NeoExistence Institute

Why a Divine Message Shouldn’t Need a Decoder Ring
How Biblical Interpretation Undermines the Idea of Revelation
If an all-knowing, all-powerful being wanted to communicate with humanity, what would
that message look like?
Would it require centuries of scholarly debate, thousands of competing interpretations,
and entire academic fields devoted to figuring out what it “really” means? Would it depend
on dead languages, vanished cultures, and constant reinterpretation to stay relevant? Or
would it be clear—immediately and universally understandable—regardless of where or
when a person encountered it?
Christian theology traditionally claims the Bible is exactly that kind of message: a
deliberate act of divine communication, intended to reveal God’s will to humanity. Yet the
reality of how scripture functions tells a very different story. The Bible is not self-evident. It
is not universally understood. And it does not produce anything close to consensus among
those who take it most seriously.
Instead, it behaves exactly like a human document—shaped by culture, filtered through
cognition, and endlessly reinterpreted by readers who bring their own assumptions to the
text.
That mismatch between theological claims and observable reality is not a minor issue. It
strikes at the very heart of what “revelation” is supposed to mean.
The Promise of Revelation—and the Problem It Creates
The doctrine of revelation rests on a straightforward idea: God wanted humans to know
certain truths and communicated those truths through scripture. The Bible, believers are
told, is not merely inspirational literature but a purposeful transmission of knowledge—
moral, spiritual, and salvific.
Implicit in that claim are three assumptions:
Clarity – The message can be understood.
Stability – Its meaning remains consistent over time.
Universality – It applies across cultures, languages, and eras