Revelation

Revelation is intrinsic to religious belief. Without this concept all religions would have died a death in the last century as scientific advances pushed the need for God further and further into the dark recesses of human affairs. In the early days of humanity the simple fact of the universe’s existence was proof enough of God. With no understanding of evolution or cosmological history the fact that we were actually here in the first place proved that we had been created by some higher power. All creation myths start with nothingness or chaos before order is brought about by the benevolence of some Deity or another. Humanity is fashioned, then favoured and a clockwork universe installed for its benefit and comfort.

When approached from the mindset of the ancients this makes perfect philosophical sense. Something can’t possibly come from nothing; the world appears ordered and constant and, crucially, designed. Everything around you is a reminder of the kindness of your God and, more to the point, a reminder for you not to forget your duties to them.Within this framework revelation becomes an important part of a two way communication with the Creator. You must have been created for a reason; the Deity, therefore, has a plan for you or he/she wouldn't have bothered making you in the first place. Through these revelations information is passed on to the community, God’s desires are manifested and the whole tribe can get on the same page. The tribe reciprocates with prayer and the circuit is complete.

How these revelations come about, and how each is assigned validity, for the most part largely depends on the community. For instance, can only certain castes pick up these revelations? Do the receivers have to be specifically trained or purified to receive God’s, or the Gods’, messages? Are there any cultural or political restrictions to prevent someone from communicating with the Almighty or the Almighties? The Delphic oracles had to be women; no man could be trusted with such an important link to the other world. A man with prophetic abilities would become all powerful and inevitably overthrow the rulers of ancient Hellas. Women were perfectly safe; prophetic or not women were just women and therefore of no threat.

Does the communicator have to undergo some physical or perceptual change in order to open up the spiritual connection? Do hallucinatory drugs have to be taken; does the subject have to be starved in order to make them better receivers of divine knowledge? Central American shamen do both to aid the crossover to other realms. What ever the method or who ever the supplicant a belief in a higher power necessitates the need for messages and information to be gathered from that power. Without religious revelation a God would soon fall out of favour; it would have little use as it became too distant and remote; humanity would soon need to search out a new God; a user friendly, hands on, God that was more inclined to pass on decrees and judgments to keep the populous in check.

The God of the Bible, Yahweh, the Abrahamic God, took revelation to a whole new level; this God chose who he spoke to. With Yahweh there was no need for incantations, volcanic gasses or hallucinogenic drugs, he simply contacted whoever he wanted to directly. Yahweh shows up, angels in tow, to have dinner with Abraham; this Deity is so ‘hands on’ he is willing to break bread with the man he has chosen. Moses, on the other hand, doesn’t get a personal appearance; he has to be content with a talking, flaming bush; but he does get to hear the voice of God. Here revelation is direct and personal; God searches out his favourites and commands them to obey. There is no choice for either Abraham or Moses; they are chosen. The Delphic oracles and the shamen actively tried to acquire information; in the case of the Biblical prophets information is thrust upon them, God has revealed himself and the choice is taken out of their hands.

This type of divine intervention would become the norm in Jewish, Christian and Islamic circles. God reveals himself, hence the word revelation. The bond between worshiper and the worshiped becomes incredibly personal because of this. The receiver has a unique and intimate relationship with their God; a direct line to their creator without any need of an intermediary. By definition the information they get can not be questioned, it is perfect because it has come directly from God. There is no second opinion and of course that’s where all the trouble starts.

As I said at the start of this blog science has pushed God into the dark dank corners of our ignorance. Existence can be explained or at least theorized at. We now know that we didn't just pop into being fully formed at the whim of some father figure dwelling in the heavens. We know that are development was slow and laborious and due more to luck than anything else; the evolution of mankind owes more to the emergence of the Himalayas and the resulting African savannah than any Deity we subsequently invented to explain ourselves to ourselves. However this doesn't overpower the power of revelation over people. This comforting, personal link to God still dominates the psyche of the religious and it has become apparent that no amount of scientific or historical knowledge can shake them free of it.

No religious speaker with any intelligence will try to argue their point with facts anymore. Facts are the apologist’s Achilles heel. Science has all the facts and proofs and arguments currently available and the apologists know this. Religious speakers warn their flocks to steer clear of facts when debating Atheists as they realise any battle will be lost with this approach.

Luckily, for bored Atheists worldwide, some will still try to argue against knowledge. The Creationist world view prevails in some quarters and these believers still attempt to pull apart scientific discoveries and fail miserably. They have yet to acknowledge that using pseudo-science to discredit real-science is a lost cause. The futility of trying to prove that the Bible is historically accurate or arguing that man is more closely related to dust than chimpanzees only serves to strengthen the Atheist movement. Reading debates between Atheists and Creationists is like watching a cat toying with a mouse until it chooses to put it out of its misery.

The only weapon that religious have remaining in their arsenal is revelation; the deep personal connection to God by which God passes on his instruction. It’s telling that no Christians I've spoken to have actually described the form this instruction takes. Whether it a voice in their head, a vision or just a gut feeling they don’t seem to want to tell me, I can’t think why. Many Christians have pleaded with me, out of genuine concern for my soul, to engage in this dialogue with the Almighty. In order to be saved, in order for The Lord to give me proof of his existence, I have to open myself to his revelation; I have to give myself, without question, into his hands and I will, at last, know him.

However, to do this, I would have to ignore all the knowledge that I've amassed over my lifetime. In order to be saved I will have to abandon everything I know and respect about humanity, all the glorious social advances and scientific discoveries. It seems God only reveals himself to people who are prepared to switch off their minds and block out all contradictory arguments. In effect, in order to hear the voice of God one first has to cover ones ears to silence out the rest of reality; reality has an unwavering habit of undermining religious argument and to acknowledge any contradictory arguments to your faith will upset God and he stops talking to you.

God’s revealed truth therefore comes at a cost. To get that assurance of his existence you first have to believe wholeheartedly in his existence. The whole argument for revelation is circulatory and self contained. The belief has to be in place before the proof is revealed, and by definition any proof you receive will be informed by the initial belief. So in scientific terms revelation is no proof what so ever merely an expression of the original belief system.

It is comforting that the professionally religious only have divine revelation left; a scientifically unfalsifiable argument to justify their beliefs. What used to be an important part of tribal life, an early expression of man getting to grips with philosophy, has now been relegated to nothing more than a stubborn, childish argument.


‘I know because I know, so there!’