Transcendence and Revelation

In a word: no, especially to your question number three.

Allow me to put my answer in the form of an argument, one which Jesus himself used on many occasions.

If God has no problem or difficulty whatsoever communicating within the infinite Godhead of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and does so with no falsification, no limitation (self-imposed or otherwise), and no translation, why would he face any limitations in communicating his truth to finite human beings?

This argument is what I call the "how much more" argument, and it can also be expressed in formal logic, in algebra, and in who knows what else. For example,

• If A > B, and C < B, then A > C.

Or,

• If A is greater than B, and C is less than B, then A is greater than C.

In slightly different words, then,

If God has no difficulty communicating perfectly on a purely spiritual plane within the infinite Godhead of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, then he should have no problem communicating on a human level using a finite form of communication.

In terms of A, B, and C:

• Divine communication is A

• Human communication is B

• The falsity factor of human communication (via written and spoken symbolic language) is C

Put them altogether and you have,

If divine communication is superior to human communication because human communication has a "falsity" factor, whereas divine communication is perfect and without the possibility of a falsity factor, how much more would God be able from His standpoint to communicate perfectly via an imperfect language. In other words, God, with his infinitely superior communication skills, combined with his perfect knowledge and familiarity with the imperfections of human language, has no problem avoiding those imperfections even when using such an imperfect medium.

To use a quaint--albeit outrageous--analogy: If God could shave the antennae off a fly by using the Rock of Gibraltar, could he not also perform the same job using a miniature razor?

In the very same way, God actually delights in using imperfect, weak, and fallible human beings to bring glory to himself. Paul puts it this way:

"For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves . . ." (2 Corinthians 4:6-7 NASB).

In other words, if God has no problem in bringing glory to himself by virtue of who he is in all his transcendent otherness, why would he have a problem bringing glory
to himself through fallible, finite, imperfect, and fragile clay pots like you and me? The answer: He wouldn't, and he does! That's simply the nature of his surpassing greatness.

If God, were only transcendant, perhaps there would be something to what you're saying, But Orthodox (in the wider sense of the word) Christian teaching is that God is both transcendant (we can't know Him fully) and Immanent - he is 'close' and fully able to communicate to his creatures clearly (at least to their level of comprehension).

Orthodox Christianity would further qualify your second premise as God initially gave language to man when he created him in his image (cf. Genesis 1:26-29). Subsequently, human languages were confused and multiplied by God's direct agency as well (cf. Genesis 11:1-9), so there is a sense that language's are not 'purely' human artifacts at all. It is true, that since Babel, languages have multiplied further with cross-pollinations and evolutions - this process may have lead to further confusion between humans, but it is not a limiting factor in God communicating what He chooses to communicate to mankind - as he is both omniscient and omnipotent.

With regard to revelation, we can not know everything there is to know about God with our mortal limitations, but what God chooses to reveal to mankind, He also has the capacity to make clear - as He is the Master of all language. (cf. Acts 2)