Basic HTML Version
21
communication of God to man is denied. Sufficient knowledge of God can be obtained without
it, since man can discover God for himself in the depths of his own being, in the material
universe, and above all in Jesus Christ, since these are all but outward manifestations of the
immanent God. It is over against this trend in theology that Barth now raises his voice and
points out that God is not to be found in nature, in history, or in human experience of any kind,
but only in the special revelation that has reached us in the Bible. In his strong statements
respecting the hidden God he uses the language of Luther rather than of Calvin.
Reformed theology holds that God can be known, but that it is impossible for man to have a
knowledge of Him that is exhaustive and perfect in every way. To have such a knowledge of
God would be equivalent to comprehending Him, and this is entirely out of the question:
“Finitum non possit capere infinitum.” Furthermore, man cannot give a definition of God in the
proper sense of the word, but only a partial description. A logical definition is impossible,
because God cannot be subsumed under some higher genus. At the same time it is maintained
that man can obtain a knowledge of God that is perfectly adequate for the realization of the
divine purpose in the life of man. However, true knowledge of God can be acquired only from
the divine self-revelation, and only by the man who accepts this with childlike faith. Religion
necessarily presupposes such a knowledge. It is the most sacred relation between man and his
God, a relation in which man is conscious of the absolute greatness and majesty of God as the
supreme Being, and of his own utter insignificance and subjection to the High and Holy One.
And if this is true, it follows that religion presupposes the knowledge of God in man. If man
were left absolutely in the dark respecting the being of God, it would be impossible for him to
assume a religious attitude. There could be no reverence, no piety, no fear of God, no
worshipful service.
B. Denial of the Knowability of God.
The possibility of knowing God has been denied on various grounds. This denial is generally
based on the supposed limits of the human faculty of cognition, though it has been presented
in several different forms. The fundamental position is that the human mind is incapable of
knowing anything of that which lies beyond and behind natural phenomena, and is therefore
necessarily ignorant of supersensible and divine things. Huxley was the first to apply to those
who assume this position, himself included, the name “agnostics.” They are entirely in line with
the sceptics of former centuries and of Greek philosophy. As a rule agnostics do not like to be
branded as atheists, since they do not deny absolutely that there is a God, but declare that they
do not know whether He exists or not, and even if He exists, are not certain that they have any
true knowledge of Him, and in many cases even deny that they can have any real knowledge of
Him.