Special Revelation as Scriptural

The specific question faced in this essay is whether special divine revelation has received embodiment in Holy Scripture. Are the Old and New Testaments to be acknowledged, not only as containing a record of the history of such revelation, but also as being themselves the very Word of God? Do they constitute divine revelation because of their intrinsic character, altogether apart from the response that they may evoke, whether of faith or unbelief? In connection with the modern occupation with the concept of revelation it is widely insisted that, as divine revelation, it must be viewed as personal. Almost as frequently, perhaps, divine revelation is acknowledged as being historical; revelation consists, it is said, of decisive acts of God in history, in such events especially as the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Widely prevalent, moreover, if not dominant, is the attitude that, though divine revelation is personal and may be historical, it assuredly is not embodied in the Sacred Scriptures. To regard revelation as scriptural, it is felt, would absolutize human traditions. To quote Harnack, it would chase the Spirit away into a book. If, on the other hand, one should maintain that special revelation has found incorporation in Scripture—that to employ a somewhat academic but useful term, it has becom