revelation

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Ramanuja, bronze sculpture, 12th century; from a Vishnu temple in Tanjore district, India.

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Kūfic script. Double page opening of a Qurʾān from Syria, 9th century ad. In the collection of R. Pinder-Wilson.

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History & Society

revelation

religion

Written by Avery Dulles

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

revelation

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Category: History & Society

Key People:: Emanuel Swedenborg; Joseph Butler

Related Topics:: Christianity; theophany; divine intervention

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revelation, in religion, the disclosure of divine or sacred reality or purpose to humanity. In the religious view, such disclosure may come through mystical insights, historical events, or spiritual experiences that transform the lives of individuals and groups. Every great religion acknowledges revelation in the wide sense that its followers are dependent on the privileged insights of its founder or of the original group or individuals with which the faith began. These profound insights into the ultimate meaning of life and the universe, which have been handed down in religious traditions, are arrived at, it is believed, not so much ...(100 of 3944 words)

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