Revelation

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Revelation is an uncovering or disclosure via communication from the divine of something that has been partially or wholly hidden or unknown, "which could not be known apart from the unveiling" (Goswiller 1987 p. 3). In monotheistic religions, revelation is the process, or act of making divine information known. Revelation in a religious sense is that which God, a god, or other supernatural being such as an angel makes known about divine will, principles, laws and doctrines.

Most religions have religious texts they view as sacred. Many religions and spiritual movements believe that their sacred texts are wholly divine or spiritually inspired in origin. Monotheistic religions often view their sacred texts as the "Word of God", often feeling that the texts are inspired by God. There are a number of ways that religious thinkers have traditionally approached this topic; many widely differing views have been proposed. Generally speaking, one can find all of the following viewpoints in varying segments of Judaism, Christianity and others faiths.

Contents 1 Scriptural hermeneutics 2 Divine revelation in Judaism 2.1 The origin of the Torah and prophecy 2.1.1 The Torah and Oral Law 2.1.2 The Prophets 3 Divine revelation in Christianity 3.1 Scriptural Canon of Christianity 3.2 Basis on the divine origin of the Bible 3.3 Biblical theology 3.4 Systematic theology 3.5 Views on revelation of some branches of Christianism 3.6 Current controversies and criticisms 3.7 Scriptural Canon of the Messianic 'Judaism' 4 Divine Revelation in Islam 4.1 Similarities between the Qur'ān and the Bible 4.2 Criticism of the Qur'ān 5 Divine Revelation in the Bahá'í Faith 6 Latter Day Saint concept of revelation 6.1 Joseph Smith, Jr. 6.2 Mormonism and Christianity 7 Divine revelation in the Jehovah's Witnesses concept 7.1 Overview 7.1.1 Tetragrammaton 8 Existentialism 9 Visitation 10 Caveats and criticism 11 Notes and references 12 See also 13 External links

[edit] Scriptural hermeneutics

Main articles: Biblical hermeneutics, Pesher, and Tafsir

Throughout religious history, scholars and students of religious texts have sought to mine the wealth of their meanings, by developing a variety of different systems of hermeneutics. Philosophical hermeneutics, in particular, can be seen as a development of scriptural hermeneutics, providing a theoretical backing for various interpretive projects. Thus, philosophical hermeneutics and scriptural hermeneutics can be seen as mutually reinforcing concepts.

Rabbi Ishmael of the Amoraic era of Judaism interpreted laws from the Torah through 13 hermeneutic principles. This is the first appearance of hermeneutics in the world, through the exegetic interpretation of Biblical texts.

Biblical Hermeneutics refers to methods of interpreting the Bible. Biblical hermeneutics is part of the broader hermeneutical question, relates to the problem of how one is to understand Holy Scripture. By definition, this is a theological act, ie. part of the discourse of a faith-community. This does not mean that it is of no relevance to those who do not consider themselves to be part of that community, but rather that it is an issue that arises out of the particular needs of that community.

Therefore, one ought to differentiate between Christian and Jewish Biblical hermeneutics: although there is an overlap between the two (and some form of dialogue), since they share part of their scriptures, they do arise out of different faith traditions and thus developed their own notion of hermeneutics.

It must also be stressed that theological differences within these faith communities preclude any 'definitive' statement on Biblical hermeneutics.

Pesher is a Hebrew word meaning "interpretation" in the sense of "solution". It became known from one group of texts, numbering some hundreds, among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The pesharim (plural of Pesher) take a book of the Hebrew Bible, often from the prophets, such as Habakkuk, Nahum, or from the Psalms, quote it phrase by phrase, and after each quotation insert an interpretation, preceded by "its Pesher is".

A tafsir ( (Arabic: تفسير) tafsīr, also transliterated tafseer, Arabic "explanation") is Qur'anic exegesis or commentary. Someone who writes tafsir is a mufassir ( (Arabic: مفسر) mufassir, plural (Arabic: مفسرون) mufassirūn).

[edit] Divine revelation in Judaism

[edit] The origin of the Torah and prophecy

Main article: Jewish principles of faith

[edit] The Torah and Oral Law

Rabbinic Judaism, and contemporary Orthodox Judaism, hold that the Torah (Pentetuach) extant today is the same one that was given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. A belief that God gave a "Torah of truth" to Moses, that Moses was the greatest of the prophets, and that the Law given to Moses will never be changed are three of the Thirteen Principles of Faith of Orthodox Judaism taught by Maimonides. Maimonides explains: "We do not know exactly how the Torah was transmitted to Moses. But when it was transmitted, Moses merely wrote it down like a secretary taking dictation....(Thus) every verse in the Torah is equally holy, as they all originate from God, and are all part of God's Torah, which is perfect, holy and true."

Orthodox Judaism believes that in addition to the written Torah, God also revealed to Moses a set of oral teachings, called the Oral Torah. In addition to this revealed law, Jewish law contains decrees and enactments made by prophets, rabbis, and sages over the course of Jewish history. Haredi Judaism tends to regard even rabbinic decrees as being of divine origin or divinely inspired, while Modern Orthodox Judaism tends to regard them as being more potentially subject to human error.

Conservative Judaism tends to regard both the Torah and the Oral law as not directly revealed. The Conservative approach tends to regard the Torah as compiled by redactors in a manner similar to the Documentary Hypothesis. However, Conservative Jews tend to regard the authors of the Torah as divinely inspired and many regard at least portions of it as originating with Moses. Conservative Judaism also tends to regard the Oral Law as a whole as divinely inspired but subject to human error.

Reform and Reconstructionist Jews also tend to accept the Documentary Hypothesis for the origin of the Torah, and tend to view all of the Oral law as an entirely human creation. Accordingly, Progressive Judaism, Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism, believe that the Torah is not entirely a direct revelation from God, but is a document written by human ancestors, carrying human understanding and experience, and seeking to answer the question: 'What does God require of us?'. They believes that, though it contains many 'core-truths' about God and humanity, it is also timebound, sexist, primitive, and, sometimes, simply wrong. They believe that God's will is revealed through the interaction of humanity and God throughout history, and so, in that sense, Torah is an important part, but only a part, of an ongoing revelation.

[edit] The Prophets

The Nevi'im, the books of the Prophets, are considered divine and true. This does not imply that the books of the prophets are always read literally. Jewish tradition has always held that prophets used metaphors and analogies. There exists a wide range of commentaries explaining and elucidating those verses consisting of metaphor.

Rabbinic Judaism regards Moses as the greatest of the prophets, and this view is one of the Thirteen Principles of Faith of traditional Judaism. Consistent with the view that revelation to Moses was generally clearer than revelation to other prophets, Orthodox views of revelation to prophets other than Moses have included a range of perspectives as to directness. For example, Maimonides in A Guide for the Perplexed said that accounts of revelation in the Nevi'im were not always as literal as in the Torah and that some prophetic accounts reflect allegories rather than literal commands or predictions.

Conservative Rabbi and philosopher Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972), author of a number of works on prophecy, offered a view of the nature of revelation as a process rather than an event. In his work God in Search of Man, he discussed the experience of being a prophet. In his book Prophetic Inspiration After the Prophets: Maimonides and Others, Heschel references to continued prophetic inspiration in Jewish rabbinic literature following the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and into medieval and even Modern times. He wrote that

To convey what the prophets experienced, the Bible could either use terms of descriptions or terms of indication. Any description of the act of revelation in empirical categories would have produced a caricature. That is why all the Bible does is to state that revelation happened. How it happened is something they could only convey in words that are evocative and suggestive."^[1]

[edit] Divine revelation in Christianity

[edit] Scriptural Canon of Christianity

Main article: Bible

Christianity regards the Bible, a collection of canonical books in two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament, as authoritative: written by human authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and therefore the inerrant Word of God.^[2] Protestants believe that the scriptures contain all revealed truth necessary for salvation (See Sola scriptura).^[3]

The Old Testament contains the entire Jewish Tanakh, though in the Christian canon the books are ordered differently and some books of the Tanakh are divided into several books by the Christian canon. The Catholic and Orthodox canons include the Hebrew Jewish canon and other books (from the Septuagint Greek Jewish canon) which Catholics call Deuterocanonical, while Protestants consider them Apocrypha.^[4]

The first four books of the New Testament are the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), which recount the life and teachings of Jesus. The first three are often called synoptic because of the amount of material they share. The rest of the New Testament consists of a sequel to Luke's Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles, which describes the very early history of the Church, a collection of letters from early Christian leaders to congregations or individuals, the Pauline and General epistles, and the apocalyptic Book of Revelation.^[4]

[edit] Basis on the divine origin of the Bible

In a number of passages the Bible claims divine inspiration for itself. Besides the direct accounts of written revelation, such as Moses receiving the Ten Commandments, the Prophets of the Old Testament frequently claimed that their message was divine by the formula "Thus says the LORD" (for example, 1 Kgs 12:22–24; 1 Chr 17:3–4; Jer 35:13; Ezek 2:4; Zech 7:9; etc.). In the New Testament, Jesus treats the Old Testament as authoritative and says it "cannot be broken" (John 10:34–36). 2 Timothy 3:16 says: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correction and training in righteousness", and the Second Epistle of Peter claims that "no prophecy of Scripture ... was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet 1:20–21). That epistle also claims divine authority for the Apostles (3:2) and includes Paul's letters as being counted with the Scriptures (3:16).

[edit] Biblical theology

Main article: Biblical Theology

Biblical Theology is a discipline within Christian Theology which studies the Bible from the perspective of understanding the progressive history of God revealing himself to Man following the Fall and throughout the Old Testament and New Testament. It particularly focuses on the epochs of the writings in order to understand how each part of it ultimately points forward to fulfillment in the life mission of Jesus Christ.

Biblical Theology is sometimes called the "History of Special Revelation" since it deals with the unfolding and expanding nature of revelation as history progresses through the Bible.

An important note that should be made in relation to the concept of progressive revelation is that the Christian Biblical concept differs from the Islamic understanding in which successive revelations of God might annul former revelations completely replacing them with a new truth. The Christian model within Biblical Theology sees the concept of progressive revelation as progressive revelation of new truth which supports, expands and stands upon former revelations of God's truth like brick laying. This progressive revelation ultimately climaxes in Christ, and ends with the New Testament Acts of the Apostles under the direction of the Holy Spirit awaiting the second coming of Christ.

[edit] Systematic theology

Main article: Systematic Theology

Systematic Theology is the attempt to formulate a coherent philosophy which is applicable to the component parts of a given faith's system of belief. Inherent to a system of theological thought is that a method is developed, one which can be applied both broadly and particularly. While a systematic theology must take into account the sacred texts of its faith, it also looks to history, philosophy, science, and ethics to produce as full a view and as versatile a philosophical approach as possible.

Significant systematic theologians are:

Thomas Aquinas, Roman Catholic, who believed in two types of revelation from God: general revelation and special revelation. General revelation occurs through observation of the created order. Such observations can logically lead to important conclusions, such as the existence of God.

Though one may deduce the existence of God and some of God's attributes through general revelation, certain specifics may be known only through special revelation. In Aquinas's view, special revelation is equivalent to the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. The major theological components of Christianity, such as the Trinity and the Incarnation, are revealed in the teachings of the Church and the Scriptures and may not otherwise be deduced.

Special revelation and natural revelation are complementary rather than contradictory in nature.

Karl Barth, Reformed (1886-1968), who tries to recover the Doctrine of the Trinity in theology from its putative loss in liberalism. His argument follows from the idea that God is the object of God’s own self-knowledge, and revelation in the Bible means the self-unveiling to humanity of the God who cannot be discovered by humanity simply through its own efforts. Note here that the Bible is not The Revelation; rather, it points to revelation. In Barth's theology, he emphasizes again and again that human concepts can never be considered as identical to God's revelation. In this aspect, Scripture is also written human language, expressing human concepts. It cannot be considered as identical to God's revelation. However, in His freedom and love, God truly reveals Himself through human language and concepts. Thus he claims that Christ is truly presented in Scripture and the preaching of the church.

[edit] Views on revelation of some branches of Christianism

Main article: Christianity

Christianity continued from Judaism a belief in the existence of a single omnipotent God who created and sustains the universe. Against this background belief in the divinity of Christ and the Holy Spirit was expressed as the doctrine of the Holy Trinity,^[5] which considers that the three persons of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) share a single Divinesubstance. This substance is not considered divided, in the sense that each person has a third of the substance; rather, each person is considered to have the whole substance. The distinction lies in their relations, the Father being unbegotten, the Son begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeding.^[6] The "begetting" does not refer to Mary's conceiving Jesus, but to a divine begetting before Creation.

Christians were willing to die for their faith because of 3 key ideas that can be noted from their own writings. One: their belief that Jesus was resurrected, two: religious experience, and three: fuller understanding of Old Testament Scriptures.

Central to the doctrines of the Catholic Church is Apostolic Succession, the belief that the bishops are the spiritual successors of the original twelve apostles, through the historically unbroken chain of consecration (see: Holy Orders). The New Testament contains warnings against teachings considered to be only masquerading as Christianity,^[7] and shows how reference was made to the leaders of the Church to decide what was true doctrine.^[8] The Catholic Church teaches that it is the continuation of those who remained faithful to the apostolic and episcopal leadership and rejected false teachings.

Whereas Catholics look to the Pope for authority, Protestants, a wide branch of Christian believers look to the Bible for authority. The Protestants characterize the dogma concerning the Pope as Christ's representative head of the Church on earth, the concept of meritorious works, and the Catholic idea of a treasury of the merits of saints, as a denial that Christ is the only mediator between God and man: Solus Christus (Christ alone).

Protestants believe that the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church obscure the teachings of the Bible by convoluting it with church history and doctrine: Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone).

Christians believe the Holy Spirit inspired the Scriptures,^[9] and that his active participation in a believer's life (even to the extent of "indwelling", or in a certain sense taking up residence within, the believer) is essential to living a Christian life.^[10] In Catholic, Orthodox, and some Anglican theology, this indwelling in received through the sacrament called Confirmation or, in the East, Chrismation. Most Protestants believe that the Spirit indwells a new believer at the time of salvation. Pentecostal and Charismatic Protestants believe the Baptism with the Holy Spirit is a distinct experience separate from other experiences like conversion.

Pentecostalism is an American offshoot of Methodism. The doctrine of charismatic gifts is a well-known feature of Pentecostalism. Charismatic gifts are extra-normal abilities that are transmitted from the divine to individuals. These gifts include glossolalia (speaking in tongues), healing ability, and prophesy. Such gifts are bestowed upon Pentecostals at baptism, and are a fixture of Pentecostal church services. The ecstatic receipt of charismatic gifts can be accompanied by a loss of motor control, giving Pentecostals the nickname "Holy Rollers."

The Charismatic Movement adopted the Pentecostal doctrines of charismatic gifts: speaking in tongues, prophesying, etc. Many charismatic Christians have gone on to form separate churches and denominations.

[edit] Current controversies and criticisms

Main article: Criticism of Christianity

See also: Criticism of the Bible

There are many controversies surrounding Christianity as to its influences and history.

• A few writers propose that Jesus is a myth,^[11] though historians generally agree that Jesus existed and have aimed at reconstructing the historical Jesus.
• Some writers consider Paul to be the founding figure of Christianity as opposed to Jesus, pointing to the extent of his writings and the scope of his missionary work.^[12] See also Pauline Christianity.
• Members of the Jesus Seminar, and other Biblical scholars, have argued that the historical Jesus never claimed to be divine. They also reject the historicity of the empty tomb and thus a bodily resurrection, and several other events narrated in the gospels. They assert that Gospel accounts describing these things are probably literary fabrications.^[13]
• Adherents of Judaism generally believe that followers of Christianity misinterpret passages from the Old Testament, or Tanakh. (See also Judaism and Christianity.)
• Muslims believe that the Christian doctrine of the Trinity is incompatible with monotheism, and they reject the Christian teaching that Jesus is the Son of God, though they affirm the virgin birth and view him as a prophet preceding Muhammad.^[14] The Qur'an also uses the title "Messiah", though with a different meaning.^[15][16] Muslims also dispute the historical occurrence of the crucifixion of Jesus.^[17]

[edit] Scriptural Canon of the Messianic 'Judaism'

Main article: Messianic Judaism

Messianic believers (who Jews do not consider to be Jewish since they accept Jesus as the Messiah, who in Jewish understanding has not yet arrived) commonly hold the TaNaKh to be divinely inspired. The Tanakh includes the Torah (first five books of Moses), Nevi'im (the Prophets) and Ketuvim (the Writings). The Apostolic Writings (or New Testament) are often considered to also be divinely inspired. Many hold them to be equal in authority to the Tanakh, but this is not universal and can vary from individual to individual even within the same synagogue or Torah study. Some Messianic believers are most often troubled by the writings of Paul (whom they often call Rabbi Sha'ul) and may reject his writings, hold them in less esteem than those of the Gospel writers, or even reject him. Often, the emphasis is on the idea that the Tanakh is the only scripture the Early Church had and that, except for the recorded words of Jesus, the Apostolic Writings were meant as inspired commentary on the Tanakh.

Canon:

1. Torah [תורה] meaning one or all of: "The Law"; "Teaching"; "Instruction". Also called the Chumash [חומש] meaning: "The five"; "The five books of Moses". It is the "Pentateuch".
2. Nevi'im [נביאים] meaning: "Prophets"
3. Ketuvim [כתובים] meaning "Writings" or "Hagiographa".
4. Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
5. Acts
6. General epistles of James, Peter, Paul and of the author of Hebrews
7. Revelation

[edit] Divine Revelation in Islam

Main article: Islam

See also: Muhammad, and Qur'an

Divine Revelation plays a very important role in the Muslim faith. While religious books of most other faiths were recorded by followers of prophets, the Qur'an claims to have been revealed word by word and letter by letter. The Qur'an is therefore, no doubt, a milestone in the development of revelation literature, and historically being so recent that it's authenticity is not seriously questioned. Islam knows different forms and degrees of Divine revelation. See for example.^[18]

Muslims believe that God revealed his final message to humanity through Muhammad ibn Abdullah (c. 570 - July 6, 632) via the angel Gabriel.^[19] Muhammad is considered to have been God's final prophet, the "Seal of the Prophets". The revelations Muhammad preached form the holy book of Islam, the Qur'an. The Qur'an is believed to be the flawless final revelation of God to humanity, valid until the day of the Resurrection.

Muslims hold that the message of Islam - submission to the will of the one God - is the same as the message preached by all the messengers sent by God to humanity since Adam. From an Islamic point of view, Islam is the oldest of the monotheistic religions because it represents both the original and the final revelation of God to Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad.^[20][21] Members of all sects of Islam believe that the Qur'an codifies the direct words of God.

According to Islamic traditions, Muhammad began receiving revelations from God (Arabic: ألله Allah) from the age of 40, delivered through the angel Gabriel over the last 23 years of his life. The content of these revelations, known as the Qur'an,^[22] was memorized and recorded by his followers and compiled into a single volume shortly after his death. The Qur'an, along with the details of Muhammad’s life as recounted by his biographers and his contemporaries, forms the basis of Islamic theology. Within Islam, he is considered the last and most important prophet of God.^[23] Muslims do not regard him as the founder of a new religion but as the restorer of the original monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham and other prophets whose messages had become misinterpreted or corrupted over time (only misinterpreted according to some^[24]).^{[25][26][27][28][29]}

[edit] Similarities between the Qur'ān and the Bible

Main article: Similarities between the Bible and the Qur'an

The Qur'ān retells stories of many of the people and events recounted in Jewish and Christian sacred books (Tanakh, Bible) and devotional literature (Apocrypha, Midrash), although it differs in many details. Adam, Enoch, Noah, Heber, Shelah, Abraham, Lot, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Jethro, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Jonah, Aaron, Moses, Zechariah, Jesus, and John the Baptist are mentioned in the Qur'an as prophets of God (see Prophets of Islam). Muslims believe the common elements or resemblances between the Bible and other Jewish and Christian writings and Islamic dispensations is due to the common divine source, and that the Christian or Jewish texts were authentic divine revelations given to prophets. According to the Qur'ān

"It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the criterion (of judgment between right and wrong).3:3 "

Muslims claim that those texts were neglected or corrupted (tahrif) by the Jews and Christians and have been replaced by God's final and perfect revelation, which is the Qur'ān.^[30]

However, many Jews and Christians believe that the historical biblical archaeological record refutes this assertion, because the Dead Sea Scrolls (the Tanakh and other Jewish writings which predate the origin of the Qur'an) have been fully translated,^[31] validating the authenticity of the Greek Septuagint.^[32]

[edit] Criticism of the Qur'ān

Main article: Criticism of the Qur'an

Due to the rise of Islamic terrorism, the need to understand the motives of suicide bombers has become important to many. Some critics believe that it is not only extremist Islam that preaches violence but Islam itself, a violence critics say is implicit in the Qur'anic text.^[33][34] In response to criticism, it is generally argued that critics have taken verses out of context. The verses should be read with the whole surah; also the time and circumstances of the verses should be considered.^[35][36]

Muslims generally argue that the Qur'ān is the literal word of God. Critics reject the idea of a divine origin,^[37][38][39] and base their argument on the problems they see in the Qur'ān, both textually and morally.^[40][41]

[edit] Divine Revelation in the Bahá'í Faith

Main article: Bahá'í literature

Following the progression and spread of literacy in human history, the Central Figures of the Bahá'í Faith were in a position in the 1800s to receive thousands of written enquiries, and to thus write thousands of responses, hundreds of which amount to whole and proper books, while many are the shorter texts, as letters. Additionally survey publications have attempted to broadly review important themes across many dozens of individual texts (see listings in articles below). In addition to the practicality of literacy however, the Bahá'í faith has large works which were divinely revealed in a very short time, as in a night, or a few days.^[42] Additionally, because many of the works were first recorded by an amanuensis,^[43] most were submitted for approval and had corrections added - another milestone in that the final text was personally approved by the revelator.

Bahá'u'lláh would occasionally write the words of revelation down himself, but normally the revelation was dictated to his amanuensis, who sometimes recorded it in what has been called 'revelation writing', a shorthand script written with extreme speed owing to the rapidity of the utterance of the words. Afterwards, Bahá'u'lláh revised and approved these drafts. These 'revelation drafts' and many other transcriptions of the writings of Bahá'u'lláh's, circa 17,000 items, some of which are in his own handwriting, are kept in the International Bahá'í Archives in Haifa, Israel.^[44][45]

For extended comments on the divine revelation of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá see Number of tablets revealed by Bahá'u'lláh by Robert Stockman and Juan Cole and Numbers and Classifications of Sacred Writings texts by Universal House of Justice. Second-hand notes of the words of the Central Figures of the Bahá'í faith are termed pilgrim notes and have little status.^[46] See also Horace Holley's preface of The Bahá'í Revelation, including Selections from the Bahá'í Holy Writings and Talks by 'Abdu'l-Bahá.

[edit] Latter Day Saint concept of revelation

Main article: Revelation (Latter Day Saints)

The Latter Day Saint concept of revelation includes the belief that revelation from God is available to all those who earnestly seek it with the intent of doing good. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and some other Latter Day Saint denominations claim to be led by revelation from God to a living prophet, who receives God’s word just as Abraham, Moses, Peter, and other ancient prophets and apostles did. It also believes everyone is entitled to personal revelation with respect to his or her stewardship. Thus, prophets may receive revelation for their people, parents can receive inspiration from God in raising their families, individuals can receive divine inspiration to help them meet personal challenges, church officers may receive revelation for those whom they serve, etc. The important consequence of this is that each person may receive confirmation that particular doctrines taught by a prophet are true, as well as gain divine insight in using those truths for their own benefit and eternal progress. In the Church, personal revelation is expected and encouraged, and many converts believe that personal revelation from God was instrumental in their conversion.^[47]

Joseph F. Smith, the sixth prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, summarized this church's belief concerning revelation by saying, "We believe... in the principle of direct revelation from God to man."^[48] (Smith, 362) He also more specifically detailed the importance of the principle of modern-day revelation to the church he then led:

The gospel cannot be administered, nor the Church of God continue to exist, without it. Christ is the head of his Church and not man, and the connection can only be maintained upon the principle of direct and continued revelation. It… is a living, vital principle to be enjoyed on certain conditions only, namely – through absolute faith in God and obedience to his laws and commandments. The moment this principle is cut off, that moment the Church is adrift, being severed from its ever-living head. In this condition it cannot continue, but must cease to be the Church of God and, like the ship at sea without captain, compass or rudder, is afloat at the mercy of the storms and the waves of ever contending human passions, and worldly interests, pride and folly... (Smith, 362)

James E. Talmage, a noted LDS scholar, attempted to connect this belief with the nature of God and also emphasized the importance of the principle of continuing revelation to his faith:

It is at once unreasonable, and directly contrary to our conception of the unchangeable justice of God, to believe that He will bless the Church in one dispensation with present living revelation of His will and in another leave [His] Church... to live as best it may according to the laws of a bygone age.

Latter Day Saints believe that God answers prayers. Communicating with God is seen by many Latter Day Saints as an important part of developing faith and coming to know God, resulting ultimately in Eternal life if the person remains faithful to covenants with Jesus Christ.

Two recent important revelations presented to the LDS Church by the president of the church are the revelation announcing a Perpetual Education Fund for fostering educational opportunities among the poor, and The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Many LDS members believe that new scripture will be revealed or discovered and translated involving prophets among the Lost Ten Tribes at some time before or during the Millenium (Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 29:13).

[edit] Joseph Smith, Jr.

Joseph Smith, Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader who founded the Latter Day Saint movement, a restorationist movement giving rise to Mormonism. Smith's followers declared him to be the first latter-day prophet, whose mission was to restore the original Christianity, said to have been lost after a Great Apostasy. This restoration included publication of the Book of Mormon and other new scripture to supplement the Bible, and the establishment of the Church of Christ. As leader of his religion, he was also an important political and military leader in the American West.

During his adult life - from the time he began dictating the Book of Mormon in 1827 until his death in 1844 - Smith introduced a large number of religious teachings. Although a number of his teachings are similar to doctrines circulating during his lifetime, several are unique to Smith.

Nearly all Smith's teachings had some root in the King James Version of the Bible, or his interpretation or elaboration of it. However, he believed in other scripture, and that in some instances, the Bible was translated incorrectly.^[49] Thus, he "restored" temples, orders of priesthood, and other elements of the Bible that he felt had been wrongly abandoned by mainstream Christianity as part of a Great Apostasy.

In many cases, Smith's doctrines or interpretations of the Bible, as well as his own claimed revelations, placed him at odds with mainstream Christianity. For example, Smith rejected mainstream Christianity's long-standing formulation of the Trinity as recorded in the 4th Century Nicene Creed.

Joseph Smith taught that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are all three separate personages, with Heavenly Father and Jesus having physical bodies^[50] of "flesh and bone", while the Holy Ghost has only a spiritual body. God is the Heavenly Father of all mankind and that mankind is made in His express image (simply put, that humans look like Heavenly Father).

Smith's claim to be a prophet of God has led to much controversy. Smith was a polarizing figure in his time, and he continues to be a focus of controversy between his millions of followers, most of whom revere him as a prophet with the same authority as prophets in the standard Christian canon, and opponents of Mormonism, who believe he was either delusional or fraudulent.

[edit] Mormonism and Christianity

Traditional Christians believe that the canon of scripture is closed, making the Bible the only sacred text for Christians. However, the precise list of books in the Bible is disputed among Christian denominations depending upon the acceptance of the deuterocanonical books.^[51]. Catholics subscribe, de facto, to Prima scriptura (the Bible above all) and give equal weight to Sacred Tradition. Some Protestants consider their Bible the only infallible authority, a doctrine called Sola scriptura, though different Protestant faiths consider different versions of the Bible to be the "infallible" one. However, the clear primacy of the Bible, despite the dispute of the exact books of the canon, has resulted in basic beliefs that are largely shared between these churches.

Latter Day Saints believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. They also believe that the Book of Mormon is a sacred text that testifies of Jesus Christ. It is believed to represent a history of God's dealings with some of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas.

In addition, Latter Day Saints also have additional books of scripture: the Doctrine and Covenants, which contains revelations of modern day prophets and the Pearl of Great Price. The Pearl of Great Price, which contains additional important Latter-day Saint scriptures such as the Book of Moses and the Book of Abraham is not accepted by all denominations. Each denomination has their own version of the Doctrine and Covenants, which differ on the number of modern day revelations accepted as canon.

Church leaders (from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) have taught during General Conference that conference talks which are "…[spoken ad] moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture…".^[52] In addition, many Mormons believe that there were also ancient prophets in other regions of the world that received revelations that resulted in additional scriptures that have been lost and may, one day, be forthcoming. Hence, the belief in continuing revelation (i.e., the canon remains open).

[edit] Divine revelation in the Jehovah's Witnesses concept

Main article: Jehovah's Witnesses

The publishing arm of Jehovah's Witnesses, known as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania engages in extensive publication work. In addition to their two magazines -'The Watchtower' and 'Awake!'- they also publish many brochures, tracts and books including the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures is a translation of the Protestant canon. This Bible is distinct in its extensive use of the name Jehovah, an English version of the Hebrew Tetragrammaton, also replacing the Greek word for "Lord" over 200 times in the New Testament. The translators have opted to remain anonymous but others have identified them as being prominent leaders of the movement.^[53]

Frederick William Franz became the leading theologian, and is believed to have been the principal translator of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.^[54] Also produced were a Greek-English New Testament interlinear (The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures) and a Bible dictionary (Aid to Bible Understanding).^[55]

Main article: Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses

[edit] Overview

Jehovah's Witnesses originated with the religious movement known as Bible Students, which was founded in the late 1870s by Charles Taze Russell.

The entire Biblical canon, excluding the Apocrypha, is considered the inspired word of God. A literal interpretation of the Bible is followed, though it is acknowledged that biblical writers and characters also employed symbolism, parable, figures of speech, and poeticism.^[56] Only the Bible should be used for determining issues of doctrine. Interpretation of Scripture and codification of doctrines is the responsibility of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses.^[57]

God is the creator and supreme being, sovereign of the universe. Using God's name, Jehovah (a derivative of the Tetragrammaton^[58]), is a requirement for true worship.^[59] Jesus is God's first creation, used by God to create everything else.^[60] Jesus is literally the only begotten Son of God, and received his life from God. He is the means through whom to approach God in prayer, and is also the means of salvation for all worthy mankind.^[61] His role as mediator of the "new covenant" is limited to those going to heaven,^[62] whose number totals 144,000. The vast majority of Jehovahs' Witnesses will live on a renewed paradise on Earth.^[63] They believe that Jesus did not die on a cross but on a "torture stake".^[64] The holy spirit is not a person but is God's active force.^[65]

An emphasis on house-to-house preaching began in 1922.^[66] The period from 1925-1933 saw many significant changes in doctrine. Attendance at their yearly Memorial dropped from a high of 90,434 in 1925^[67] down to 17,380 in 1928,^[68] due to the previous power struggle, the failed prophesies for the year 1925,^[69] and the evolving doctrinal changes which alienated those who sided with Russell's views.^[70] By 1933, 1914 was seen as the beginning of Christ's presence, his enthronement as king, and the start of the "last days" instead of being considered the terminal date in their chronology.^[71]

During the 1960s^[72] and early 1970s, various references were made in Witnesses' literature and at assemblies, implying that Christ's thousand-year millennial reign might begin by 1975.^[73] The chronology pointing to 1975 was noted in the secular media at the time.^[74] From 1975 to 1980, there was a drop in membership following the failure of this prediction.^[75] In 1980, the Watchtower Society admitted its responsibility in building up hope regarding the year 1975.^[76]

In 1976, the leadership of Jehovah's Witnesses was reorganized, and the power of the presidency passed on to the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses. Witnesses no longer teach that the generation of people alive in 1914 will survive until Armageddon,^[77] but they continue to emphasize its nearness.^[78]

Jehovah's Witnesses reject traditional Christian doctrines such as the Trinity, eternal torment in hell and the immortality of the soul. The central theme of their preaching is God’s Kingdom (that is, God's rule over the Earth) with Jesus Christ as its king. The Witnesses believe this rule began with the Second Coming or presence of Christ. Originally, this was believed to have occurred invisibly in 1874, but this date was later revised to 1914.

[edit] Tetragrammaton

Main article: Yahweh

When Christians, unaware of the Jewish tradition, started to read the Hebrew Bible, they read יְהֹוָה‎ with the Masoretic vowels together with the consonants as written, and obtained Iehouah. Today this transcription is generally recognized as mistaken. Many religious groups continue to use the form Jehovah, because it is familiar and because the correct pronunciation of יהוה‎ is unknown.

Various proposals exist for a vocalization of יהוה‎. Current convention is יַהְוֶה‎, that is, Yahweh. The 'Yah' part seems fairly certain, for example from Biblical proper names ending in -ia(h) or -yahu. Early Christian literature written in Greek used spellings like Ιαβε that can be transcribed by 'Yahweh'.

Today many scholars accept this proposal.^[79] (Here 'accept' does not necessarily mean that they actually believe that it describes the truth, but rather that among the many vocalizations that have been proposed, none is clearly superior. That is, 'Yahweh' is the scholarly convention, rather than the scholarly consensus.)

[edit] Existentialism

In the 20th century, religious existentialists proposed that revelation held no content in of itself; rather, they hold that God inspired people with His presence by coming into contact with them. In this view the Bible is a human response that records how we responded to God.

Revelation or information from a supernatural source is of much lesser importance in some other religious traditions. It is not of great importance in the Asian religions Taoism, and Confucianism but similarities have been noted between the Abrahamic view of revelation and the Buddhist principle of Enlightenment.

Paul Johannes Tillich (1886–1965) was a theologian and Christian existentialist philosopher. Tillich was, along with contemporary Karl Barth, one of the more influential Protestant theologians of the twentieth century.

Tillich's approach to Protestant theology was highly systematic. He sought to correlate culture and faith such that "faith need not be unacceptable to contemporary culture and contemporary culture need not be unacceptable to faith". Consequently, Tillich's orientation is apologetic, seeking to make concrete theological answers that are applicable to ordinary daily life. This contributed to his popularity because it made him easily accessible to lay readers. In a broader perspective, revelation is understood as the fountainhead of religion. Tillich sought to reconcile revelation and reason by arguing that revelation never runs counter to reason (affirming Thomas Aquinas who said that faith is eminently rational), but both poles of the subjective human experience are complementary.

Tillich's radical departure from traditional Christian theology is his view of Christ. According to Tillich, Christ is the "New Being", who rectifies in himself the alienation between essence and existence. Essence fully shows itself within Christ, but Christ is also a finite man. This indicates, for Tillich, a revolution in the very nature of being. The gap is healed and essence can now be found within existence. Thus for Tillich, Christ is not God per se in himself, but Christ is the revelation of God. Whereas traditional Christianity regards Christ as wholly man and wholly God, Tillich believed that Christ was the emblem of the highest goal of man, what God wants men to become. Thus to be a Christian is to make oneself progressively "Christ-like", a very possible goal in Tillich's eyes. In other words, Christ is not God in the traditional sense, but reveals the essence inherent in all existence, including mine and your own. Thus Christ is not different from you or me except insofar as he fully reveals God within his own finitude, something you and I can also do in principle.

"God does not exist. He is being itself beyond essence and existence. Therefore to argue that God exists is to deny him."

[edit] Visitation

An experience of presence or communication between the recently deceased and their spouse or progeny is called visitation. This experience may be interpreted by some persons as revealing the will of God. Such experiences are deemed normative and not pathological according to the DSM IV (Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association).

[edit] Caveats and criticism

In the Age of Reason Thomas Paine maintained that revelation can only be considered valid for the original recipient and when subsequently communicated by the recipient to a second person it ceases to be a revelation but rather becomes a hearsay second hand account, and consequently they are not obliged to believe it.

Nowhere in the Bible and Quoran is mentioned that God communicated in the same way as the complicated way God should have communicated with the "prophets" who wrote these stories.

[edit] Notes and references

• The Newsletter of the Foundation for Ancient Research & Mormon Studies (FARMS) at Brigham Young University Insights! volume 25 | 2005, Number 4, p.5

[edit] See also

• Prophet
• Inspiration
• Biblical inspiration
• God helmet
• Temporal lobe epilepsy
• Theology
• Prophecy
• Charismatic movement
• Occam's Razor
• Synchronicity
• Óðr
• oracle
• Revelation (The Urantia Book)

[edit] External links

• The Mysteries of Revelation
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Apocalypse
• Jewish Encyclopedia: Revelation (Book of)
• Encyclopedia Britannica: Book of Revelation
• North Central London Revelation Church
• Somniloquy Revelation: Book of Willard