A MANUAL OF CATHOLIC THEOLOGY
PART I
THE OBJECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF THEOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE
CHAPTER I
DIVINE REVELATION
SECT. 1.—Notion Of Revelation—Three Degrees Of Revelation
I. THE word Revelation originally means an unveiling—a manifestation of some object by drawing back the covering by which it was hidden. Hence we commonly use the word in the sense of a bringing to light some fact or truth hitherto not generally known. But it is especially applied to manifestations made by God, Who is Himself hidden from our eyes, yet makes Himself known to us. It is with this Divine Revelation that we are here concerned.
II. God discloses Himself to us in three ways. The study of the universe, and especially of man, the noblest object in the universe, clearly proves to us the existence of One Who is the Creator and Lord of all. This mode of manifestation is called Natural Revelation, because it is brought about by means of nature, and because our own nature has a claim to it, as will be hereafter explained. But God has also spoken to man by His own voice, both directly and through Prophets, Apostles, and Sacred Writers.
