Common Grace and natural theology

Definitions:
Common Grace - the operation of the Holy Spirit whereby he restrains our sinfulness so that we are not as sinful as we might become.
Natural Theology - the idea that we can deduce the character of the gods from what we learn from nature.

Beginning - presuppositions
Romans 1 and 2 teach us about sin. The natural man knows the things of God from nature so that he is without excuse because knowing God he did not worship God nor was he thankful. Changing the truth of God into a lie he worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator. He shows the effect of the Law written on his heart when he accuses others of wrong doing because he does the same things.

Common Grace gives a basis to confront the sinful
If Paul is correctly interpreted here we must assume that any identification of the characteristics of God from natural theology by sinful man must be flawed. This is because the intent is to suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Yet, such is the effect of common grace that, no matter how consistent the attempt or how ingenious the argumentation, God's truth is still able to be discerned under the dross. Common Grace restrains the impiety of the sinful. Even in his attempts to create gods he retains enough truth for it to be used to show he has no escape from God's just condemnation.

Paul demonstrates the use of this fact when making his dispute on Mar's Hill. He shows that worshiping God does not require temples nor is God like a idol of wood or stone, since we are all his offspring. (The last is claimed to be a quotation from a heathen poet.)

He makes use of the same fact when he brings the Jew to the judgment seat of the Law and shows that according to the Bible no one was ever able to keep the law well enough to merit salvation - indeed the patriarchs received the promises of God before the Law even existed. Salvation comes by faith.

Natural Theology exalts reason over the Bible
Although there have been some very good arguments advanced on the basis of natural theology to describe the characteristics of God, at heart this method makes reason the final test of truth.

What is the truth which the Reformed theologian, who would use natural theology properly, is concerned to maintain? That natural reason, by the operation of the Holy Spirit, can truly interpret nature to understand God correctly. The Reformed theologian points out that this reason is impelled by the Holy Spirit to make statements which are true to reality. Even though the person concerned may never become a Christian. Pythagorus' Theorum, for example, is true even though it was written by a pagan philosopher. Since this deals with something about which the Bible is indifferent or about which it says nothing, it is felt this idea is a safe way to express a guarded acceptance of natural theology.

And the truth the proponents are also concerned to maintain? The plain statement of the Bible that "the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament show forth his handiwork." To interpret any fact of the universe without seeing it in relation to God's glory is to distort the fact. Pythagorus may be right if we ignore the fact that it is God who set up the relationship in the first place and that this reflects a little of his glory. Otherwise there is a whole dimension which is missing and the interpretation of the universe which it presents is flawed.

It is my contention that the attempt to maintain a natural theology as described above eventually allows the auditor to decide that the Bible is not the final arbiter of everything we need to believe for faith and life. The Bible itself needs to be tested by reason before being accepted as true. This is, I believe, what has led us to the present crisis in evangelical Churches. Far from creationist science being part of the anti-intellectual backlash, it is representative of those who would remind us that reason also is affected by sin and needs to be corrected by the word of God.