1. OBJECTIVES After completing this section, you will be able to:
Articulate the importance of the special communication of God.
Describe the basic terminology that relates to the topic of Special Revelation.
Compare and contrast the various opinions on the topic of Special Revelation.
Explain what the various sections of the Bible say about Special Revelation.
Correlate the gathered biblical information to create scriptural conclusions. Also, you will use the formulated conclusions to assess the various perspectives and to identify the correct view on the specific communication of God.
Utilize the tool of apologetics to defend the biblical view of Special Revelation.
Apply the acquired truths with the aim of glorifying God.

2. “The map of God’s activity, then, is not a blank ocean between the apostolic shores and our modern day. So we need to remember—and search for our roots in—the luminaries, risk takers, and movements of the church through the centuries. To neglect them is not only to risk repeating past errors, it is to fall victim to a narrowing amnesia that leaves us floundering.”
Timothy K. Jones

3. OVERVIEW CHART
Is the entire Bible inspired by God and inerrant in all that it affirms?
Is the Bible alone the ultimate source of truth and authority?
Roman Catholic View Y N
Easter Orthodox View
Religious Liberal View
Neo-Orthodox View
Traditional Protestant View

4. Discussion Questions
For this section, you must list two historic facts for each perspective.
Roman Catholic View
Eastern Orthodox View
Religious Liberal View
Neo-Orthodox View
Traditional Protestant View
Fact 1
Fact 2

5. Discussion Questions
1054 AD?

6. Discussion Questions
For this section, you must list two theological beliefs for each perspective.
Roman Catholic View
Eastern Orthodox View
Religious Liberal View
Neo-Orthodox View
Traditional Protestant View
Fact 1
Fact 2

7. I. ROMAN CATHOLIC VIEW History Beliefs The word Catholic
7th-15th Century
Beliefs
On Sola Scriptura
On Papal Authority
On the Quality of Scripture
II Vatican Council

8. I. ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
“The evolution in nature is not opposed to the notion of Creation, because evolution presupposes the creation of beings that evolve,” Pope Francis said, according to a Vatican newswire transcript of the event.
“When we read in Genesis the account of Creation, we risk imagining that God was a magician, with such a magic wand as to be able to do everything,” he said. “However, it was not like that. He created beings and left them to develop according to the internal laws that He gave each one, so that they would develop, and reach their fullness.” The creation of the universe, Francis said, was not a singular event, but rather “went forward for centuries and centuries, millennia and millennia until it became what we know today.”
How much authority should the Pope possess?

9. II. EASTERN ORTHODOX VIEW
History
Constantine’s Move
Fall of Roman Empire
Doctrinal Differences with RC
December 7th, 1965
Beliefs
On Scripture
On Septuagint
On Additional Revelations

10. II. Eastern Orthodox Church
How is the Eastern Orthodox church experience different from CityView’s experience? Do you believe this is acceptable diversity? Is there anything that you would deem unbiblical?
“Many of them (saints) have been given special "grace" or "favor" to perform miracles either before their departure from this world or after. … They have been granted the special gift to pray and intercede for those still living in this world and fighting the "good fight" for the glory of God and their own perfection in Christ. This intercession springs from the fact that they also are part of the "Communion of Saints … In every Liturgy, we ask God the Father to accept, on our behalf, "the prayers and the intercession" of all the Saints who now live in heaven. The Fathers of the Church also accept as a matter of course the prayers and the intercession of all the saints.”
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

11. III. RELIGIOUS LIBERAL VIEW
History
Enlightenment
Truth-Source Switch
Beliefs
On the Nature of Scripture
On Prime Sources
On Motive
On Perspectives

12. IV. NEO-ORTHDOX VIEW History Beliefs
Born in Basel, Switzerland in 1886
Flirted with Liberalism
WWI changed his view on humanity
Church Dogmatics
Impacted Dietrich Bonheoffer
Beliefs
On God’s Transcendence
On the Supremacy of Experience
On the Quality and Function of the Bible

13. 1.
God revealed Himself to persons during biblical times (Infallible) 2.
The biblical authors sought to describe these events (fallible)
The Bible is a collection of fallible descriptions of infallible experiences 3.
The Holy Spirit can make the fallible Bible (functionally) inspired and inerrant during a crisis encounter.

14. V. Traditional Protestant View
History
Beliefs
On the Quality of Scripture
On the Authority of Scripture

15. Luther courageously stood up to the Roman Catholic Church
Luther courageously stood up to the Roman Catholic Church. He heralded Scripture as the supreme authority. What (alleged) truth sources are influential in today’s world? Do they contradict the Bible? How should Christians respond?