In our previous blog post, we described what you can expect from attending this conference. The skills you will begin to develop in thinking about general revelation and knowing God. In this post, we will begin that process by thinking about general revelation. What is general revelation?

General revelation is the study of what is real. It is what all persons at all times can think about and know. Would you like to know what is real? Not simply to have an opinion about what is real but to know it so that you understand the concept and can explain it to others?

I remember having a childhood friend who once introduced me to his imaginary friend. I didn’t know what to think. He pointed to this person supposedly next to him but there was no one there. I asked if his friend was invisible and he said “no, he’s right here.” Later I asked my parents if they could see anyone else with my friend and they said no it was just the two of us. My friend’s friend wasn’t real.

How does this relate to God? Is God an imaginary friend? Or is God real? And how can we know one way or the other? If you were to talk to my friend he would have told you that his imaginary friend speaks to him and gives him good advice. But there isn’t really such a friend. So our thinking that God is real or that we have had experiences of God doesn’t give us knowledge any more than it did for my friend.

What does it mean to be real? To exist? To have being? We know that all that we see around us changes. It is here now but then changes in the future. It is not, and then it is, and then it is not again. Is there anything that always exists? That always “is” and never “is not”? When we ask this we are asking about what is real and eternal. What has existed from eternity? And that will be the subject of our next post.

What can you do? Please share information about our conference with those who might be interested. And it is important that they sign up on our web page under RSVP so they begin receiving our newsletter.