Wk 10: Why "Cut Your Hair" Might Be Divine Guidance, Not a Random Thought
The Skeptic Framework > Continuing Revelation
The First “C” in SKPTCC: Continuing Revelation
In prior articles, I discussed the first four lenses of the Skeptic Framework (Scripture, Knowledge, Personal Experience, Tradition). In this article, we’ll take a look at the next one: Continuing Revelation.
Note that this lens is not part of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral. In fact, it is the most controversial of the six lenses.
In particular, in Christian circles, it’s a hot topic of debate between the cessationists and the continuationists. Basically, the question is, does God still speak to us today or not? If you’re interested in learning more about this argument, you can find plenty of explanations, such as the one on the Desiring God website.
Less easy to find is a broader discussion of how this lens is viewed across religions. Wikipedia has the most complete discussion I’ve read, although the article is marked as having multiple issues.
Steve’s Take on Continuing Revelation
Here is a very brief summary of what Community of Christ President Steve Veazey says about the lens of Continuing Revelation in the video Ways of Discovering God’s Will (also available as a Listening Guide).
Revelation is an encounter with God that involves God’s self-disclosure. Our response to revelation always involves interpretation because meaning is communicated through the filters of the human mind and language.
Continuing Revelation sometimes unveils dimensions of earlier encounters with God that have been unrecognized or perhaps even misunderstood.
Continuing Revelation is not so much forecasting the future as it is presenting Spirit-inspired concepts and vision that open up or help create the future for which God yearns.
Editorial Comment
Note that Steve points out a key aspect for understanding this lens when he mentions “not so much forecasting the future.” He is, of course, referring to the term “prophecy” which is an aspect of Continuing Revelation. In his view, this lens is more about being a conduit for divine messages intended for a community than it is about making predictions. (I’ll have more to say on this in a future article.)
On the personal level, Continuing Revelation is more often about Spirit helping us with everyday issues. Sometimes, people will refer to this as “personal revelation.”
Personal revelation is about receiving guidance and encouragement that help us live our best life. In other words, for the individual, God isn’t only revealed via inspired concepts, life-altering suggestions, or great epiphanies.
The personal story I’ll share in a minute is a good example of God providing unsought guidance at the exact moment it was needed.
Sermon Notes
My regular use of this lens gave me the impetus to become a writer. Without it, there would have been no hero’s journey for me to talk about in my sermon: Have You Been Marginalized? Part 1 & Part 2.
Because of the lens of Continuing Revelation, I was able to say (in the sermon) that God asked me to write a book in 2008.
Editorial Comment
God’s “ask” appeared as personal revelation in my spiritual journal as I engaged in the spiritual practice of Listening for Guidance.
In fact, were it not for Continuing Revelation, I probably wouldn’t be here on Substack at all.
A Personal Story About Continuing Revelation
My step-brother, Barry, had been living alone on a small Pennsylvania farm, in a somewhat Spartan existence. As part of his simple lifestyle, he was in the habit of cutting his own hair.
One day, the Spirit put a thought into his head: Cut your hair. “That’s silly,” he reasoned. “I just cut it last week.” He went on with his day.
The next day, up popped the same message, Cut your hair. Again, he paid no attention. On the third day, once again the Spirit told him, Cut your hair. This time, he figured, “Okay, I’ve had the same thought three days in a row. I’d better go cut my hair.”
He got out his clippers. Now, the outlet he normally used for the clippers was the same one he used for his freezer. When he bent over to plug in the clippers, he discovered that the freezer wasn’t plugged in.
Fortunately, he had caught it in time. His food was still frozen inside. But, had he not followed that inner guidance—that personal revelation—it would have cost hundreds of dollars to replace the food.
Nothing earth-shattering happened here. Just an everyday God helping out with an everyday problem.
Editorial Comment
Sometimes messages received via Continuing (Personal) Revelation don’t seem to make sense. Personally, I like to give the Spirit the benefit of the doubt. It never hurts to run the experiment.
But also note, you can expect personal revelation to be positive, uplifting, edifying, and/or encouraging. If it’s threatening, fear-inducing, or sounds like fortune-telling, it’s not what I’m talking about here. Just ditch that garbage.
For more information, see my article Beware These 2 Sources of Inner Guidance.
Prompts for the Lens of Continuing Revelation
Reflect on your feelings about Continuing Revelation.
In your early religious experience, if any, what were you taught to believe about ways God might speak to you? Or have you never thought about it before?
What are your thoughts now on whether or how God communicates with you? Where do you fall in the debate between cessationism and continuationism? (Check this article in Desiring God for more information about this debate.)
Write about an everyday problem where you sought guidance and felt an inner prompting. What was the nature of the guidance you received, and how did it impact your decision-making?
Can you think of a time a random thought popped into your head instructing you to take an odd-sounding but benign action? Did you follow instructions or brush it off as meaningless? Reflect on the experience.
Describe your experience with spiritual practices that involve listening for God’s voice. This could include Listening for Guidance, meditation, walking in nature, lectio divina or other scripture-reading practices, contemplative prayer, and others. If you have no such experience, do any of these appeal to you as something to try as an experiment?
If you could ask any question of a Higher Power, what would it be?
The Takeaway
As always, please don’t feel constrained by the prompts I’ve suggested.
Think about the encounters and events that have shaped you spiritually, whether positive or negative. When you’re taking your bearings, it’s all important stuff to bring to the light of day.
May you continue to learn more about your relationship to the divine!
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Sharon:
I’ve never thought about “extraneous” prompting. That is an interesting concept. I can see that it would be useful in His Arsenal to guide us through problems without divulging some fearful consequences. It is so easy to ignore these prompts. I think I would call them anti revelations. They reveal a path without revealing a goal or event.
In writing this, so many of these times come to mind. Fascinating.
Keep up the good work.
Gary