Stand to (Fallen) Reason
The Unfortunate Rejection of Personal Revelation
The Necessity of Philosophical Wisdom
“I do not speak of things strange to me, nor do I aim at anything inconsistent with right reason”
(Mathetes Epistle to Diognetus: Chapter 11).
“Everything that is contrary to right reason is sin…Nay, to crown all, philosophy itself is pronounced to be the cultivation of right reason; so that, necessarily, whatever is done through error of reason is transgression, and is rightly called, (ἁμάρτημα) sin” — Clement of Alexandria
(The Paedagogus: Chapter 13).
The successful pursuit of truth depends on sapient philosophy and revelatory knowledge which both were conferred by God to us. I am not against philosophy since I consider myself as one, but this does not mean I am devoid of mysticism as most would presume would be incoherent with rationality. Christianity appears to be rationally coherent in accordance to wise philosophy, but modern beliefs such as cessationism, scriptural inerrancy, and eternal torture enshroud the just light of the faith. I believe unbelievers deserve the best and complete outlook and presentation of Christianity lest they be wrongly convinced to reject it due to wrong assumptions.
One of the main errors of Stand to Reason is their rejection of mystical communion with God. I consider the faith to possess true merit when mystical communion isn’t denied; otherwise, the faith becomes merely philosophical and renders itself as another powerless religion. Truth isn’t detrimental to the mind. Any philosophical notion that truly benefits the mind merits truth. By depriving mystical communion from Christianity, it greatly decreases the amount of evidence for the faith. Inerrancy is refutable based on scrutiny, evidence, and lack of bias. Philosophy is limited upon the person and their environmental conditions; for instance, concluding the Christian God as a valid belief isn’t possible in areas where the gospel was never preached, or in areas where indoctrination is strongly pressed upon. And not everyone are interested in analyzing metaphysics (i.e. God) due to apathy and earthbound distraction.
The Self-revealing God: Intimate or Merely Revelatory?
Of course, the individual within the video believes God reveals Himself to Muslims (or anyone else) as a means to know the gospel, which results in the belief of personal revelation. However, what made God reveal Himself to the person? It could have been the constant devotion to know of God, which is an example of mystical communion. One might propose that they didn’t intend or have knowledge of such a concept due to their religion, but conscious knowledge or of intent isn’t required to engage in personal revelation/mystical communion. God still confers personal revelation to the person despite him seriously intending to commune with God. Mystical communion isn’t limited to an informed choice, but can be somewhat accessed even by a playful pretense of it. However, a playful pretense of it doesn’t imply that it always results in personal revelation, and true discernment is recommended. God is able to communicate telepathically to the person despite supposed barriers like ignorance or playful pretense. This inevitable communication from God informs me that He is extremely fervent in bonding with humans; however, humans don’t immediately recognize His voice. The skeptic might assert, “If God spoke to us, then we would know it with certainty like the prophets in the Bible.” This claim is blatantly false. When Samuel was young, he heard the voice of the Lord yet he didn’t recognize it. “Once again the LORD called, ‘Samuel!’ So Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you have called me.’ ‘My son, I did not call,’ Eli replied. ‘Go back and lie down.’ Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, because the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him” (1 Samuel 3:6, 7). It seems odd for him to believe that God is a moral and self-revealing agent, yet isn’t intimate with humans made in the image of God. If God is a moral and self-revealing agent, then He should be open to human companionship; in fact, morality and prayer are based upon right intimacy/rational communion. If God was really a loving agent, then He shouldn’t be exempt from direct communion with others.
Yet the claim to revelatory experience isn’t unique since other faiths claim to have similar experiences like reincarnation or the virgin Mary. Muslims could have an experience of Muhammad as a means to validate their faith. So then, the person who argues against mystical communion is weakening the real distinction of Christianity from other faiths in regard to experience. The grand distinction between Christians and others is whether intimacy or consistent communion is involved in spiritual experience. Christians don’t merely have spiritual experiences, but they have something meaningful like a daily communion with God. Other religions may claim to experience things, yet they lack a fulfilling and daily intimacy with our Creator.
Why is Divine Communion Essential?
Why is God’s communion essential to us? Well, the most fulfilling remedy for the soul is communion with God, not bible study, confessions of faith, or church gatherings. The human soul becomes more altruistic and optimistic when he communes with God. Without such a grand remedy, the person becomes less altruistic and hopeful. The apostle John once asserted, “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1st John 1:6). This statement implies that if anyone befriends God intimately, their conduct will result as being virtuous which potentially serves as evidence for their communion with God. Although, this implication isn’t self-sufficient evidence, so I look to the apostle Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. He praised them by asserting, “Now about brotherly love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another” (1st Thessalonians 4:9). Mystical communion wasn’t absent in the early church. A skeptic might claim that Paul meant the scriptures; however, this is bias speculation and dishonest evaluation of the text. In another letter, Paul mentions Timothy learning from the sacred scriptures, so if he meant this concept in Thessalonians, then he should’ve chose the same phrase as in 2nd Timothy 3:15. Since God isn’t scripture, Paul cannot mean “holy scripture” in 1st Thessalonians. One might argue that the gifts of the Spirit have ceased since the formation of the canon, except this results from blind assumption and a false understanding of “when the perfect comes” (1st Corinthians 3:10). The mention of what is perfect is most likely Jesus’ face-to-face appearance, or when the age of perfection for humanity results. Some have argued that the gifts mentioned like prophecy and knowledge are revelatory, so the Bible is implied, yet this argument fails since the Bible is not a revelatory experience like the gifts. And the gifts of the Spirit aren’t necessary to know God personally. Jesus didn’t have mystical communion with professing believers, yet they had the gift of prophecy (Matthew 7:22, 23). Their works may have appealed to men, but it didn’t please God. And good works don’t flow naturally, efficiently, and consistently from an impure heart. The rule of the Pharisees didn’t bless others, instead they burdened them. If they have sought after mercy along with justice and faithfulness, then their works wouldn’t have been detrimental. Communion with God truly sanctifies the believer whereas bible study does not. If the notion of mystical communion when rightly applied benefits the mind, then it merits truth as suggested beforehand. The fact that such a notion ushers beneficial results rather than lacking that positive alternative, should prove its merit to truth. If the mystic notion was false, then despite any right application, it would not result as a beneficial outcome. Anyway, it was mystical communion with the Spirit that edified the Church in regard to altruism and unity. In the same way, because of my personal revelation with God, He taught me the necessity of humility and the perverseness of arrogance in the very beginning of my devotion to God. Communion with God isn’t in vain to the believer’s character.
“There is No Teaching in the NT for Ongoing Revelations” — Rebutted
This is a very misguided and ignorant claim. I would argue that there is no teaching in the New Testament that personal and ongoing revelations have ceased for the modern Christian. It is unfortunate that some Christians limit God as a theoretical concept rather than elevate Him as a vibrant reality and a friend. If God isn’t intimate with humanity, why then is Abraham called a friend of God? “And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God” (James 2:23). The Lord Jesus promised believers that they would know God intimately according to John 17:3. The term ‘know’ in this verse is ginosko, which is conveys the idea of knowing someone in an experiential sense. In John 6:45, Jesus says, “It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to Me.” Christ didn’t assert that they would know God conceptually due to the scriptures or teachers, but that they would learn due to direct revelation. Also, being taught by God cannot be just limited to the distant future since the Thessalonians were taught by God in their present lives (1st Thessalonians 4:9).
Were personal revelations of God limited to certain individuals? Not so! The Lord wanted all of Israel to know Him and hear His voice directly, but the people elected Moses to be a mediator on their behalf due to fear (Exodus 20:18–21). Why, then, did God confer His Spirit to some men and not all of Israel (Numbers 11:29)? This was due to their reluctance, and so, God didn’t impose His Spirit upon them. The prophet Jeremiah prophesied to Israel, “Come to Me and I will answer you. I will show you great and hidden things that you don’t know” (Jeremiah 33:3). This prophecy implies that God desired direct communion with Israel, which proves that mystical communion wasn’t limited to prophets.
Yet what about the New Testament? The apostle Paul exhorted the Corinthians by saying, “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2nd Corinthians 13:14). The Koine Greek term used for fellowship is Koinonia, which conveys not only synergy, but also an exchange of communication. The Bible isn’t the Holy Spirit, and you cannot fellowship with a book. And an answer to prayer doesn’t follow as an exchange of words. The skeptic will try to assert that Paul’s use of ‘may’ implies as an uncertainty for believers, yet Paul also says that for grace and love from God. Is God’s grace and love for us rendered uncertain because of ‘may’? No! The apostle Paul also explains that the spiritual man learns spiritual concepts through the Spirit, not the Bible. The spiritual man judges everything according to the mind of Christ. These spiritual concepts cannot be embraced without wisdom, and such knowledge cannot be deduced by the mind without revelation (1st Corinthians 2:13–16). In Ephesians 1:17–19, the apostle prays for the Ephesians to have the Spirit of wisdom and revelations in the knowledge of God, so that they would know their individual callings from God. He didn’t pray for them to have a great recollection of his epistles or scripture. And for Catholics, Solomon’s Wisdom, chapter 9 says, “All we can do is make guesses about things on earth; we must struggle to learn about things that are close to us. Who, then, can ever hope to understand heavenly things? No one has ever learned Your will, unless You first gave him Wisdom, and sent Your Holy Spirit down to him” (verse 16 &17). St. Irenaeus, who was a respected church father and spiritual offspring of the apostles, asserted in his work (Against Heresies: Book 5, Chapter 27):
“As many as those who persist in their love for God, does He grant communion with His own. But communion with God is life and light, and the enjoyment of any benefit within Himself” (Translated from a Greek fragment, not Latin version).
