The Value of Revelation

• Values of revelation

  • improves connection to God
  • changes lives of entire faith groups
  • help believers be more committed to God
  • cements previously-held beliefs
• Proof of God's care

  • Incarnation
  • Death of Jesus
  • Resurrection
• Different views of revelations

  • some say there is little or no value of revelation as they are not all the same so cannot come from God
  • many would argue revelations are genuine - they are simply different representations of the same thing
• Different views of revelations

  • people tend to have experiences that align with their religious tradition, suggesting they are not authentic
  • it is mainly religious people claiming to have revelations
  • non-religious people can experience revelations, but it tends to be about a religion they are most familiar with

  overall argument: these are all experiences of the same thing but in a different form
• Alternative explanations for revelations

  • someone who claims revelation may be drunk, lying, or mistaken
  • someone might have wanted an experience to be from God so much that they convince themselves it's the case
  • a person might not understand what they have experienced and assume it is from God (God of the Gaps - using religion to fill gaps in knowledge)
• Alternative explanations for revelations

  • some claim they need benefit of the doubt if they are trustworthy and of sound mind
  • some argue that with so many religious experiences claimed, at least one of them must be true
  • non-believers would not accept written counts of revelation because "you cannot prove a book from a book". e.g. accepting a fictional character as real because they are in a book
• Biblical examples of God appearing to people in visions and dreams

  • In Genesis 28, Jacob has a vision of angels ascending and descending on a ladder into heaven
• Biblical examples of God appearing to people in visions and dreams

  • In Luke 1, Zacharias has a vision that he and his old wife will have a son - this son turns out to be John the Baptist
• Biblical examples of God appearing to people in visions and dreams

  • Genesis 1-2 tells us how God created the cosmos