How we perceive revelation: notes, motives, miracles; Acts 13; Luke 23; John 4

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You will ask how we perceive divine revelation, and where the certainty comes from in the faith that embraces God's Word itself. God does not ordinarily speak without notes and marks in his voice and word by which it can be told from human or diabolical fraud. The revelation our faith rests on today — consigned in the sacred Scriptures — has very illustrious arguments claiming it for God, as the earlier theses already showed at length. The faith that receives it is not a blind persuasion with no account of itself. A fitting believer is led to assent by reasons and motives strong enough to persuade a prudent man that God is truly the one speaking, and that a fabricated, false revelation is not being passed off as true.

Besides arguments taken from the matter itself, God has often used signs and miracles to create faith for his word and compel men to believe; the faith of those who believed is not rarely ascribed to those signs. Sergius Paulus, a prudent man, saw the blindness with which Paul the Apostle struck Elymas the Magician, and believed while marveling at the Lord's doctrine (Acts 13). The centurion standing by as Christ died saw the wonders at Christ's death and glorified God, saying truly this man was just (Luke 23). Likewise (John 4): a father recognized that Christ's word had healed his dying son, and that the boy had recovered at the very hour Jesus said your son lives — and he believed, and his whole house with him. Conversion is therefore deservedly suspect when someone asked for its reason has nothing to say, or only trivial things to offer.

Latin

XXXI. At, inquies, quomodo revelationem divinam percipimus? Et unde pendet certitudo fidei qua verbum ipsum Dei amplectimur? Certe Deus loqui non solet quin vox et verbum ejus habeat quasdam notas et indicia, quibus ab humana, vel diabolica impostura et fraude distingui possit atque internosci. Praesertim vero revelatio illa cui fides nostra hodie innititur, et quam habemus in sacris Scripturis consignatam, habet illustria admodum argumenta quibus Deo sese vendicat, sicut thesibus superioribus abunde ostensum est. Neque fides, qua illam suscipimus, est persuasio caeca, et quae sui nullam rationem habeat. Sed qui verbo Dei sicuti par est credit, ad assensum illi praebendum inducitur rationibus et motivis quibusdam, quae viro prudenti suadere possunt revera Deum esse qui loquitur, nec confictam et falsam revelationem pro vera obtendi. Ideoque, praeter argumenta quae ex re ipsa peti possunt, saepe Deus, ut fidem verbo suo crearet, et ad credendum homines compelleret, multa adhibuit signa et miracula, quibus fides eorum qui crediderunt, non raro ascribitur. Ita Sergius Paulus vir prudens, quum vidisset caecitatem qua Paulus Apostolus Elymam Magum percusserat, credidit, admirans super doctrina Domini, Actor. 13. Et Centurio qui Christo morienti astabat, videns mirabilia quae in morte Christi contigerunt, glorificavit Deum, dicens, vere hic homo justus erat: Luc. 23. Similiter Joan. 4. Quum Pater quidam agnovisset filium suum moribundum verbo Christi sanatum fuisse, et convaluisse, illa ipsa hora qua dixerat ei Jesus, filius tuus vivit, et credidit ipse, et Domus ejus tota. Unde merito suspecta est eorum ad fidem conversio, qui conversionis suae rationem exposcenti, nihil habent quod dicant, aut trivialia afferunt.

About this text

Louis Le Blanc de Beaulieu - Sedan Theological Theses, newly rendered from the 1675 London Latin. Covers De Theologia through Angelorum & Hominum Sanctorum Cultu Romana I-LXXVII and Pars Secunda (Reformata) I-XL. Not the collected folio.

English follows locked Pitt Latin through Imaginum CLOSED + Sanctorum Cultu Romana CLOSED + Pars Secunda Reformata I-XL. 1675 PDF ~384-390 (book ~370-376); Vision OCR + pdftotext + tess. No modern English. This slice densifies Sanctorum Pars Secunda I-XL. Next: Pars Secunda XLI–fin (~CI). Claim stays claimed (book densify not done).

Catalogue & scope

ESTC R17887; Wing L802. IA bub_gb_eOkHAW4G0-wC (+ EEBO 1675 for gap leaves). Densify through Sanctorum Cultu Romana I-LXXVII + Pars Secunda Reformata I-XL (Pars Secunda not closed; not whole folio).

Witnesses

Copy-text Locked Latin, De Theologia I-XLIII (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
Checked print Internet Archive PDF of the 1675 Pitt folio (Latin)
Checked print pdftotext of De Theologia pages (Latin)
Checked print Internet Archive DjVu OCR of the 1675 Pitt folio (Latin)
Copy-text Locked Latin, De Fide I-XXII (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
Copy-text Locked Latin, De Authoritate Scripturae Pars I I-XLVII + Pars II I-XXXV + Pars III I-VIII (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
Copy-text Locked Latin, De Scripturae plenitudine densify (Pitt 1675) (Latin)

This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Latin on each section (or the Latin source witness link) for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.