Talk:General revelation

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I wanted to update this and see what everyone thinks. thank you for your imput. Dan

In order to understand what General Revelation is we must start at the beginning. Revelation by definition is something that was once hidden and is now made open, or revealed. General Revelation therefore is the basic, fundamental exposing or opening of something. This topic is related mostly to God and therefore when a Christian speaks of General Revelation he is speaking of what God has revealed about himself in nature, history, and the conscience of man. It is believed that this revelation is given to all people at all times in all places. According to Bruce A. Demerest, “General Revelation has been understood as a universal witness to God’s existence and character.” Demerest goes on to say, “that man knows both that there is a God and in a simple way what He is like.” It is held that this revelation comes in three areas. Nature would be the biggest area in which God is believed to have revealed Himself to man. Christians would quote Romans 1:19-21 to say that man can see God's eternal power and his divine nature in nature. Christians would also say that order of the would, the vastness of the universe, and the complexity of man show to all, that there is a great, supreme, intelligent personality who created, runs, and maintains all things. The second area in which it is held that man can see God is in history. Christians look back over time and say that man can see that God enters into time and space to accomplish is will. Support of this would be seen through the rise and fall of nations and world powers. Further support would be given by looking at the way the nation of Israel has been preserved. Lastly, it is held that man sees God through his conscience. The fact that people have a sense of right and wrong is given as proof that there must be a divine law giver. Those who hold this view go back to every great civilization and point out that they all had the same basic laws, the last six of the Ten Commandments. These three areas are what make up what is called General Revelation. This revelation is the foundation for what Christians call Special Revelation which is believe to lead to salvation. Sources: Demarest, Bruce. General Revelation:Historical views and Contemporary Issues. Zondervan; Grand Rapids. Thiessen, Henry. Lectures in Systematic Theology. Eerdmans; Grand Rapids,1979.(unsigned comment 14:16, 23 January 2006 by Dwalton512)

Hi Dan, if you can summarize some of this material, and add it with references, that would be great. You might want to spend some time looking around the site studying how this is done. Just remember that the point of Wikipedia in this article is not to prove general revelation, but to describe in a neutral manner what it is understood to mean.--Gandalf2000 16:28, 23 January 2006 (UTC)

Dan, you have some good thoughts here. Do you have a source for the three categories of general revelation that you describe? I think that they would be a very good addition to the article, although a source should be given to back them up. You could also include the fact that the doctrine of general revelation is based in part on Romans 1:20 which many Christians understand to mean that general revelation bears witness to God in such a way that all humans are accountable before him. In the context of an encyclopedia entry, you need to be careful that you are providing helpful information about the doctrine of general revelation and not engaging in Christian apologetics. Also, you should consider starting a user page (It can be as simple as you like.) so that you can sign your discussion comments and other users can leave responses on your personal talk page.--Jjhake 03:21, 25 January 2006 (UTC)

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[edit] NPOV

It would be useful to be clear which sects have these beliefs. It should also be noted that the existance and gender of God is disputed. -- Beland 03:30, 12 October 2006 (UTC)