Revealed Knowledge in Faith, Grace, & Jesus Christ
Religious Studies: OCR A Level, topic 3.3.2
Knowledge of God’s Existence Through Faith & God’s Grace
As humans are sinful and have finite minds, natural knowledge is not sufficient to gain full knowledge of God. Knowledge of God is possible through faith and God's grace.
Revelation
- The word revelation comes from a Greek term meaning to unveil.
- It is used in religion as a term to describe God revealing himself to humanity.
- Grace is God’s gift of knowledge of himself through the Holy Spirit.
- According to Augustine, all humans are sinful and have a finite mind.
- Augustine bases his belief on the book of Genesis and ‘The Fall' of man.
- So, natural knowledge is insufficient to gain full knowledge of God. Knowledge of God is possible through faith and grace.
Knowledge
- St Thomas Aquinas wrote about faith and the ways in which it complements and differs from other kinds of knowledge.
- In 'Summa Theologica', he explores how empirical and logical knowledge ‘scientia’ is certain.
- He sees this as certain because we can see the evidence in front of us, either through our senses or by using reason.
Faith
- Unlike knowledge, faith does not have this firm self-evident certainty.
- So, faith is a voluntary choice:
- ‘An act of the intellect assenting to the truth at the command of the will’.
- Aquinas argued that we cannot have faith and scientific knowledge about the same thing.
- Faith is about those things where certainty is not readily available. Science is about the things we can test and confirm for ourselves.
Faith vs opinion
- For Aquinas, faith differs from opinion too.
- In Aquinas’ view, because opinion does not have the certainty that faith does.
- Like faith, opinion is a matter of choice.
- This is because the evidence is not clear in supporting one view or another.
- But, opinion is open to change as people might be persuaded to change their opinions.
- Faith has a certain and solid commitment that does not have elements of doubt.
Revealed Knowledge of God in Jesus Christ
Full and perfect knowledge of God is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, the life of the Church and the Bible.
Types of revelation
- Sometimes theologians make a distinction between 'immediate' and ‘mediate' revelation.
- Immediate revelation is when someone is given direct knowledge about God.
- Mediate revelation is learning about God but less directly. It could be through someone else who has experienced God.
Person of Jesus Christ
- Full and perfect knowledge of God is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ and through the life of the Church and the Bible.
- It is Christian belief that Jesus was the incarnation of God, meaning God in human form.
- According to John's Gospel, Jesus was the 'word made flesh'.
- For this reason, Jesus' words are believed to be the very words of God.
- Jesus' actions and sacrifice on the cross are believed to be the actions and sacrifice of God, revealing God’s omnibenevolent nature.
Jesus' miracles
- In Christian thought, Jesus' miracles reveal the nature of God in different ways.
- Jesus calming the storm reveals God's omnipotence over the laws of nature.
- Jesus healing of people from leprosy, blindness, and paralysis reveals God's grace in restoring people.
- Jesus feeding of the 5,000 shows God is the giver of everything people need for their lives.
- Jesus raising Lazarus reveals God as the giver of life after death.
Test yourself on Revealed Knowledge in Faith, Grace, & Jesus Christ
What would Aquinas argue is the difference between faith and 'scientia'?
Which of the following Bible interpretations comes from the phrase Jesus was the 'word made flesh'?