Abstract
Recent controversies over integrating modern science and Scripture have led to faculty firings and wholesale changes in academic programs. An underlying question is the relationship between science and general revelation. This article argues that modern science and general revelation are not the same but the relationship between them depends upon the approach one takes to the object of general revelation. The article concludes with guidelines for integrating general and special revelation faithfully.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Adams
M. M.
(2018 ). Sanctifying matter . In
McCall
T.
Torrance
A.
(Eds.), Knowing creation: Perspectives from theology, philosophy, and science (pp. 171 –179 ). Grand Rapids, MI : Zondervan Academic .
2.
Allen
B.
(2005 , March 16 ). Seminary adopts “biblical” counseling . Ethics Daily . Retrieved from https://ethicsdaily.com/seminary-adopts-biblical-counseling-cms-5476/
3.
Allen
B.
(2017 , September 14 ). Critics say seminary professor’s departure reveals faculty rift between faith and science . Baptist News Global . Retrieved from https://baptistnews.com/article/critics-say-seminary-professors-departure-reveals-faculty-rift-faith-science/
4.Augustine . (2009 ). On Christian doctrine (
Shaw
J. F.
, Trans.). Mineola, NY : Dover Publications .
5.Biblical Counseling at Southwestern . (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2019, from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary website : https://swbts.edu/academics/schools/school-educational-ministries/biblical-counseling/
6.
Calvin
J.
(1960 ). Institutes of the Christian religion . Philadelphia : Westminster Press .
7.
Crews
F.
(1996 ). The verdict on Freud . Psychological Science , 7 (2 ), 63 –68 . https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1996.tb00331.x
8.
Demarest
B.
(1982 ). General revelation: Historical views and contemporary issues . Grand Rapids, MI : Zondervan .
9.
Giberson
K.
(2010 ). How should BioLogos respond to Dr. Albert Mohler’s critique? BioLogos Forum . Retrieved from https://biologos.org/articles/how-should-biologos-respond-to-dr-albert-mohlers-critique-karls-response
10.
Giberson
K.
(2017 , April 24 ). Exposing the Straw Men of New Atheism: Part 5 . Retrieved August 29, 2019, from BioLogos website : https://web.archive.org/web/20170424041755/http://biologos.org/blogs/archive/exposing-the-straw-men-of-new-atheism-part-5
11.
Gootjes
N. H.
(1995 ). General revelation and science: Reflections on a remark in Report 28 . Calvin Theological Journal , 30 , 94 –107 .
12.
Hodge
C.
(1994 ). What is Darwinism? (
Noll
M.
Livingstone
D.
, Eds.). Grand Rapids, MI : Baker Book House .
13.
Howard
D.
(2010 ). A critical analysis of general revelation . Criswell Theological Review , 8 (1 ), 53 –75 .
14.
Klinghoffer
D.
(2018 , August 2 ). Princeton researchers watch “junk DNA” at work . Evolution News . Retrieved from https://evolutionnews.org/2018/08/princeton-researchers-watch-junk-dna-at-work/
15.
Kreeft
P.
(2005 ). The philosophy of Tolkien: The worldview behind the Lord of the Rings . San Francisco : Ignatius Press .
16.
Kulikovsky
A.
(2005 ). Scripture and general revelation . Journal of Creation , 19 (2 ), 23 –28 .
17.
Lambert
H.
(2016 ). A theology of biblical counseling: The doctrinal foundations of counseling ministry . Grand Rapids, MI : Zondervan .
18.
Lewis
G. R.
Demarest
B. A.
(1996 ). Integrative theology: Historical, biblical, systematic, apologetic, practical (Vol. 1) . Grand Rapids, MI : Zondervan .
19.
Luther
M.
(1967 ). Table talk . In
Lehmann
H.
(Ed.), Luther’s works (Vol. 54 , pp. 358 –359 ). Philadelphia, PA : Fortress Press .
20.
McElwee
K.
(2018 , July 23 ). Imaging in living cells reveals how “junk DNA” switches on a gene . Retrieved from https://www.princeton.edu/news/2018/07/23/imaging-living-cells-reveals-how-junk-dna-switches-gene
21.
Mohler
A.
(2010 , October 27 ). Science trumps the Bible?—an amazingly candid (and disastrous) argument . Retrieved from http://albertmohler.com/2010/10/27/science-trumps-the-bible-an-amazingly-candid-and-disastrous-argument/
22.
Moore
R.
(2005 ). Counseling and the authority of Christ: A new vision for biblical counseling at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary . Louisville, KY : Southern Baptist Theological Seminary .
23.
Moore
T. M.
(2005 ). Consider the lilies: A plea for creational theology . Phillipsburg, NJ : P&R Publishing .
24.
Neff
D.
(2011 ). Mark Noll on the Foundation of the Evangelical Mind . Retrieved from http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/august/nollfoundationmind.html
25.
Newman
J. H
. (2014 ). The idea of a university . Digireads.com Publishing .
26.
Palmer
P. J.
(2017 ). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life, 20th anniversary edition (20th ed .). Hoboken, NJ : Jossey-Bass .
27.
Shellnutt
K.
(2017 , September 18 ). Has Christian psychology lost its place at Southern Seminary? Christianity Today . Retrieved from https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2017/september-web-only/johnson-southern-biblical-counseling-christian-psychology.html
28.
Stephens
S
. (n.d. ). The history of Christian counseling and general revelation: The misuse of a biblical doctrine . Association of Certified Biblical Counselors . Retrieved from https://biblicalcounseling.com/resources/acbc-essays/history-christian-counseling-general-revelation/
29.
Tautges
P.
(2017 , October 30 ). Why special revelation trumps general revelation . Counseling One Another . Retrieved from http://counselingoneanother.com/2017/10/30/why-special-revelation-trumps-general-revelation/
30.
Thomas
R. L.
(1998 ). General revelation and biblical hermeneutics . Master’s Seminary Journal , 9 (1 ), 5 –23 .
31.
Torrance
A.
(2018 ). Not knowing creation . In
McCall
T.
Torrance
A.
(Eds.), Knowing creation: Perspectives from theology, philosophy, and science . Grand Rapids, MI : Zondervan Academic .
32.
VandenBerg
M.
(2010 ). What general revelation does (and does not) tell us . Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith , 62 (1 ), 16 –24 .
33.
Venema
D.
(2015 , July 16 ). Genetics and the historical Adam: A response to William Lane Craig . BioLogos . Retrieved from https://biologos.org/articles/genetics-and-the-historical-adam-a-response-to-william-lane-craig/
34.
Wells
J.
(1988 ). Charles Hodge on the Bible and science . American Presbyterians , 66 (3 ), 157 –165 .
35.
Westphal
M.
(1998 ). Suspicion and Faith: The Religious Uses of Modern Atheism . Fordham Univ Press .
36.
Winfrey
D.
(2005 , February 28 ). Southern Seminary nixes pioneering curriculum for “biblical counseling .” Baptist News Global . Retrieved from https://baptistnews.com/article/southernseminarynixespioneeringcurriculumforbiblicalcounseling/
37.
Wood
R. C.
(2003 ). The Gospel according to Tolkien: Visions of the kingdom in Middle-earth . Louisville, KY : Westminster John Knox Press .
38.
Worthington
E. L.
(2006 ). Forgiveness and reconciliation: Theory and application . New York, NY : Routledge .