If you were God the Creator, making this reality; and you wished to set-up a System for transmitting Revelations to humans, such as essential knowledge for proper living and salvation - consider how you might construct this?
There might be many ways - indeed having many routes of revelation would probably be more reliable than just a single System.
Some possible ways include:
Built-in Revelation
God might ensure that at least some essential knowledge was built-into every human; was present at birth, innate. Each person would "know", within himself, some of the essential knowledge he required to live in-accord with divine intentions, and for salvation.
Comment: This seems like the surest, most reliable and universal method of transmitting revelations; but is probably limited in terms of the specificity and precision of knowledge that can be transmitted thus; and it is largely "automatic" without scope for freedom.
Transmitted by means of Prophets
God might transmit essential knowledge to a (relatively) few Prophets; particular Individuals through-which God revealed what the other-people needed to know.
These Prophets would then communicate by the usual human means of speaking, making demonstrations, perhaps writing (e.g. scriptures) - each activity of which might be completely - or to some degree - taken-over by God and used directly.
Each prophet might have all, or some, of the System of Revelation (i.e. great, and lesser, Prophets).
Once the Revelations had been transmitted and recorded by Prophets; they would be preserved and disseminated by the usual human mechanisms - setting-up an organization, rituals, teaching, translating, texts (scriptures) and interpretation of writings etc.
Comment: A System of Revelation based on Prophets seems among the least reliable and accurate methods of God communicating; since there are so many steps in the process; and these steps get more numerous and less secure with time.
Transmitted directly to a Group
God might choose to inspire and sustain a group or institution, that exists through time; and to which God tramsits Revelations. This group is a Church.
By this method, God works via a Church, consisting of human beings organized operating according to instructions that God also transmits, presumably continuously - necessary to deal with changes in the conditions of the world.
Individual persons recieve Revealations via the Church; by the usual means of human communication - which might included symbol and ritual, and well as spoken and written words.
Comment: Church seems a strangely indirect method of God transmitting Revelations: God to Group, Group to Individual; and one that is prone to the distortions and imprecisions of this world.
Possible coherent reasons why God might work via a Church would seem to be if God-to-Church was less more accurate, less susceptible to going wrong.
Another solid reason is when there is little or no possibility of effective direct God-to-Individual Revelation. If, for example, Individuals were not capable of receiving Individual Revelation; or Church might be a mechanism for overcoming Individual resistance to Revelations.
Transmitted directly to all Individuals
God might set-up a System by which Revelations were transmitted (or made-available) directly to all Individual persons.
In this System there need not be communication or preservation of Revelations between people, because each person would get Revelation direct from God, and as necessary. But on the other side; each person would not be expected or required to discuss his personal revelations, or teach hthem to other people.
This could be done by normal "perceptual" communications; where God sends revelations through (for example) visions, or spoken words. Such revelations have the advantage that they might be detailed - but the disadvantage they they require interpretation.
But most directly of all; God might also send (or more accurately share) Revelations "mind-to-mind" - i.e. without intermediary perceptions, neither speech nor visions - at least, to the limit of what is comprehensible and will be accepted-by that particular person.
(My feeling is that everybody is mentally capable of receiving the revelations he personally needs; such that necessary revelations are always personally comprehensible.)
Comment: The personal limit of what will be accepted and understood by each individual is probably the main limitation of direct transmission of Revelations.
Especially; in a world where each individual uses his freedom to block Revelations, or whose attention is directed elsewhere all of the time - then Revelations can only "get through" when the conscious will is disabled, for example by illness, sleep, or intoxication.
And in such situations; the memory tends to be affected, and the Revelations may be forgotten or explained-away as a mere consequence of the pathological and abnormal conditions that made them possible!
2 comments:
Excellent article as usual Bruce. For a long time I have considered these ideas but one sticks out for me. What happens when someone receives a revelation that is counter to their upbringing or religious indoctrination? If you are in a church then you may be pressured to think it is of Satan and he is trying to deceive you and you should pray against such knowledge. Or you may be watching tv and a revelation reveals that what you are being told is lies, then you face keeping quiet or being convinced you are being rediculous. So you are often left with holding it as personally important and not to be explained.
@ag - Yes, revelation is a much more difficult thing than it superficially seems to be. The various forms of revelation may conflict, and there are all kinds of resistances and sources of distortion. Unless there is both a serious intent to know, and some clarity about what kinds of revelation are most valid, then chronic confusion would seem inevitable.
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