MR. DEZILVAPHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION

SEPTEMBER 24 T H 2013 .

Religious Experience: Revelation Through Sacred

Texts

Revelation

Revelation: Knowledge that is gained through the agency of God. Direct from an infallible source and unconditioned.

Propositional Knowledge: Knowing that something is so. Has truth value (true, false, or in between). i.e. knowing your birthday, an author of a book, etc

Non-Propositional Knowledge: Other kinds of knowledge, such as how to do something, skills. They are conveyed in a variety of ways (i.e. art, dance, music).

**How is this relevant to Religious Experiences?**

Non-Propositional Revelation

Differences between Non Prop (NP) and Prop (P)Belief in NP revelation is the belief that

God is revealed through the things he has done – in the beauty of the world, or the creation of humans, or his guidance. For example: For Christians, God is revealed through Jesus – not only in the physical form, but in actions and character.

Propositional Revelation

Belief in P revelation is the belief that God speaks to people in words, and passes on information to his listeners. It is information one could not have gained through reason alone. For example: Information about how God will save one from sin or the moral standards set by God.

Which one are you more likely to challenge? Why?

Is a Sacred Texts revelation Propositional or is it Non-Propositional?

Karl Barth on Revelation

The only way to gain true knowledgeof God is through Revelation

Didn’t see the logic in combining faith and reason

Felt that ordinary language is inadequate to convey revelation

Revelation is a personal disclosure of God’s being and nature.

Sacred Scripture

The Bible: “The Word of God” God told the writers what to write (inspires)

The Qu’ran The words of Allah spoken to Muhammad Muhammad as a mouthpiece for the all knowing

Allah.

Key Words

Natural Theology: Explaining revelations and the nature of god through reason and ordinary experiences

Revealed Theology: Explaining revelations and the nature of god through scripture and religious experience

Fideism: (Latin for “Faith”) Faith & Reason are separate Fideism vs. Rationalism vs. Empiricism

Propositional and Non-PropositionalFundamentalism: Strict obedience to the foundational

principles (usually scripture, literally interpreted)Liberal Theology: Understanding God through textual

interpretation and open mindedness.