General and Special Revelation
God speaks in two registers: creation's silent witness and the saving word in Christ
Christian thought distinguishes two ways God makes himself known. General revelation is God's self-disclosure through creation and conscience, available to all people, which Paul addresses in the opening chapters of Romans. Special revelation is his saving self-disclosure in Christ and Scripture, given to bring salvation. Theologians from Augustine onward developed this distinction, holding that the natural witness points toward God while the knowledge needed for redemption comes through Christ.
How it traveled
- RomansCorinth · 67explains
- GalatiansEphesus · 67explains
- ActsRome · 84explains
- Hortatory Address to the GreeksRome · 165explains
- Treatise on Sacred Doctrine (Q[1])Paris · 1274explains
- Treatise on The One God (QQ[2-26])Paris · 1274explains
- Book First. of the Knowledge of God the CreatorGeneva · 1564explains
- Man's Natural Blindness in ReligionNorthampton, Massachusetts · 1758explains
- Fifteen Sermons. On Various SubjectsNorthampton, Massachusetts · 1758explains
- Five Sermons. On Different OccasionsNorthampton, Massachusetts · 1758explains
Key passages(20)
Love Alone Is Credible · Hans Urs von Balthasar
Foundations of Christian Faith: An Introduction to the Idea of Christianity · Karl Rahner
Treatise on Sacred Doctrine (Q[1]) · Thomas Aquinas
Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator · John Calvin
Commentary on Galatians · Martin Luther
Fifteen Sermons. On Various Subjects · Jonathan Edwards
Hortatory Address to the Greeks · Justin Martyr
Treatise on The One God (QQ[2-26]) · Thomas Aquinas
A Treatise on the Spirit and the Letter · Augustine of Hippo
Five Sermons. On Different Occasions · Jonathan Edwards
Man's Natural Blindness in Religion · Jonathan Edwards
The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril · Cyril of Jerusalem
A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections, in Three Parts · Jonathan Edwards
Book Second. of the Knowledge of God the Redeemer, in Christ, as First Manifested to the Fathers, Under the Law, and Thereafter to Us Under the Gospel · John Calvin
Christian Knowledge · Jonathan Edwards