Apologetics.com Neiswonger

To a Friend,

As much as I disagree with much of what Van Til said and wrote, saying that General Revelation, God’s revelation of Himself in creation, is of equal authority with Special Revelation, meaning the Scriptures themselves, seems to be true.

It’s good that you are careful on these distinctions because many under value their necessity, and while Van Til’s understanding of the nature of revelation can get very strange at times, this in itself is not a strange thing for him to say.

Sola Scriptura, is taken to be the doctrine that the Scriptures are the sole infallible rule in faith and practice for the Christian.  The Bible alone has ultimate and infallible authority.  But that is not intended to imply that whatever other way God has made Himself known does not carry its own authority within itself.  God has revealed himself in the creation and the constitution of man, as created in His image so that every person is responsible to both know God and obey His moral law.  This revelation is absolutely authoritative and infallible in and of itself.  What makes it fail is a problem in the person, not a problem in the revelation.  It is not a “source” problem it is a “reception” problem.  All revelations from God have an equal authority; His.

The distinction comes in when we speak of the things necessary for salvation, or, Christian faith and practice.  These things are not revealed in nature or in the constitution of man as created in the image of God.  Those things necessary for salvation are revealed in ‘Scripture alone’.  There may be things that can be learned from philosophy, the sciences, and human experience, what the historic Church has called “the light of nature”, but these are taken to be inferior and fallible authorities, apprehended through fallible means.  Sola Scriptura takes the Scriptures as the sole infallible rule, but not the only rule.  This is sometimes surprising even to the Christian thinker tutored in the thought of the historical Church because Sola Scriptura could seem to be saying that Scripture is the sole source, instead of the sole infallible source, and so the source that stands above and judges all other sources.

As an example, in my theological tradition, being old line conservative Evangelicalism, we are generally taken to be “the” group that defined the modern understanding of Sola Scriptura, notably in the Westminster Confession of Faith of 1664 and its subsidiary documents.  Notice that even to them, the Confession itself is an authority.  It is a measurement of faith and practice.  But it is taken to be a fallible rule fallibly formed and fallibly compiled.  But it is not taken to have no authority, otherwise, why write it? 

Think of the Apostles Creed.  It is, whether the average Christian in the pews knows it or not, held to be an authoritative statement of the faith for almost every Christian denomination in history.  Now, it does not fail.  It does not “err”, so to speak.  But that does not mean that the Creed in itself is “infallible”.  A failure to fail does not imply infallibility.

But that doesn’t mean it is not an authority.  When Christ arranged His Church, He set within her certain kinds of fallible earthly authority, like Pastors and Elders, and these while not being an infallible authority, are authorities established by the infallible authority of Scripture itself.

So really, the idea that God’s revelation of His being and attributes in nature, is every bit as authoritative as God’s revelation of Himself in Scripture, is a pretty solid idea.  It’s not as if one revelation is less effective than the other.  But the different source and the different, though in places overlapping, “content” of the two can be something that needs to be carefully defined.

Scripture in this is not the only authority, but the ‘sole infallible rule’, and while general revelation is certainly infallible in itself, because of the natural effects of the fall and sinful nature of man, incapable of any use in achieving salvation, and prone to be inordinately apprehended.

But to imply by this that men in general do not know that God exists, at least well enough suppress the truth in unrighteousness, even apart from the knowledge of Him given in the revealed word, does not seem to be the plain teaching of Scripture itself.  One must know, in order to reject.

Romans 1:17 

“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

Christopher Neiswonger

The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 1.

“I. Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men unexcusable;[1] yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of His will, which is necessary unto salvation.[2] Therefore it pleased the Lord, at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal Himself, and to declare that His will unto His Church;[3] and afterwards for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the Church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing;[4] which makes the Holy Scripture to be most necessary;[5] those former ways of God’s revealing His will unto His people being now ceased.[6]” 

“VI. The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.[12] Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word:[13] and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.[14]”