Blogging Boyce: Chapter 3 – Reason and Revelation
At first glance it seems like Boyce has a slightly more optimistic outlook on human reason than the Bible, yet he is always quick to temper his faith in reason with the overriding principles of divine revelation. He also has a radically different view of what reason actually is than the rationalists of his day.
For Boyce, the mind is not an original source of knowledge, but an instrument with which man attains knowledge. There are no such things as innate ideas. Man is incapable of thinking right about God, therefore especially in fallen man, but even when man was in a state of innocence, he needed direct communication from God to understand God.
Whatever God has given as truth must remain truth forever, as changeless as his own nature and character. Yet revelation is progressive, given to man in small doses, correcting misperceptions, building a theological framework over time whereby God is more fully revealed
Reason is not an arbitrary judge of truth but is only able to judge truth from new revelation in light of old revelation and examine the evidence and application of it. Sanctified reason is able to adopt or reject revelation and teaching according to evidence afforded in the Word of God.
