My friend and former colleague, Ken Samples, posted an article on the Reasons To Believe website entitled, “What Happens to Those Who Never Hear the Gospel?”  He identified the traditional Christian view as Exclusivism which asserts that the unevangelized are lost because they have sinned in Adam.  However, he goes on to state that they will be judged by the general revelation God has given to all human beings. (1) 

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)

            A question has been asked by countless generations, can the revelation of God in His creation prepare one for salvation in Jesus Christ?  Is there no hope for people across the world in all of history who never heard the Gospel?  After all, it was Jesus who said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Let us examine this important question in the context of the covenant made by God with Abram and by the blessing of Abram by the Canaanite king and high priest of Salem, Melchizedek.  He knew Yahweh, the God of Abram, by His general revelation.  General revelation prepares one to receive the Gospel through the eternal priest in the order of Melchizedek, Jesus Christ. (2)

            Abram of Ur was given a promise by Yahweh 4000 years ago if he would obey His command to leave his people and country and go to a foreign land. (Genesis 12:1) He would be blessed by his obedience, and all the peoples of the earth would be blessed through him since in his lineage was to be Jesus Christ the Messiah. (Genesis 12:3) Upon his arrival in Canaan Abram entered Salem and encountered the king who reigned over it, Melchizedek.  He was the king of righteousness, the priest of El Elyon, the God most high.  El Elyon was the Canaanite name for Yahweh. Melchizedek saw that Abram worshipped Yahweh/El Elyon and blessed him.  Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything he had recovered in the rescue operation of Lot from Kedorlaomer and his allied kings. (Genesis 14:18-20) In this ancient culture the blessing by Melchizedek identified him as the greater of the two, and the lesser represented by Abram was obligated to give gifts to the greater.  As was the custom in that time Melchizedek was also the high priest of Salem.  When King David conquered Salem in later years he became its priest – as was Melchizedek before him – and renamed it Jerusalem.  King David prophesied that the Messiah who was in the lineage of the House of David would be an eternal priest in the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4) “in which membership is . . . not restricted to one particular lineage.” (Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 7:1-22) (3) The priestly tribe of Levi that was descended from Abram (renamed Abraham) was not to be a permanent priesthood.  The prophecy by David foretold the change in the priesthood order that was to come with the New Covenant in Jesus Christ. (4)

And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.  For it is declared: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 7:15-17) . . . and a better hope is introduced by which we draw near to God. (Hebrews 7:19)

            It is unknown how Melchizedek received his knowledge of Yahweh, whom he called El Elyon. (5) God has the power to interact with people who have no access to the knowledge of Jesus Christ or of His special revelation in the Bible. (Romans 1:20) In Acts 10:34-35 Peter said, “I now realize how true it is that God . . . accepts men from every nation who fear Him and do what is right” as led by their conscience, itself a manifestation of God’s general revelation.  General revelation is older and has influenced 100 percent of mankind in all of history. (Psalm 19) The Belgic Confession of 1566 makes the following statement:

We know Him (God) by . . . the creation, preservation, and government of the universe, since that universe is before our eyes like a beautiful book in which all creatures, great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God: His eternal power and His diversity, as the Apostle Paul says in Romans 1:20.

            “. . . the Messiah who came among men in fulfillment of every spiritual reality foreshadowed by the Levitical priestly system was also at the same time ‘a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.’ (Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 5:4-10; 6:20; 7:15-22) Christ . . .  is Lord of both general and special revelation . . . The true light (Jesus Christ) that gives light to every man (through general revelation) was coming into the world (to shine upon men in special revelation).” (John 1:9) (6)

            The redeeming grace of God has been revealed to mankind in His dual revelation, giving all people hope for salvation through Jesus Christ the Messiah, eternal priest in the order of Melchizedek.

References

1.    Kenneth R. Samples, “What Happens to Those Who Never Hear the Gospel?” Reflections, June 9, 2020 https://reasons.org/explore/blogs/reflections/read/reflections/2020/06/09/what-happens-to-those-who-never-hear-the-gospel

2.    Don Richardson, Eternity in Their Hearts (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1984), 30.

3.    Ibid.

4.    Xenos Christian Fellowship, “Old Testament Teachings,” http://www.xenos.org/teachings/ot/genesis/gary/gen14-1.htm.

5.    Richardson, 30.

6.    Ibid, 156-57.

[calvin] “miller addresses the holy communion of prayer, emphasizing that it is ‘two-way.’ meaningful communion with god through the holy spirit is not only a voice but also an ear. listening is the most valuable part of prayer. our focused silence is key to blocking out the inner and outward chatter (noise) . . . that surrounds us so we can commune with god and perceive his communion with us in the several forms it takes, such as dreams, visions, words, intuition and discernment. the holy spirit wants us to be open to him. our silence is a door for him to enter into our souls. our silence is an ear for us to hear. . . . it is important to understand that god permeates all that surrounds us, including our very selves, so that he hears every word we speak or think. miller points out that all of life becomes communion, ‘for he fills the very crannies of our minds and bodies.’ . . . by his indwelling holy spirit god continuously accompanies us, pervading the entire world of cognition. miller states that we should not ‘act as though he is somehow ‘out there’ and that we must ‘go’ to talk to him.’”

“Jesus said in john 14, ‘on that day you will realize that i am in my father, and you are in me, and I am in you.’”

in this blog post i am including comments by ken samples, theologian and philosopher with reasons to believe (WWW.REASONS.ORG). i have cited his work a number of times in my books and blogs and have highest respect for his teaching. excerpts in this blog come from the book, testabe faith: a reasons to believe anthology and the chapter, “isn’t faith incompatible with reason?”

“in historic christianity, reason and faith function in a complementary fashion. . . . both scripture and long-standing tradition teach christians to seek rational understanding of their faith. . . . the expression ‘faith seeking understanding’ best captures the spirit of the consensus of christian philosophy.”

samples cites three “great christian thinkers’ perspectives ON THIS POINT:

“augustine: ‘believe in order that you may understand.

“anselm: ‘i believe in order that i might understand.

“thomas aquinas: ‘i understand and i believe.

“the christian worldview offers a plausible explanation for affirming an objective source for knowledge, reason, and rationality. that explanation is found in a personal and rational god. christian theism affirms that an infinitely wise and all-knowing god created the universe to reflect a coherent order of laws and logic. . . . he also created humans in his image . . . and endowed them with rational capacities to discover that coherent order.”

by the grace of god and his bounDLESS love for fallen mankind the sin sacrifice of his son, jesus christ, has provided for the restoration of the intimate communion with his indwelling holy spirit sent as jesus promised after his resurrection to repentant sAINTS. GOD DESIRES THIS COMMUNION, LOST AT THE FALL, BUT RESTORED AND FULFILLED IN OUR TIME. OUR FAITH SEEKS AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE “HOW” OF THIS COMMUNION, AND THIS HAS BEEN THE FOCUS AND OBJECTIVE OF MY RESEARCH FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS. THE HOLY SPIRIT SEEKS TO COMMUNE WITH US AND HAS PROVIDED THE MEANS FOR IT. A RATIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF THIS PROCESS ONLY GROWS FAITH IN THOSE WHO SEEK IT. I THANK KEN SAMPLES FOR PROVIDING SUBSTANCE TO FAITH COMPATIBLE WITH REASON.

i am reading the latest book by dr. hugh ross, founder of the now global ministry, reasons to believe (www.reasons.org). its title is rescuing inerrancy: a scientific defense, RTB press, covina, ca, 2023. i wish to share excerpts from chapter 11 that are relevant to what i am sharing in my blog posts concerning the personal interaction between the holy spirit and the spirit and mind/soul of mankind:

“the 39 human writers of the bible’s 66 books understood that the holy spirit was the guiding voice behind everything they wrote. in many biblical passages, the human authors explicitly declared that what they were writing was inspired by god himself. the phrase ‘thus says the lord’ appears 427 times in the old testament. . . . the apostle paul assures the early christians, ‘all scripture is god-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness’ (2 timothy 3:16), and the apostle peter affirmed that ‘prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from god as they were carried along by the holy spirit’ (2 peter 1:21). . . . the bible’s redemptive theme is sustained by the record of nature. that god began his work of redemption before he created anything implies that all of nature is designed to make possible not only the existence but also the redemption of a vast host of humans. [the neural synaptic networks of the human brain have been so designed by god to provide a personal means for counsel and redemption.] . . . the holy spirit knows the meaning of what has been written and promises to guide us toward ever-deeper understanding. he uses genre and prayerfuly discerned interpretive principles to help us today [bold type added], just as he helped ancient peoples of the world and will help future generations.”

Dr. wesley pinkham opens his book, Relational christianity, with these stATEMENTS IN HIS INTRODUCTION:

“THERE IS A LACK OF SELF-UNDERSTANDING IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. THE WEST IS FACING A CRISIS OF MEANING, AND CHRISTIANITY IS UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO PROVIDE A CREATIVE ANSWER. HOWEVER, IN ORDER TO DO SO, CHRISTIANITY MUST FIND ITS DEFINING, UNIFYING CENTER. TO RESPOND TO THE OVERARCHING CRISIS OF MEANING, CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS MUST FIRST UNDERSTAND THE TRUE NATURE OF THEIR BELIEF.

THIS BOOK SEEKS TO ANSWER THE QUESTION: ‘WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY?’ ANOTHER WAY TO ASK THIS QUESTION WOULD BE: ‘WHAT IS THE UNIFYING HEART OF JESUS’ LIFE AND TEACHINGS, AND HOW CAN wE LIVE ACCORDINGLY? WE SUGGEST THAT THE ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY IS INTERPERSONAL ONENESS. . . . THE TRINITY IS QUINTESSENTIALLY INTERPERSONAL AND INDIVISIBLY ONE (DEUT 6:4; 1 JOHN 5:7). FURTHER, THE INTERPERSONAL CREATOR HAS CREATED INTERPERSONAL BEINGS AFTER HIS KIND, HAVING MADE HUMANS IN HIS IMAGE (GEN 1:26). WE SUGGEST THAT THE CENTER OF CHRISTIANITY REFLECTS THE VERY NATURE OF GOD - THE TRINITY - HIMSELF: LIVING IN PERSONAL ONENESS.” . . . THE CHRISTIAN VIEW OF THE HUMan being - that is, our anthropology - will be incomplete if it is not defined by its godward orientation.”

pinkham speaks to the mutual indwelling that is the model for christian doctrine:

“in john 5:19-27 and 16:13-14, we see that the relationships between the trinity are self-emptying and self-giving. the father gives his authority AND POWER TO JESUS. YET JESUS GIVES IT ALL BACK BY REFUSING TO DO ANYTHING APART FROM THE FATHER. FURTHER, THE HOLY SPIRIT [INDWELLING THE HUMAN SPIRIT AND SOUL IN OUR TIME] SPEAKS ON BEHALF OF JESUS, AND GIVES GLORY TO JESUS IN THE PROCESS. THE MODEL HERE IS THAT OF INTERDEPENDENCE, UNEQUIVOCAL TRUST, MUTUAL INDWELLING, AND LOVING UNITY. THIS MUST BE THE MODEL FOLLOWED IN CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, AS WELL AS IN THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.”

“ONENESS WITH THE FATHER IN CHRIST BY THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A STATE OF BEING. IN OTHER WORDS, WE ARE LOVED, VALUED, AND AFFIRMED THROUGH AN INTIMATE CONNECTION WITH THEM, NOT AS A RESULT OF WHAT WE DO OR FAIL TO DO. . . . RECEIVING CHRIST IS THEREFORE THE ACT OF ENJOINING THE RELATIONAL ONENESS OF THE TRINITY. THE IDEA OF ‘MUTUAL INDWELLING’ DESCRIBES AN ONTOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIP. IT IS MUTUAL IN THAT THERE IS A BACK-AND-FORTH RELATIONSHIP [A BIDIRECTIONAL INTERACTION]. IT IS ONTOLOGICAL BECAUSE IT INVOLVES INDWELLING - THAT IS, FINDING A PLACE IN EACH OTHER’S INTERNALITY. IF CHRIST INDWELLS ME, THEN MY ONTOLOGY [STATE OF BEING] IS DEFINED BY HIM. . . . THE ACT OF RECEPTION IS DONE IN THE HEART (EPH 3:17; 2 COR 3:3; HWV 8), WHICH IS NOT A STATIC SUBSTANCE, BUT RATHER THE CENTER OF THE HUMAN BEING’S FACULTIES OF AFFECT (EMOTION) AND INTENTION (WILL). FURTHER, THIS ACT IS AIDED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT (JOHN 15:26; ROM 5/5, 8:9; 1 COR 6:11; 2 COR 3:3), WHO FACILITATES THE ONTOLOGICAL RECEPTION OF CHRIST. THIS, THEREFORE, ANSWERS THE HOW QUESTION. WE RECEIVE CHRIST IN AN ONTOLOGICAL MANNER BY ALLOWING HIM TO LIVE IN OUR HEARTS [OUR SOULS, CONSISTING OF MIND, WILL AND EMOTION], BY THE HELP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.”

BY READING MY BOOKS AND SELECTED BLOGS YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THAT MY OVER 25 YEARS OF RESEARCH HAS ADDRESSED THIS HOW QUESTION. iT IS A DUALIST INTERACTION BETWEEN THE MIND OF GOD AND THE MIND OF MAN THROUGH THE NEURAL SYNAPTIC NETWORKS OF THE BRAIN. IT IS A CAUSAL INTERACTION BETWEEN THAT WHICH IS IMMATERIAL AND THAT WHICH IS MATERIAL. LINGUISTIC, SPECIFIED INFORMATION IS TRANSMITTED THEREBY, GIVING A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FATHER AND THE SON THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT.

rajesh p. n. rao and andrea stocco published the findings of a study in plos one, november 2014, volume 9, issue 11 entitled “A direct brain-to-brain interface in humans.” a summary of their pioneering work was presented in scientific american november 1, 2014. if readers are interested in the details of this study, i refer them to the article above. i shall present several excerpts from the summary article that show how neuroscientists are beginning to generate data that may at least partially explain how jesus knew the thoughts of others, that it was a real and true event as recorded in scripture.

“brain-computer interfaces (bci) rely on data-processing techniques to extract a person’s intention to move and then relay that information to the device he or she wishes to control. in 2010 one of us (rao) had a realization: perhaps we could use this same principle to beam thoughts from one human brain to another.

“the gist of our strategy was to use electrodes arranged on one person’s scalp to pick up brain waves (ON EEG’S) . . . . hidden in that neural hubbub are signals that indicate what a person is thinking. we would focus on extracting one such pattern and then send it over the internet to a second person. the signal would dictate how to electrically stimulate the recipient’s brain. . . . we would use one person’s brain data to produce a specific pattern of neural activity in another individual.

“once a computer decodes a neural mesSAGE, THE MAIN QUESTION BECOMES HOW TO DELIVER IT. . . . TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION (TMS) . . . RELIES ON PULSES OF A MAGNETIC FIELD TO INDUCE NEURONS IN A SPECIFIC AREA OF THE RECIPIENT’S BRAIN TO FIRE.”

DETAILS OF THE METHODOLOGY ARE PRESENTED IN THE SUMMARY. “THE SUDDEN RISE AND FALL OF A MAGNETIC FIELD INDUCES A TINY ELECTRIC CURRENT IN THE NEURONS . . . ENGULFED BY THAT FIELD, MAKING THEM MORE LIKELY TO FIRE. WHEN THEY DO, A CHAIN OF CONNECTED NEURONS ALSO ACTIVATES [AS DESCRIBED IN MY WRITINGS, BOTH BOOKS AND BLOGS].” THE ENCODED ELECTRIC SIGNAL OF INTENTION DETECTED IN THE EEG OF THE SENDER WAS PICKED UP AND TRANSMITTED VIA THE INTERNET TO THE RECIPIENT IN THIS STUDY, INDUCING VIA TMS AN INVOLUNTARY MOVEMENT IN THE TARGETED PART OF AN EXTREMITY. THE AUTHORS STATED, “SUCCESS! FOR THE FIRST TIME, A HUMAN BRAIN HAD COMMUNICATED AN INTENTION DIRECTLY TO ANOTHER HUMAN BRAIN, ALLOWING THE TWO BRAINS TO JOINTLY COMPLETE A TASK. . . . WE HAVE NOW REPLICATED OUR FINDINGS WITH SEVERAL OTHER PAIRS OF HUMANS. . . . WHENEVER AN INTENTION WAS CORRECTLY DETECTED BY THE EEG SYSTEM (IN THE SENDER), THE INFORMATION WAS COMMUNICATED DIRECTLY TO THE RECEIVER’S BRAIN USING TMS. . . . OUR NEXT SET OF EXPERIMENTS WILL EXPLORE TARGETING OTHER BRAIN REGIONS TO PRODUCE A CONSCIOUS THOUGHT.”

THIS STUDY IS A PROOF OF CONCEPT. I APOLOGIZE FOR THE LENGTH OF THIS POST, BUT I WANTED TO PROVIDE A REASONABLE SAMPLE OF THE STUDY’S FINDINGS, SHOWING CONCORDANCE BETWEEN NEUROSCIENCE AND SCRIPTURE. I WILL NOW POST SEVERAL MORE BLOGS THAT DEAL WITH OUR BIDIRECTIONAL COMMUNION WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, AGAIN SHOWING SUCH CONCORDANCE.

that we may be learning how we hear our thoughts is interesting, but perhaps neuroscientists are getting close to understanding how jesus knew the thoughts of those around him. the issue is how the waves that transmit specified information within the human brain/synaptic networks are transmitted to other neural networks. stay tuned. more information that deals with this issue is forthcoming.

Patrick Suppes and coworkers at the University of Southern California authored an article in 1997 entitled “Brain Wave Recognition of Words.” In many of my previous blog posts I have shared that cognition generates wave forms that transmit specified information through synaptic networks that the immaterial mind interprets. This article provides some early confirmation of this activity whereby the mind interacts with the material synaptic networks.

The methodology of these investigators involved recording electrical and magnetic brain waves of subjects “for the purpose of recognizing which one of seven words was processed.” Their results showed “that brain waves carry substantial information about the word being processed under experimental conditions of conscious awareness. . . . the relevant cognitive processing uses in an essential way time-varying populations of neurons.”

In my more recent blogs I have shared that linguistic, specified information is instantiated within wave forms transmitted by spike trains of action potentials with amplitude, frequency and shape and facilitated by quantum tunneling across synapses. It is a most complex process which is being increasingly documented by neuroscientists who are open to the interpretation of dualist interaction.