General Revelation

Definition and Meaning

General revelation is the concept that God reveals himself through channels open to all people, such as the created world, history, and human conscience and reason. "Revelation" means the disclosure of what has been hidden. The term is used as the counterpart to special revelation, which is given through Scripture and Jesus Christ. Protestant theology generally holds that general revelation enables people to know God's existence and power to some degree. It maintains, however, that the knowledge that leads to salvation comes only through special revelation.

Biblical and Historical Background

The passages commonly cited in support include the following:

• Psalm 19:1-6, which says that the heavens declare the glory of God
• Romans 1:18-25, which says that God's power and divine nature are clearly seen in creation, so that people are without excuse
• Romans 2:14-15, which speaks of the conscience of the Gentiles
• Paul's sermons at Lystra and Athens (Acts 14:17; 17:24-28)

The Catholic Church declared at the First Vatican Council (1870) that God can be known with certainty by the light of reason. John Calvin explained that human beings possess an innate sense of the divine, but because it has been clouded by sin, the "spectacles" of Scripture are needed. The Belgic Confession names both the created world and Scripture as means by which God is known. Chapter 1 of the Westminster Confession of Faith states that the light of nature and the works of creation and providence leave people without excuse. It holds, however, that these alone are not sufficient to give the knowledge necessary for salvation. In 1934 Emil Brunner argued that human beings possess a "point of contact" for grace, and Karl Barth rebutted this in his essay "No!", sparking a controversy.

Practice in Korean Churches

• Presbyterian: Denominations in the Reformed tradition emphasize that general revelation alone is insufficient for knowing God rightly. At the same time, they present it, together with common grace, as a basis for affirming the value of scholarship and culture.
• Methodist and Holiness: These traditions tend to understand general revelation in connection with the doctrine of prevenient grace in Wesleyan theology. They regard conscience and the moral sense as God's grace given to people even before salvation.
• In the 1960s a debate over indigenization theology arose, led chiefly by Methodist theologians who sought to discern God's activity within Korean culture and religion; criticism of this effort followed. Religious pluralism, which appeals to general revelation to hold that salvation is also found in other religions, is rejected by most denominations.
• The concept is also frequently invoked in sermons for Creation Season and Thanksgiving, in evangelism through nature, and in discussions of creation and evolution.