Tuesday, October 2, 2007

the achilles of christian theology

Revelation in most the most basic theological sense is God’s self revelation to humanity. Within that idea, Christian theology commonly distinguishes two main arenas of revelation: general and special. General revelation has typically been characterized as God’s ongoing process of revealing something about the divine nature through the creation, history, moral conscience, and perhaps even a universal religious aptitude. Special revelation, however, is much more specific in both means and content: Jesus as the Christ. Through the particular and culminating revelation of Christ as the incarnate Word, known through the written Word of God, the Bible, we become acutely aware of our human predicament and God’s efforts to procure our salvation.

Revelation for Christian Theology is not just concerned with the revealed truth but also the process or means of. So the question that has and still looms large over theology is the nature of revelation. It is a question of epistemology: how do we know? It has been said that revelation is the “Achilles heel” that allows Christian systems of theology to stand or fall.

This piece hints at those ideas. The image of Christ, the summit of revelation, sits atop more general revelation of the sky. Both are upheld by the strength of the achilles tendon and heel.