Podcast Summary: Doctrine Matters with Kevin DeYoung – “What Is Natural Theology?”

Date: January 20, 2026
Host: Kevin DeYoung | Produced by Crossway

Episode Overview

In this episode, pastor and theologian Kevin DeYoung explores the topic of Natural Theology—what it means, how it differs from other forms of knowing God, and its place within Christian doctrine. DeYoung discusses the biblical and historical foundations of natural theology and contrasts it with rationalism and mysticism, ultimately explaining why the concept remains vital for Reformed and broader Christian thought.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. How Do We Know God? Wrong Approaches

[00:46]

• Rationalism:

  • DeYoung distinguishes rationalism from rationality:

    “Rationalism is different from being rational or reasonable. The problem with rationalism is not that it values reason… but rather that it considers reason the highest source of truth.”
    -- Kevin DeYoung [01:20]

  • Rationalism is often anti-supernatural and overly tied to contemporary scientific thinking.

• Mysticism:

  • Not to be confused with biblical mystery or the Spirit’s illumination.
  • DeYoung:

    “Mysticism assumes that God… reveals these things to us… independently of the outward teaching of the Word…”
    -- Kevin DeYoung [02:10]

  • Rightly, the Spirit illumines but does not bypass the Word.

2. Objective Revelation – God Makes Himself Known

[03:00]

• God’s Self-Revelation:
  • Humans cannot fully know God as He knows Himself (inexhaustibility).
  • The analogy of the six blind men and the elephant (commonly used to claim all religious truth is relative) is critiqued:

    “The whole thing breaks down if the elephant speaks… If the elephant reveals himself… then if we don’t know something… it’s because we’re not humble enough to receive it, or we’re hard of hearing.”
    -- Kevin DeYoung [03:40]

  • The point: God has spoken; our knowledge is based on His initiative.

3. Natural Law vs. Natural Theology

[04:07]

• Natural Law:

  • Definition: “The rule of right and wrong implanted by God in the minds of all people.”
  • Supported biblically (Romans 2).
  • Known apart from Scripture through reason and observation.

• Natural Theology:

  • Definition: “The philosophical study of what can be known about God apart from special revelation.”
  • Biblically rooted: Psalm 19, Acts 14 & 17, Romans 1.
  • Limitations:

    “It’s imperfectly known and it’s not sufficient for salvation.”
    -- Kevin DeYoung [05:08]

  • Means: Known both innately (implanted “seed of divinity”—Calvin) and acquired (via creation, human nature, providence).

4. Reformed Tradition & Natural Theology

[07:03]

• Natural theology has long been accepted within both classical and Reformed traditions:
  • Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas, Calvin, Bullinger, Perkins, the Westminster Divines, and Princeton theologians (e.g., Hodge, Warfield).
  • Even the unregenerate can receive some knowledge of God through nature.

5. General & Special Revelation

[08:20]

• General Revelation:

  • God’s self-disclosure via creation and providence.
  • “General revelation is what God does… natural theology is what we receive through that general revelation.”

• Special Revelation:

  • Necessary for salvation; comes only through Scripture.

• Utility of Natural Theology:

  • Imperfect, non-saving, but preparatory and apologetically useful.
  • Not “our attempt to work our way up from bare reason,” but rather what we derive because “God’s initiative [is] to be known through general revelation.”

6. Human Knowledge of God: Duplex Cognitio Dei

[10:12]

• Twofold knowledge:
  • “We can know God as Creator by natural theology, but we know him as Redeemer only by special revelation.”

  • “General revelation can impart a natural theology to us, and we can know God as Creator… But in order to know him as Redeemer, be reconciled to him, we need a special revelation.”
    -- Kevin DeYoung [10:35]

7. Role and Limits of Science

[11:06]

• Christianity affirms knowable truth in the world but recognizes the limits of science:
  • “There are truths that are higher and surer than the supposed assured results of science… But God's word remains the same. There are some truths, truths about God’s will for us and how to be saved, that require God to speak more clearly.”
    -- Kevin DeYoung [12:04]
  • Science is secondary to the clear and unchanging word of God.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Rationalism’s Limits:
  “Rationalism often becomes anti supernatural, and it finds itself tied to the latest whims of science, tossed to and fro by the latest intellectual fad.” — Kevin DeYoung [01:37]

• The Elephant Analogy:
  “The whole thing breaks down if the elephant speaks.” — Kevin DeYoung [03:40]

• Natural Theology’s Limits:
  “It’s imperfectly known and it’s not sufficient for salvation.” — Kevin DeYoung [05:08]

• Two Kinds of Knowledge:
  “Our knowledge of God is twofold…we can know God as Creator by natural theology, but we know him as Redeemer only by special revelation.” — Kevin DeYoung [10:12]

• Science and Revelation:
  “Science is good. Science is necessary, but it is not final, it’s not absolute. To know God and his ways, we need the Bible, which is the surest and clearest word and the last word concerning every subject on which it means to speak.” — Kevin DeYoung [12:12]

Important Timestamps

• [00:46] — Faith & reason review; introduction of natural law/theology
• [03:40] — The “elephant speaks” analogy clarified
• [04:07] — Definitions: natural law and natural theology
• [06:10] — Natural theology’s biblical support
• [07:03] — Classical & Reformed acceptance of natural theology
• [08:20] — General vs. special revelation; role of each
• [10:12] — Duplex cognitio dei: our twofold knowledge of God
• [11:06] — Science’s place in Christian thought

Summary

Kevin DeYoung delivers a clear, biblically grounded, and historically informed guide to Natural Theology, emphasizing its necessary place—but also its limitations—within Christian doctrine. He distinguishes it from rationalism and mysticism, traces its acceptance through church history, and shows how it fits into the broader categories of general and special revelation. Natural theology can reveal God as Creator through both innate sense and rational deduction from nature, but only the Bible fully reveals God as Redeemer and the path to salvation. This foundational distinction frames a robust Christian worldview, one that values reason and science, but ultimately submits them to God’s self-revelation in Scripture.