Revelation vs. Discovery. Big Questions Every person is a religious being. A religious being asks the “big questions” Are we (humans) alone, or is there.
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Slide 1
Revelation vs. Discovery
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Big Questions Every person is a religious being. A religious
being asks the big questions Are we (humans) alone, or is there
something greater than us? Comic books, science fiction, instincts
say Yes Is there another world? A world after death? A world of
invisible souls or beings? How did everything begin? And why? Who
is God? Does he care about us? Why are we here? Whats the point?
What are some possible answers?
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Big Questions The answer to these questions are a mystery.
These mysteries are solved either by Natural reason We try to
figure things out on our own using whatever information we can get
Usually relies on empirical data Divine revelation What we dont
know and cant figure out is made clear to us The hidden is revealed
Both We use our minds to figure out what God has revealed to
us
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Discovery Natural reason can lead on to discover god This
discovery of god is made on the basis of Empirical data Looking at
the world Reflections on human psychology, human instincts and
innate knowledge Logical Reasoning (natural reason) Natural reason,
if rigorously followed, opposes Animism and pantheism Atheism
Agnosticism
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Discovery Natural reason, if logically followed, reaches these
conclusions: There is an Ultimate Being or Ultimate Reality The
Ultimate Being is one, not several Discovery may also conclude that
The Ultimate Reality is person (not I) monotheism The Ultimate
Reality is personal but detached and uncaring Deism The Ultimate
Reality is a force or flow theism
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Discovery Discovery also leads to the conclusion that Humans
are god Humans need to escape the material word to be god When
humans are perfected or enlightened they become god True
enlightenment is when a human loses himself in god Like a drop of
water in an ocean Discovery reaches these conclusions from the
bottom up By mystical experience (looking inward, reflecting,
meditating) By logical reasoning (thinking)
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Discovery Discovery, using natural reason, is the method used
by the major Eastern religions Hinduism Buddhism Daoism
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Revelation Revelation admits that we cant know what we cant
know We learn partly by discovery, but mostly by being told
Example: We discover the round bouncy object, but someone must tell
us that it is a ball Example: We discover simple arithmetic
(quantity, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), but we
must be told about mathematics Example: We discover our own selves,
but must be told who are parents are and how we came to be
Revelation requires two things: Being told what we dont know and
cant figure out Believing what were told
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Revelation The JoHari window helps us understand the importance
of revelation
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Revelation Revelation of God works from the top down God tells
us about Himself God tells us how things came to be God tells us
about ourselves What were really like inside Why we do what we do
The point of our existence God tells us the goal
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Revelation God must reveal Himself Directly Speaking directly
to humans Indirectly Speaking through mediators Specific humans
(prophets) Oral tradition (stories handed down) Through events
Miracles Omens History (sacred history) Sacraments
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Revelation Revelation concludes that There is one God God is
the cause of all things God is a personal being (an I) We are not
God We are separate beings from God There is a visible world and an
invisible world Material dualism The goal of life is to be in
relationship with God
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Revelation Revelation is what three major religions depend upon
Judaism Christianity Islam
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The Christian Understand of Revelation God Reveals Himself in
the Old Testament
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Word God Reveals Himself through His Word Logos Torah
Pen-ultimately, the Scriptures Old Testament: the curtain slowly
pulls back New Testament: the play is plainly shown Ultimately,
Jesus
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Scriptures: Old Testament God reveals Himself in Myth Fiction
or non-fiction stories that explain origins Origin of all things
(Gen 1) Origin of humans (Gen 2) Origin of sin (Gen 3) Origin of
death (Gen 4-5) Origin of second chances; the reboot (Gen 6-10)
Origin of languages (Gen 11) God reveals Himself in Sacred History
History is told or arranged to point to God Not made up, but told
with God in mind
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Scriptures: Old Testament God reveals Himself in types Hints
left, on purpose, to point ahead Genesis 22 God reveals Himself in
Covenants Adam (Gen 3.15) Noah (Gen 9) Abraham (Gen 22) Moses &
Israel (Ex 19 & 20) David (2 Sam 7)
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Scriptures: New Testament
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The Christian Understand of Revelation God Reveals Himself in
the New Testament