REVELATION

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REVELATION

• is the self-communication of God

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Revelatory Experiences

• NATURE most basic way God reveals himself to us
• Power
• Beauty
• Silent Backdrop
• Many mentioned in OT

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Our Moral Sense

• We experience the promptings of our own
  conscience
• We have the ability to rise above adversity
• We can call on a power greater than our own

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Our Relationships

• We discover our own self-worth and dignity
• Love of a parent, child, spouse speaks to us of
  love of God
• Love of the community around us common
  experiences bring us together

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MOSES

• God reveals himself to Moses in Burning Bush -
  learns Gods Name
• This is the same God of Moses ancestors
• Moses is given task of freeing his peopl
• This is not just an experience for Moseswe need
  to be alert to Gods revelationif we take off
  our shoes the world can be revelatory for us
• Examples?

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• The Burning Bush and the Exodus from Egypt show
  that God is involved with his People
• OT people, NT people, everyone since then!

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REVELATION BY JESUS

• Jesus revealed himself to very ordinary men and
  women (as in OTMoses was, also)
• God can reveal himself to anyone-and does
• Public Revelation the deposit of faith-
  received by the early followers of Jesus and the
  apostolic community (ended with death of last
  apostle) but continues to be explained in ways
  that each era can understand
• Private Revelation to an individual, may or may
  not be sanctioned by the Church

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Personalist Approach

• Kierkegaard, Martin Buber (I and Thou) and
  Gregory Baum (Man Becoming) all speak of the way
  the Person of God reveals himself to us as
  persons.

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Protestant/Catholic

• Mainline Protestant Churches and the Catholic
  Church agree that the Bible is true in the Hebrew
  sense of being reliable and faithful, but not in
  the Greek sense of being factually accurate in
  all ways.
• Protestant stance Scripture Alone
• Catholic stance Scripture Tradition
• as it is interpreted through the years
• Vatican II added a fuller dimension to
  understanding biblical revelation by using
  advances in biblical studies, linguistic and
  archaeological studies, etc.