Tonight, we attended the first lesson of "Fundamental Theology" taught by Fr. Peter Choy Wai Man. This course studies revelation, its nature, its expression and its transmission.
A survey of world religions shows that they can be roughly classified into Revelation Religions and Wisdom Religions. The latter ones usually do not worship gods. Through insights, they are able to make sense of human existence and sufferings. Most eastern religions like Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism etc. are examples. The representatives of the former ones are those monotheistic religions such as Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Their religious tenets are handed down from a Supreme Being. Therefore, a common conception of Christian revelation is that God spoke to men through prophets. Therefore, the truth revealed is absolute and does not allow for any amendments and challenges.
A survey of world religions shows that they can be roughly classified into Revelation Religions and Wisdom Religions. The latter ones usually do not worship gods. Through insights, they are able to make sense of human existence and sufferings. Most eastern religions like Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism etc. are examples. The representatives of the former ones are those monotheistic religions such as Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Their religious tenets are handed down from a Supreme Being. Therefore, a common conception of Christian revelation is that God spoke to men through prophets. Therefore, the truth revealed is absolute and does not allow for any amendments and challenges.
After the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church has a newer understanding of revelation. The Church continues to believe in God's plan of universal salvation. She feels the need to engage the world in dialogues. Therefore, she rethinks the nature of revelation and comes to the understanding that God's revelation is His self-communication. This perspective immediately throws new lights onto the characteristics of revelation.
First of all, revelation is experiential. If we fail to experience God's presence and His mercy, God's self-communications are futile. We have not received any of His revelation.
Secondly, revelation is inter-personal. God patiently builds up a relation with human beings in order to reveal Himself to them. Creation, Exodus, Sinai Covenant, the passion and resurrection of Jesus are all meaningless if our relationship with God does not exist.
Moreover, God's revelation is related to our salvation. It is not some impersonal scientific law. No doubt, nature displays the glory of God and the admiration of its magnificence will lead us to God. However, our salvation is the major focus of Christian revelation.
Furthermore, revelation is multi-dimensional. It is not limited to words put into the mouths of the prophets. God also reveals Himself through signs and wonders, through the presence of Jesus Christ and especially, his passion and resurrection.
Lastly, revelation points to our destiny, our future.
First of all, revelation is experiential. If we fail to experience God's presence and His mercy, God's self-communications are futile. We have not received any of His revelation.
Secondly, revelation is inter-personal. God patiently builds up a relation with human beings in order to reveal Himself to them. Creation, Exodus, Sinai Covenant, the passion and resurrection of Jesus are all meaningless if our relationship with God does not exist.
Moreover, God's revelation is related to our salvation. It is not some impersonal scientific law. No doubt, nature displays the glory of God and the admiration of its magnificence will lead us to God. However, our salvation is the major focus of Christian revelation.
Furthermore, revelation is multi-dimensional. It is not limited to words put into the mouths of the prophets. God also reveals Himself through signs and wonders, through the presence of Jesus Christ and especially, his passion and resurrection.
Lastly, revelation points to our destiny, our future.
Therefore, revelation is both top-down and bottom-up. It starts with both God's self-communication and human response. Such a conception of revelation has many advantages. One of them is the opening up of dialogues with other religions. Now that revelation is no longer handed down from above, but has to take into consideration understanding and insights on our part as well, a common ground can be found with other Wisdom Religions. We no longer insist on the absoluteness of our expression of the objective truth but acknowledge the historical limitations and evolution of theological articulations of the salvific truth. As time goes by, we will be able to articulate the truth in a better and more appropriate manner.
So, how shall we deal with the oracles handed down from the prophets? For example,
He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Isaiah 2:4).
I am afraid these words cannot be interpreted literally. In human history, no such experience ever happens. If it be experiential, it would probably be an ideal, a wishful thinking cherished in the mind of a prophet.
If we want to make sense of this revelation within a relation with God, we shall ask under what sort of a relation God communicated this vision of the future to the prophet. Very likely, it was a personal intimate relation between God and Isaiah which other people could not fathom and did not share. Read further.
Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, "I am a warrior." (Joel 3:10)
So, what is God's revelation? Shall we beat swords into plowshares or vice versa?
My position is that there are still some revelations which are more easily understood to be top-down than bottom-up.
He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Isaiah 2:4).
I am afraid these words cannot be interpreted literally. In human history, no such experience ever happens. If it be experiential, it would probably be an ideal, a wishful thinking cherished in the mind of a prophet.
If we want to make sense of this revelation within a relation with God, we shall ask under what sort of a relation God communicated this vision of the future to the prophet. Very likely, it was a personal intimate relation between God and Isaiah which other people could not fathom and did not share. Read further.
Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, "I am a warrior." (Joel 3:10)
So, what is God's revelation? Shall we beat swords into plowshares or vice versa?
My position is that there are still some revelations which are more easily understood to be top-down than bottom-up.
Dear Lord, I pray for myself. I pray that I do not understand the lessons in a wrong way. Amen.
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