Afterword

This Afterword attempts to summarize the main ways of interpreting revelation in this book. One group takes ‘revelation’ as a term which describes revelation as something which a group of people ‘believe’ happened, where this belief shapes the religiosity of the group. A second way of interpreting revelation sees it as actually given to the group from beyond itself, but as also expressive of a society. Thirdly, we find philosophical interpretations of revelation, as the self-disclosure of a reality or being which transcends individuals and social groups, but where reason rather than faith is pivotal in receiving the revelation. Fourthly, revelation is interpreted theologically, as the objective disclosure of a transcendent reality which can only be received in faith. It is claimed that the first three frameworks for understanding revelation depend upon the fourth, since it grounds their otherwise circular assumptions, such as the receptiveness of the human mind or the self-giving quality of being.