Special revelation

Special revelation

Special revelation is a theological term that states a belief that knowledge of God and of spiritual matters can be discovered through supernatural means, such as miracles or the scriptures, a disclosure of God's truth through means other than through man's reason.

Theologians use the term "special revelation" to describe God's intervention to make God's will and knowledge available that would not otherwise be available through general revelation. Disclosure of this "special revelation" is at specific times to specific persons, and believed by Christian Theologians, to have been generally given through scripture, miracles, and through the person and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Other means by which God gave special revelation were by "divine voice or writing", "angels", "prophets", "visions" "dreams", "divine dictation", "inspiration" and "Spirit's guidance or guidance from the Holy Ghost". When reviewing these examples, one can see that they refer to Direct Revelation, which is now the third type of revelation. It is to note, that special revelation by way of "self-disclosure through the Bible", is not to be confused with personal communication from God.Givens, Terrly L., "The Book of Mormon and Dialogic", Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Vol 10, Num 2, (2001), pp.18]

Special revelation is a contrast to general revelation, which refers to the knowledge of God and spiritual matters which can be discovered through natural means, such as observation of nature, philosophy and reasoning, conscience or providence.

The purpose of Special Revelation is to impart the knowledge and understanding of Jesus Christ, salvation and the atonement. Essentially it is knowledge and understanding, "that is requisite to salvation, that is, an explicit knowledge of Christ and his gospel."Paulsen, David L. and Alvord, Brent (article), "Joseph Smith and the Problem of the Unevangelized", FARMS Review 17/1 (2005), pp.184.]

The forms of special revelation as considered by Orthodox Christianity are
# Personal Experience
# Miracles
# Prophecy
# The Earthly Life of Jesus Christ
# The Scriptures (as a source of special revelation). "In divine affairs, we are saved by the grace of Christ from our sins and guilt before God [if we obey the special revelation] (Those Who Have Never Heard, p. 92) Gaynezz."."

Footnotes

References

*Paulsen, David L. and Alvord, Brent (article), "Joseph Smith and the Problem of the Unevangelized", FARMS Review 17/1 (2005).
*Givens, Terrly L., "The Book of Mormon and Dialogic", Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Vol 10, Num 2, (2001).
*Foutz, Scott David Foutz, "Systematic Theology Study Helps: Bibliology", TheologyWebsite.com 1998 - 2005, [http://www.theologywebsite.com/systheo/bibliology2.shtml Bibliology-Special Revelation]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • special revelation — noun : religious revelation accessible only to a particular people or group of people the special revelation available to Christians through faith the special revelation of God s purposes in the history of Israel compare general revelation …   Useful english dictionary

  • special revelation —  Особое откровение …   Вестминстерский словарь теологических терминов

  • revelation, special —    Special revelation is the revelation of God that comes to specific people at specific times. Christians believe that Christ is God s supreme self revelation, but also that God has spoken to his people at various times in the past (and perhaps… …   Christian Philosophy

  • revelation — revelational, adj. /rev euh lay sheuhn/, n. 1. the act of revealing or disclosing; disclosure. 2. something revealed or disclosed, esp. a striking disclosure, as of something not before realized. 3. Theol. a. God s disclosure of Himself and His… …   Universalium

  • Revelation — This article is about the general concept of supernatural revelation. For the Biblical book, see Book of Revelation. For other uses, see Revelation (disambiguation). Revealing redirects here. For the James Blood Ulmer album, see Revealing (album) …   Wikipedia

  • Revelation — • The communication of some truth by God to a rational creature through means which are beyond the ordinary course of nature Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Revelation     Revelation …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • REVELATION — REVELATION, an act whereby the hidden, unknown God shows Himself to man. To be sure, this phenomenon belongs to the realm of human reality, but it is experienced by man as coming from God. Phenomenologically, every religion finds its starting… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Revelation (disambiguation) — Revelation or revelations may refer to: * A revelation as a communication from the divine * Revelation as in prophecyReligious Texts* The Book of Revelation in the BibleLiterature, drama, and fiction* Revelation (Carol Berg novel), a novel by… …   Wikipedia

  • Revelation of the Daleks — ] [cite web url= http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/6z.html title= Revelation of the Daleks publisher = A Brief History of Time Travel last = Sullivan first = Shannon date = 2007 08 07 accessdate = 2008 08 30] *Upon translation into… …   Wikipedia

  • Revelation —    The last book of the New Testament, which portrays a final conflict between the forces of good and evil. Also called the book of the Apocalypse and the Apocalypse of John, Revelation portrays the Second Coming of Christ, the final triumph of… …   Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”