Velvet Elvis pgs. 72-80, intro, “Something Bigger” & “Everywhere”

Most of this section serves as prelude and introduction to “Everywhere”

Page 77 – God is everywhere in creation, but God and creation are not synonymous.  Unlike Buddhism or animism, creation is not the “body” of God.  Creation and God are distinct and separate, but God is omnipresent throughout his creation.

Page 78 – Yes, those who do not acknowledge Christ as the source of their salvation from sin can still act within the will of God unbeknownst to them.  However, as many theologians – including Martin Luther – have pointed out, without faith in Christ Jesus, *no* action is ever in accordance with the will of God.  It’s more accurate to say that faith in Christ is not prerequisite to act in harmony at times with the created universe. 

Truth is available everywhere, but we distinguish typically between two kinds of Truth.  There is the truth available in the created order, and often referred to as General Revelation.  This truth emanates from the evidence of creation – creation points back to a purposeful creator, not an accident of evolution.  This truth is useful in helping point the way to God, but it is not sufficient, because it does not witness to the specific truth of Jesus Christ’s atoning death and resurrection. 

This second truth is only found in Special Revelation – the Word of God known as the Bible.  Only through the Word of God can the truth of Christ be known.  And only this truth, available only through God’s Word, is capable of imparting salvation when received in faith by the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

As such, yes, anybody is capable of speaking truth.  I’m fond of quoting Yoda from time to time as an example of this.  However none of these isolated slivers of Truth are adequate or sufficient for salvation because they are not from the Word of God.  All Truth is of God, but it can certainly be convoluted and hard to distinguish because of what it has become associated with or appropriatef for or by.