Revelation Flashcards
General Revelation
When believers feel God is revealed through the Natural World or experiences anyone can have
Special Revelation
The belief that God is revealed in a special way such as a miracle or a vision - usually only to one or a few people.
Numinous
The feeling people get when they look at the natural world and think there must be something greater than them.
Conscience
Theists believe this is the voice the God
Conversion
People converting from being an atheist to theist
Transcendent
The belief that God is Supreme and above the world - God is not controlled by time and space.
Immanent
God is involved in the world - miracles and Jesus
Personal
That humans can know and have a relationship - talk to God
Impersonal
Humans cannot know God or understand God
Omnipotent
The belief that God is all powerful
Omniscient
The belief that God knows and sees everything
Omnibenevolent
The belief that God loves everything
Illusion
The idea that revelation is just made up and imagined be the believer
What was Nicky Cruz like in his Early Life?
He was born into a Satanist family in Puerto Rico, his parents brutally abused him, both physically and mentally. His mother often said that they did not want him and his father used to lock him in a room with pigeons who would scratch his skin. He moved to New York, soon, due to his fighting, talk of the neighbourhood and became a member and then the leader of the gang called the Maus Maus, most feared gang in New York.
During the conversion of Nicky Cruz, what happened?
A preacher called David Wilkerson was preaching in Cruz’s neighbourhood. Cruz didn’t care about what he was saying and went to a meeting one day in order to kill him. Wilkerson said ‘ You could chop me into a thousand pieces and lay them on the street and everyone would still love you.’ The day after Nicky and some of his friends that had converted went to the police and handed all of there weapons in. He became a preacher and returned to his old neighbourhood. Many began to except Jesus.
What were the effects of Nicky’s revelation?
Cruz is the founder of Nicky Cruz Outreach, a progrma that helped teenagers with troubled lives. Branched out to the US and Europe. Founder of half way houses which help with the rehabilitation of drug addicts.
Explain the conversion of Saul
Saul was a man who spent most of him time persecuting and killing Christians just after Jesus had died. He was travelling on the road to Damascus from Jerusalem and he had a vision of Jesus while hearing a voice call from heaven ‘ Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Saul started to believe in Jesus and eventually dying for what he believed in.
Explain St. Bernadette’s vision of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes
Shew was a young uneducated girl who lived in Lourdes in the 19th century. She had a vision of the virgin Mary and she said to her ‘ I am the immaculate conception’ being uneducated she did not understand this and so argue saying that she could not have made it up. Mary appeared 18 times and performed a miracle making spring water up from the ground. Lourdes now a place of pilgrimage for those who are sick as the water from the spring is believed by Catholics to miraculously cure people.
Explain Sally McCloy and her miracle at Lourdes
She was a catholic who was very ill with cancer, she visited Lourdes and while she was there she felt as if the pain had left her body, after a furthur examination doctors found that she no longer had cancer. She believed that the Virgin Mary had performed a miracle and cured her so she dedicated her life to help other sick people who traveled to Lourdes in hope of a cure
Revelations and teaching about God
- Transcendent: Supreme and cannot be understood.
- Omniscient: If God can cure a woman in Lourdes he must know when all things happen.
- Immanent: Involved in the world and active in history.
- Omnipotent: Revelations, talking to people through their conscience.
- Personal: People believe that they can have a relationship with God.
- Benevolence: Loves everyone, curing us with him miracles.
- Impersonal: Revelation cannot show that we can understand God. God sends messengers.
Evidence for Revelation
Often revelations comes to be true. Revelations are backed up by people who believe. They can change peoples lives. Affects millions of people in the world. Someone doesn’t usually lie why doubt them about the revelations.
Arguments against revelation
Special Revelation cannot be trusted as they are subjective and cannot be proven. The revelation could be brought about by drugs. The believers can often be desperate and therefore wishful thinking. People could be suffering from mental illnesses. Different religions have different revelations.
