The human mind is capable of receiving or rejecting revelation. God is capable of imparting it. God asks us not to add to it or diminish it.

There’s a philosophy, known as “Rationalism,” that claims that the human mind (at least certain minds of people who are labeled “intellectuals”) are capable of self-generating knowledge without the benefit of either Divine revelation or observation. There is no evidence for this philosophy. Some Christians also accept this philosophy, at least in practice. These are the ones who lean on their own understandings and divide the Church.

The human mind can’t self-generate knowledge. Even the Atheists and Skeptics know that, but they then say that nothing can be known–or that, since nothing can be known, basing everything on assumptions is just OK and can somehow yield a proximate knowledge–which is nonsense. That’s why discussions with them are so frustrating unless you realize that they’re just making the whole thing up.

When the human mind tries to pull knowledge out of itself, it has to make things up. When communicating this vapor, fallacies are the vehicle to give the illusion that the made-up stuff has substance. Everywhere you see a theological argument, you will find made-up stuff presented as if it had substance. However, Faith is the substance of things hoped for. It’s the evidence, absolute certainty, of things not seen. And it only comes by hearing, that is, hearing the rhema (Utterance) of God. In other words, we need Divine leading, teaching, and guiding.