the advance of technology, the beauty of modern art and the complexity of international affairs (compared to biblical times). I would dare say that adding this knowledge with Biblical revelation gives us a deeper look at how complex life is and how wonderful God is in creating intelligent human beings. Too bad that this intelligence sometimes lead people away from God than closer to him. Maybe it has to do with humans “worshiping” the created instead of the creator.
November 20, 2007 at 18:00
I find it hard to understand how Sola Scriptura gets to be exponented as some kind of ontological reality that we’re supposed to all be living in – taking the Bible seriously seems to be one thing, but somehow the idea of ‘special revelation, as resulting in a sacred object that’s supposed to hold inerrant truth of any type we desire, seems like magical thinking and a distortion of the actual intention behind the doctrine.
None of us have ever received Special Revelation before – unless you consider ‘special revelation’ to be feelings you receive in hard times when you pray that give you a direction for what to do next. It seems like calling those ‘revelations’ is an abuse of the idea, though: as far as I understand, revelation is not about God telling you where to work or when to have a baby or where to go to college or who to be friends with…
Why would that be ‘special’ to anybody?
It just feels like a sickly, culturally-reinforced kind of narcissism to me.
And I think that, for all of us, that narcissism is all we know of or want to know of, of our God.
November 20, 2007 at 18:30
Without special revelation, we often draw wrong conclusions from the world around us. When scripture is the lens through which we view creation, however, we gain far more insight.
November 21, 2007 at 11:47
I agree with Moe, humans have reversed the importance of revelation. Why worship the general(environment, creation, etc.) when God reveals Himself specially. Is this special revelation a single act in one’s life? I don’t think so. I feel that humans come to understanding through means God has given us. The truth is that both general and special revelation work together. God can reveal Himself specially by using the general if that makes any sense (kinda hard to explain in writing for me)
On J.P. Moreland, I’ll agree with what he stated about how most evangelicals only believe special revelations in theory, but not in practice due to the charasmatic movement. I watch shows on TBN, CTN, etc. where these healing services, miracles and such are performed and I believe it’s just that…a performance sometimes. Can God do those things? Yes! Does he need t.v. and huge arenas? no.
November 22, 2007 at 09:44
To me, the Bible is more of a textbook on how to live our lives with regards to God, aligning ourselves with His Will. Having Bible knowledge alone will not help us to achieve that goal. Rather, it is the application of that knowledge that allows us to do so. However, how to apply that knowledge in our daily life requires inspiration, and that comes from the Holy Spirit. Hence, revelation plays an important part as well. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
November 23, 2007 at 22:29
Interesting topic to ponder over.
November 25, 2007 at 00:46
I still have a problem with the idea (new name).
Special revelation in terms of miracles and prophecy and such – when lots of people claim miracles and can’t manifest them, and lots of people claim the power of prophecy and reliably prove themselves wrong, what’s left?
The Bible, and thinking and praying about things, it seems to me.
But lots of different people try to tell us how to read the Bible – smart people, insightful people, holy people, atheists..
These people taught us everything else we know, after all. They give us our science, our art, make our culture.
They tip us off to the boundaries of possible interpretation.
We agree about ways NOT to interpret the Bible – nobody’s following Deuteronomy today.
And we’ve lost some stuff that the early church used to do.
And ministry’s become a hugely profitable business.
As well as the rest of our lives.
When holy people claim different things are right and wrong that have been ‘revealed’ to them through reading the Scripture, I think the whole thing is suspect.
November 25, 2007 at 20:47
I’m no theologian, but to me the interplay between sola scriptura and current special revelation is that any revelation, word of knowledge, prophecy—whatever one may call it—must not be in conflict with scripture. If there is conflict—such as a “revelation” that condones or promotes a sinful act—that is where we must rely on sola scriptura to settle what is truth.
November 26, 2007 at 14:21
I believe the phrase “special revelation” should be more well-defined. While John Key’s point is a very good one, and also no one is contesting that God can “reveal” things to us through prayer and practicing His presence, I have always thought that the phrase “special revelation” refers only to the 66 books of the Bible in their original manuscripts. This is how God has chosen to communicate truth to His people in our day; I think most will agree that there are no “prophets” today in the Biblical (or Old Testament) sense—that is, men who were entrusted with the very words of God.
I would agree with Moreland’s statements that, as someone else has put it, “All thuth is God’s truth,” in the sense that you CAN gain extra-biblical knowledge about demons, etc. However, the Bible is clear in 1 Peter 5:8 that we must ”[b]e sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” It also tells us to “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:10ff). It is obvious that Satan, although not omnipotent or omniscient like God, has an advantage over us if we are not prepared for his deception and attacks. When we delve into the “spirit world,” we leave ourselves open to his schemes. The Bible also tells us to “shun evil, cling to what is good.”
I believe, though, that the scope of the Bible, our “special revelation,” goes beyond just discerning things in the spirutual realm, such as Satan and his demons, but applies to any subject matter that the Bible touches on. Of course it is true that I am typing this response on a computer connected to the Internet, and I drive an automobile, none of which existed in Biblical times. But when the Bible speaks of God creating the world in seven days or parting the Red Sea or stopping the sun at Joshua’s request (or, for that matter, raising our Lord from the dead!), we should believe the Bible because we know it is God’s revealed Word to us and contains no mixture of error. While we may not be able to explain how God did any of this or why He chose to do it this way (why not create the world in one nanosecond, for example?), we trust it because it is written in His Word. Even the things that are not addressed in the Bible can be understood in the light of the principles taught in Scripture.
Just one last comment—I think the concept of “sola scriptura” has been misunderstood in some of the comments here. It simply implies that the Bible is our only 100% reliable and true source of knowledge (and specifically unto salvation), not that other forms of knowledge are invalid. Again, I know how the engine in my car operates based on discovered laws of physics, and I teach chemistry concepts to college students. But any scientist will tell you that the body of knowledge we deal with in science is constantly being revised, added to, and corrected based on new discoveries. Not so with God’s Word—as Christians we believe (or at least should) that every word in the Bible is entirely true in its original manuscripts. While we may gain knowledge and a greater appreciation of the Bible through research in archaeology, understanding of ancient Jewish or Babylonian culture, or reading 1 Maccabees, these should not make us doubt the veracity of God’s Word but rather serve as the “backdrop.” We should certainly never compromise the Bible based on man’s opinion of things like political correctness, evolution, or “big bang.”
November 27, 2007 at 14:10
I’m old in age, but young in the knowledge of the bible as I was not a Christian nor was i babtized at an early age. I do however and will forever believe that what is in the bible to be the truth of God. There was a statement made with no name on it, which reveals what the bible is to me. The bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom or sinners and the happiness of believers. Its’ doctrines are4 holy, its’ precepts are binding and its’ decisions are immutable. Read it to believe, believe it to be saved and practice it to be holy. It contains the light to direct you, food to support you, comfort to cheer you. It’s the travelers guide, the pilgrims staff, the pilots compass, the soldier’s sword and the Christians character. Here, paradise is restored, heaven is open and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its’ grand subject, our good its’ design, the glory of God its’ end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart and guide the feet. Read it slowly, read it daily and read it prayerfully. it is a mind of wealth, a paradise of glory and a river of pleasure. It’s given to you in life, it will be opened at the judgement and it will be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, it rewards the greatest labor and it condemns any body who trifles with its’ contents. How wonderful it is to know He loves us all, revelations or not. In God’s Grace John