Is general revelation sufficient to lead someone to salvation? If so, then it must be possible to be saved apart from Jesus Christ. If not, then shouldn’t we assume that special revelation is a clearer and more reliable source of revelation because it can lead a person to salvation?

I would say, rather, that the different forms of revelation are better suited to studying certain topics. Soteriology might be best studied by relying primarily, though not solely, on special revelation, while the study of the nature of creation might be better off giving priority to general revelation. The distinction between special and general revelation is also not necessarily as clear cut as some make it. God’s ultimate revelation to us, Jesus, was revealed in history and history is primarily a matter of general revelation, even though there is also special revelation covering historical matter in the Gospels and other scriptural material. I would also dispute that special revelation is somehow clearer than the natural, again, it depends on the material under study. Both special and general interpretation require interpretation and both can be interpreted wrongly, poorly, inconsistently and so on. It is wrong to assume that if one’s interpretation of general revelation conflicts with one’s interpretation of special revelation that the interpretation of general revelation is the one that is automatically wrong.

David, I would point to John 1:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without im nothing was made that has been made. . . The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
This is just one verse, but scriptures make clear in several places that creation and Jesus are very much tied to each other. If someone comes to relationship with God through creation, they are not doing so apart from Jesus. They are just doing so apart from the knowledge and understanding of Jesus that you and I are priveleged to have. A person’s ignorance or even denial of reality does not change the underlying reality. If a person comes to relationship with God, it is through Jesus, whether they are aware of that or not, imo.

Scot: I love Sarah’s beautifully-worded final doxological paragraph, beginning with “The proper work of a Christian is to seek God everywhere” and ending with “Oh, may today be a glorious day of wondering at the Great Revealer and trusting in his wisdom and love.”
However, I’m not sure I can agree with her thesis “But if you think about it, no one can study God per se. . . we can’t study God himself. All we can study is God’s revelation of himself. . . The marvel is that we can know God personally even though we cannot study him.”
I think that needs to be qualified in light of passages like . . . well, like a host of passages: Exodus 33:18, ?Then Moses said, ?Now show me your glory? ?; or Deuteronomy 5:24, ?And you said, ?The LORD our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that people can live even if God speaks with them? ?; or Psalm 27:8, ?My heart says of you, ?Seek his face!? Your face, LORD, I will seek?; or John 1:18, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only [Son], who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known”; or 2 Corinthians 3:18, ?And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit”; or 2 Corinthians 4:6, ?For God, who said, ?Let light shine out of darkness,? [?Gen. 1:3] made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ?; or Hebrews 10:19ff., “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain . . . let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith…”; or James 4:8, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
I have no doubt that Professor Sumner would affirm these passages, of course, and she offers us a wonderful reflection affirming general revelation. I just think she might have expressed herself a bit too skeptically about our ability to “study God himself.” I think Colin Brown might say, “She’s right in what she affirms but wrong in what she denies.”

Doug, perhaps she means something more like “we can only study what God has choosen to reveal of Himself”. I have thought for a while that God holds back a fair amount of information and truth and reveals what He will. I think that if we presume that we can know God as He actually is rather than as He has revealed himself (even face-to-face), we are probably wrong. What do you think?

Dr. Sumner: what a beautiful hymn!
Rebeccat: Can you clarify your second to last sentence? I just wonder how significant is God’s special revelation to me? And how do “theologians” portray personal revelation?

Dr. Sumner: what a beautiful hymn!
Rebeccat: Can you clarify your second to last sentence? I just wonder how significant is God’s special revelation to me? And how do “theologians” portray personal revelation?
(whoa, that was weird: when I first posted this comment I got an error message saying I had a “zero content” message or something like that).

Thank you, Scot, for sharing our Daily Reader in Faith and Culture with your readership. Our hope is that readers would interact in just this way with 2-3 pages of Theology, History, Philosophy, Science, Literature, Art and Contemporary Culture. Sarah’s invitation to seek God in every created thing, every idea has opened up for me a new appreciation for everyday things–to mark all the connections and follow back to the center in which they all, we all, hold together. When she sent it in she said she “let herself go” in praise and her freedom inspires me as well.
As this week is Valentine’s we’re offering at our blog (www.culturedevo.com) culture celebrating and creating ideas by taking a cue from our subjects: For gatherings of friends, small groups or family nights this week ideas of how to celebrate love with a favorite Bible verse, historical story, literary quote, image, music, link that inspires.
And for those who might have a copy of the devo…good thoughts on love for your week by Erwin McManus (A Conversation with Muslims), John Eldredge (The Grand Affair), philosopher John Mark Reynolds (Plato) and artist Bruce Herman (Sex, Intimacy and Worship).
Co-author and editor with Kelly Monroe Kullberg

Mike, I guess I am just saying that there are almost certainly things about God and even our relationship to Him that we do not know. Just as an example, perhaps we existed in some way prior to to being born and we agreed to come here, perhaps for a particular reason. I’m not saying this is true, but it is something which scripture doesn’t really speak about one way or the other. Does Christianity’s silence on the matter mean it is not true, or could it just be something which has not been revealed to us? I think special revelation on something like this is hard. We don’t want to be Joseph Smiths who decided he had some sort of special revelation and went off on his mission. But what if God does reveal something to us? Perhaps if we feel that we have been given special revelation, we hold it loosely or under advisement, but don’t view it as authoratative?