Can we find God by unaided reason?
I
don’t believe humans can uncover the will of God by unaided reason and
by reflecting on the creation. I don’t believe the will of God is
written in our DNA (though I don’t know how environment affects the
genes of a developing human or the infant child). I think God revealed
foundational moral and relational truths to us from the beginning and
that he added to those through prophets, priests and leaders. I think
too that he enables us to use those foundational truths and additional
materials in daily living and experience so that we can develop other
moral truths from them. (The biblical Wisdom literature—Proverbs, for
example—shows that God teaches generations through prior generations.) I
believe that God has acted in self-disclosure in history through
pivotal events and people and covenants he established.
I believe David knew the heavens declare the glory of God because he was taught
it that rather than deducing it by unaided reason. And the God whose
glory he spoke of was not some Aristotelian conclusion—it was the God of
Israel so we shouldn't generalise Psalm 19.
I
don’t believe Romans 1:18-32 is talking about truths deduced by unaided
reason but about truth God revealed and was illustrated in the
creation. No one came up with all the moral truths of Romans 1:18-32 by
making rational deductions without special revelation.
©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.
Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.