Revelation Flashcards
What is special revelation?
The belief that God is revealed in a special way such as a miracle or a vision- usually to one or a few people
What is a general revelation?
When believers feel God is revealed through the Natural World or experiences anyone can have e.g reading a book
What does numinous mean?
They feeling people get when they look at the natural world and think there must be something greater than that
What is a conscience?
Theists believe this is the voice if God
What is a conversion?
People converting from being an atheist to a theist
What is a transcendent?
The belief that God is supreme and above the world- God is not controlled by time and space
What does immanent mean?
God is involved in the world
What does personal mean?
God can know and have a relationship with humans
Impersonal?
Humans cannot know or understand God
What is the word for all powerful?
Omnipotent
What is the word for all loving?
Omnibenvolent
What is the word for all knowing/seeing?
Omniscient
What does illusion mean?
The idea that revelation is just made up and imagined by the believer
Give an example of someone who had a general revelation
Nicky Cruz
Explain Nicky Cruz and his story
He was a feared gang leader in New York, he went to a church and heard the preacher preaching and told Cruz God loved him, Cruz cam back in order to kill him, the preacher told Cruz “ you could chop me up into a thousand pieces and lay them on the street and everyone would still love you” he then converted and became a preacher himself
What did Saul spend most of his time doing?
persecuting and killing Christians
Explain Saul’s revelation
He had a vision of Jesus whilst he heard a voice from heaven calling “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He then lost his sight and began to believe in Jesus, he got his sight back, converted from Saul to Paul and eventually died for what he believed in.
What is Lourdes and what is said to happen there?
A place of pilgrimage for those that are sick as the water
Who was Bernadette?
A young, uneducated girl who lived in Lourdes
What did the Virgin Mary say to Bernadette? And what does it mean?
“i am the immaculate conception” She gave birth to Jesus without having has sex
Why is what the Virgin Mary said to Bernadette so important in proving revelations happen?
Bernadette was uneducated, so she did not understand what the Virgin Mary had said to her, she could not have made this up.
Explain Sally McCloys story
She traveled to Lourdes when she was very sick with cancer believing she would die there. Whilst there she felt the pain lever her and after examination , the doctors concluded she no longer had cancer. She believed the Virgin Mary performed a miracle.
How does prayer show revelation?
Many people have prayed for cures for illnesses ect and then great things happening due to the power of prayer. God is said to reveal himself by answering.
What do these revelations teach us about what God is like?
Transcendent Omniscient Impersonal Benevolence Personal Omnipotent Immanent
