2 Corinthians 14:6 & 26 Now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?... How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done to edifying.

People try to use their natural human mind to "figure God out." We know so little that our philosophies are a joke and our science, even when done correctly, is very limited. However, the revelations that come from the throne of God are ultimately valid and true.

Some people claim that "rationalism is the way to truth."and "a man who rejects rationalism also rejects truth." Unfortunately, rationalism is the way that the deceitful and desperately wicked natural human mind works. It is the bottom of the pit of humans leaning on their own understandings. And it is active in the church as well. That is why there are doctrinal divisions in the church. This rationalism takes place in two methods. One is rationalized speculations that are claimed to be revelations. The other is rationalized speculations that are claimed to be the simple interpretation of Scripture. In the second method, the person who is engaging in rationalized speculation is also usually expressing contempt for revelation from God. They point their fingers at anyone who claims (whether legitimate or not) revelation, never realizing that their method of interpretation of the Scripture using their own corrupt mind is guaranteed to come up with enough error to keep people off of the right path.

There are many warnings in Scripture against those who receive and teach false revelation, false doctrine. However, the false does not make the real any less real. There is great necessity for extreme care with revelation, since each of us has a fleshly nature that is deceitful and desperately wicked, and we can't even understand the depth of this wickedness. In other words, we can be fooled. Is there any hope, then? Yes. There are things that we know for sure. God reveals to us that we should not use foul language, for instance. When we walk in that by the power of the Spirit, our senses are exercised by reason of use. We become a bit more like Jesus. We have better discernment. That is one way. God has also built safeguards into the Church. The apostles are given to receive the revelation of the interpretation of Scripture. There are false apostles to be sure ever since the office of apostle was restored to the church in 1948, but those apostles who walk in submission to the order of God, who walk in submission to the government of each other, are set to keep the doctrine pure. There are some gifts of the Spirit that are particularly suited to avoiding false teachings or teachings by the wrong spirit. The word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, and the discernment of spirits would be examples. Also, the local elders are given to make sure that no other doctrine than the apostle's doctrine is taught in the local churches.

Rationalism: The following definitions were collected from several Internet dictionaries:

1. A belief or theory that opinions and actions should be based on reason and knowledge rather than on religious belief or emotional response.
2. The theory that reason rather than experience is the foundation of certainty in knowledge.
3. Reliance on reason as the best guide for belief and action.
4. Philosophy The theory that the exercise of reason, rather than experience, authority, or spiritual revelation, provides the primary basis for knowledge.
1. reliance on reason rather than intuition to justify one's beliefs or actions
2. (Philosophy) Philosophy
1. the doctrine that knowledge about reality can be obtained by reason alone without recourse to experience
2. the doctrine that human knowledge can all be encompassed within a single, usually deductive, system
3. the school of philosophy initiated by Ren Descartes, the French philosopher and mathematician (1596-1650), which held both the above doctrines
3. the belief that knowledge and truth are ascertained by rational thought and not by divine or supernatural revelation

If we condense these definitions, then rationalism is the notion that the human mind can reveal knowledge without the benefit of either experience (that is, observation and experimentation AKA science) or divine revelation. There is a bit of a problem in that rationalism, rationalizing, and rational all sound a bit alike. To rationalize is to have an irrational (insane) thought and cloak it in verbiage that makes it appear to be rational (sane). Rational thought means sane thought, but rationalism is a dependence on rationalizing for defining reality, which is actually not sane.

The reality is that, without divine revelation, every thought is irrational and there could be no truth about anything (the whole point of post-modernism and relativism). That's because logic is a stepwise process consisting of a conclusion and a reason that the conclusion is believed to be correct. Another way to think about that is that you say something is true and then supply proof. But how do you know the proof is valid proof? If I say that evolution is a fact of science because the fossil record shows evolution to be a fact of science, then we need to prove that the fossil record shows evolution to be a fact of science (which it does not). So, if I say, "B shows A to be true.", then what shows B to be true? Perhaps C shows B to be true, but what shows C to be true? Of course, this reasoning can go on infinitely without ever coming to a solid foundation.

So, what most people who don't look for God's leading do is to declare something to be true without any proof and to claim that this something is self-evident. It is not self-evident. It is arbitrary and to be arbitrary is to be irrational (insane).

We can know that the Bible is God's Word without error because the Holy Spirit has directly revealed that fact to me. That is perfectly logical though it may conflict with the views of some that God does not reveal anything to anyone. Those views, however are based on irrational (insane) thinking.

There is an very important Scripture that refers to spiritual adultery, which is idolatry. Numbers 15:39 "And it shall be to you a tassel, that you may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that you seek not after your own mind and your own ability to observe, with which you used to commit fornication:"The heart is the mind. People do make an idol out of the human mind. The eyes would refer to that which can be observed, but God is very clear that He reveals things that cannot be observed, so when we elevate our ability to observe (which is very limited in any case) we turn our ability to observe into an idol. When we combine observation with human reason (rationalizing), we have a combination that the enemy of our souls/minds can use to deceive us into literally anything.

Hebrews 3:As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion."

2 Samuel 22:31 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

Psalm 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

Psalm 18:30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

Psalm 19:7-9 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

Psalm 119:140 Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.

Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield to them that put their trust in him.