bout revelation
may be.

Let me suppose, then, that an objector, speaking on behalf of
revelation as the main source of religious insight, states his case
briefly thus: "Man learns of his need for salvation chiefly through
learning what God's will is, and through a consequent discovery that
his own natural will is not in conformity with God's will. He learns
about the way of salvation by finding out by what process God is
willing to save him. Both sorts of knowledge must be principally
mediated through God's revelation of himself, of his will, and of his
plan of salvation. For, left to himself, man cannot find out these
things. Apart from revelation, they are divine secrets. Hence the
principal source of religious insight must be revelation."

Whoever states his case thus brings to our attention at this point
what I may venture to name: The Religious Paradox, or, to use other
terms. The Paradox of Revelation. I call attention to this {21}
paradox in no spirit of mere cavilling or quibbling. The importance of
the matter the whole course of these lectures will show. The religious
paradox, as we shall define it, is one of the deepest facts in all
religious history and experience. It will meet us everywhere; and
every devout soul daily faces it. Moreover, as we shall see, it is a
special case of a paradox regarding our human insight which is as
universal and pervasive, in its significance for us, as is our human
intelligence itself. I call it here the religious paradox. I shall
later show you that it might be called, just as correctly, the paradox
of common-sense, the paradox of reason, the paradox of knowledge, yes,
the paradox of being thoughtfully alive in any sense whatever.

The religious paradox, viewed as it first comes to us, may be stated
thus: Let a man say: "I have this or this religious insight because
God has revealed to me, thus and thus, his will about me and his
plans; has taught me my need of salvation and the divine way of
salvation.

"'Man is blind because of sin;
Revelation makes him sure;
Without that who looks within,
Looks in vain; for all's obscure.'"

Let a man say this. At once, addressing this believer in a revelation,
we must ask, in no jesting spirit, but with the fullest sense of the
tragic gravity of the issue: "By what marks do you personally {22}
distinguish a divine revelation from any other sort of report?"

Consider for an instant what this question implies. A deposit