Since my post on March 8th, 2016 about the so-called "Insufficiency of General Revelation," I saw this article posted on The Poached Egg- Is Religious Experience Evidence?
To start with I shouldn't have to say anything more, as it is not an attack upon my position. When one discusses natural theology, one is talking about nature/creation in the relatively uniform ordinary state of affairs. Supernatural is that which is not natural.
It appears the writer Travis Dickinson is using the word "evidence" to mean information that people are gathering which is enabling them to believe. If that is happening- that people are having miraculous experiences and then believing, then it is possible that those experiences are becoming part of their testimony and the apologetic evidence they submit to others. There is nothing that wrong about this- if they have truly come to saving knowledge! If they came to saving knowledge, then it must be that the spiritual experience that they had just pointed to the Scriptures and the truth of the Scriptures, or gave them knowledge which is also in the Scriptures. (Although it is in excess of what is necessary. The Scriptures and the work of the Holy Spirit are enough to impart saving knowledge. The apologia we give doesn't necessarily need the extraneous "spiritual experience," either, but everyone knows that we go outside the Scriptures usually to give a defense, anyway). In order to accumulate saving knowledge through a personal spiritual experience, one would have to see or be told the ministry, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus in said experience (Philippians 3:10-11, though there's much more to the discussion of what comprises saving knowledge, let's keep it simple here and say it is knowing our spiritual condition and the salvation found in the Lord Jesus). While that's possible though a dream perhaps, the Bible is where one would cross-check one's facts after that. (And no, I will not address the absurd proposition of someone having saving knowledge from a dream and never looking in the Bible. The regenerate person thirsts for God's Word, Matthew 5:6). Faith generally comes from the preaching of the Gospel, as is implied by the reasoning of Apostle Paul in Romans 10:14, which says, "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" But also, Jesus wanted people to know the Scriptures and the power of God, as He criticized them for not knowing (Matthew 22:29). So when we have come to saving knowledge of the Lord, we know him both ways- His power as he is revealing it (miraculous or not, either way), and through the Word of God the Bible. We don't see the world from a darkened mind as unbelievers do. We, God's children, look upon the glory of creation and mankind as constantly testifying to and revealing God's power.
Our generation could learn a little bit from history, as well, in regards to spiritual experiences and church practices. In early America (during the First Great Awakening), the Puritan churches in Massechusetts required their congregants to submit a "conversion narrative," documenting the testimony of their "conversion experience." That was fine for the first generation, however, the religion was endangered in the second generation when their kids just didn't have the same experiences as mom and pop. That is the danger of placing too much emphasis on personal subjective spiritual experience in churches. The sufficiency of the Scriptures alone for life, morals, salvation must be remembered and emphasized among God's people.
For people's further edification, I will share a video from the Reformedapologist where my associate James is speaking with someone who claimed to be seeing Jesus every day.
Video- Breakfast at Jesus's
Then there's this one- Suppose God Had Coffee with Donald Trump...How would that go? (haha!)
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