Franciscan Studies

THE BIBLE AND THE KNOWABILITY OF GOD Fr. A n t o n in e D eG u g lielm o , O. F. M. This paper has for its purpose the investigation and exposition of the biblical doctrine on the knowability of God from purely natural sources. The problem that engages our attention is not whether God exists or whether the Bible teaches the existence of God. In point of fact, the existence of God is assumed everywhere in the Sacred Scriptures, which, as the medium of the supernatural revelation of God to man, would have no reason for existence unless God actually exists also. Never in the Bible do we find any formal proof of God’s existence. True, some passages of later books1 may seem to reason out this fact; but a careful study of such passages will reveal that the sacred writer is concerned not so much with proving God exists as with correcting false opinions regarding the nature of God, who is known even by the Gentiles, however obscurely. Our question is: Does the Bible teach that man can come to know God without the aid of supernatural revelation, hence from purely natural revela­ tion? Assuming an affirmative answer to this question, we propose then to determine what the Bible designates as the natural sources of that knowledge, the process by which it may be obtained, the quality of such knowledge, and the attributes of God which may be derived from a study of natural revelation. In the course of this paper we shall therefore discuss the more important, if not all the passages in the Bible that throw some light on this subject. The basis of our research is, of course, an examination of the texts involved. W e realize we can hardly hope to give more information on a matter that has engaged the best minds of the Church throughout the well-nigh twenty centuries of her existence. At most, we plan and endeavor only to set forth an orderly and systematic expose of the biblical doctrine. Doctrine Assumed in the Bible In the earliest books of the Bible the sacred authors do not set out to prove the existence or cognoscibility of God; He is presented to the readers without introduction as someone very well known to them. For example in the very first lines of Genesis we read that God created heaven and earth. Who God is, or what He is, is left unexplained. The obvious reason for this omission of information concerning God is that the readers are assumed to be thoroughly acquainted with Him; that they know their God sufficiently, if not perfectly. This assumption pervades all of the older books of the Bible. Only when the sacred writers come into contact with the Gentiles is there a formal demonstration that the God whom the Israelites know to exist can also be known to all men through natural means. The earlier writers, it is true, do not inform us by what means their readers had obtained their knowl­ edge of God. In the case of the Israelites this knowledge would spring from an original divine revelation concerning the Godhead, and we should then be justified in concluding that the Bible assumes God can be known from divine revelation. We note, however, that the Bible does not always 1. E. g.. Acts 14, 15-17; 17, 22-31. 339 340 FRANCISCAN STUDIES deal exclusively with the Israelites, particularly in the first chapters of Genesis, which trace the earliest history of mankind. Although the readers of the Bible were Israelites, in many cases the Bible treats of Gentiles, who are also assumed to possess a knowledge of God. W e conclude, therefore, that it is always the assumption of the Bible that God is known or can be known by man. The source of this knowledge is not specified; most probably, though, the Israelites were indebted to divine, the Gentiles to natural revela­ tion. Later books of the Bible, as we shall see, expressly state that God can be known naturally. This Doctrine Taught Directly by the Bible There are some passages in Holy W rit which deal directly with the knowableness...