Etymology of Divine Revelation
Introduction
In Christianity, it is clear that God has made known Himself to humanity. Thus the doctrine of divine revelation is espoused: It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal himself and to make known the mystery of his will. (DV 1)[1] Further, the Church teaches that it is through Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, closely bound together, that this revelatory communication takes place. (cf. DV 9)[2] It is from this point of view that we have looked, in this paper, on the discussion of divine revelation. Realising that this is a wide topic, we have confined ourselves to research and come up with information trying to explain how Sacred Scripture is a requisite for divine revelation fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. This interest arose from reading of a dogmatic article by George Dejaifve, “Revelation and the Church” in the journal: Theology Digest vol. xiv no. 2. This article mainly tries to explain the Church’s perspective as regards her role in the transmission of divine revelation preserved in Sacred Scripture. However, in no way do we separate Scripture from Tradition, rather we present the primacy of Scripture in that it remains first in its order of representing the mystery of salvation/revelation (these terms are used synonymously in our paper). Scripture is the norm of the faith of the Church. Consequently, guided by George’s article, we have presented Scripture as the sole objective testimony of God’s revelation. The work has been divided into two chapters, each with subdivisions. In chapter one, we have explained divine revelation in Scripture: its development. Chapter two brings to light the fulfillment of this revelation in Jesus Christ: the incarnation and later the Church’s involvement as preserver and authentic interpreter of the revealed truth. In this study, our aim has been to try and show how divine revelation started in the Old Testament through creation of a relationship between
In Christianity, it is clear that God has made known Himself to humanity. Thus the doctrine of divine revelation is espoused: It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal himself and to make known the mystery of his will. (DV 1)[1] Further, the Church teaches that it is through Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, closely bound together, that this revelatory communication takes place. (cf. DV 9)[2] It is from this point of view that we have looked, in this paper, on the discussion of divine revelation. Realising that this is a wide topic, we have confined ourselves to research and come up with information trying to explain how Sacred Scripture is a requisite for divine revelation fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. This interest arose from reading of a dogmatic article by George Dejaifve, “Revelation and the Church” in the journal: Theology Digest vol. xiv no. 2. This article mainly tries to explain the Church’s perspective as regards her role in the transmission of divine revelation preserved in Sacred Scripture. However, in no way do we separate Scripture from Tradition, rather we present the primacy of Scripture in that it remains first in its order of representing the mystery of salvation/revelation (these terms are used synonymously in our paper). Scripture is the norm of the faith of the Church. Consequently, guided by George’s article, we have presented Scripture as the sole objective testimony of God’s revelation. The work has been divided into two chapters, each with subdivisions. In chapter one, we have explained divine revelation in Scripture: its development. Chapter two brings to light the fulfillment of this revelation in Jesus Christ: the incarnation and later the Church’s involvement as preserver and authentic interpreter of the revealed truth. In this study, our aim has been to try and show how divine revelation started in the Old Testament through creation of a relationship between
Bibliography: • Ackeren V. Gerald et al., eds., Theology Digest vol. xiv no. 2., St. Mary’s College, Kansas, 1966. • Dupuis Jacques and Neuner Josef, The Christian Faith: In the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic Church, Theological Publications In India, Bangalore, 1999. • Flannery Austin, ed., Vatican II: The Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents, Paulines Publications, Mumbai, 1999. • Fries Heinrich, Revelation, Herder and Herder Inc., New York, 1969. • Harrington J. Wilfrid, Record of Revelation: The Bible, Priory Press, Chicago, 1965. • Schmaus Michael, Dogma 1: God in Revelation, Sheed and Ward Inc., New York, 1968. [3] H. Fries, Revelation (New York; Herder and Herder Inc. 1969) 20. [5] J. Dupuis and J. Neuner, The Christian Faith: In the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic Church (Bangalore; Theological Publications In India 1999) 43. [7] M. SCHMAUS, Dogma I: God in Revelation (New York; Seed and Ward Inc. 1968) 5. [10] G. Dejaifve, “Revelation and the Church”, Theology Digest vol. xiv no. 2 (Kansas; St. Mary’s College 1966) 104. [23] W. J. HARRINGTON, Record of Revelation: The Bible (Chicago; Priory Press 1965) 15.