1D: The Bible as a source of wisdom and authority Flashcards
1
Q
How was the Christian biblical canon established?
A
- the Christian biblical canon includes the Old Testament or Jewish scriptures, originally written in Hebrew.
- the Greek version of these scriptures contained additional books written only in Greek. Whilst they were not adopted into the Jewish canon the church considered them authoritative.
- early Christians had these books only however as the church grew, Paul wrote letters to the churches he established. These were kept, copied and circulated, followed by the gospels and revelations.
2
Q
The Old Testament canon - when?
A
- The Kethuvim and the Nevi’im were not recognised until the first century CE and the Kethuvim was not complete during Jesus’ lifetime.
- the Torah was established much earlier, some argue around sixth century BCE
3
Q
The Old Testament canon - why?
A
- the Hebrew scriptures circulated as an oral tradition until the Jewish exile to Babylon.
- the Holy Temple was destroyed, so written accounts were needed to help the Jewish people keep their faith while operating as diaspora.
4
Q
The Old Testament canon - how?
A
- for the books to survive the needed to have supported the Torah and be commonly recognised by Jews across the globe
5
Q
The Old Testament canon - who?
A
- the Jewish canon was not closed when the NT was constructed so Augustine, and the RCC, accepted the Septuagint.
-0 during the Reformation, Luther rejected them for supporting the doctrine of purgatory.
6
Q
The New Testament canon - when?
A
- the first declaration of the current canon was in the fourth century CE.
7
Q
The New Testament canon - why?
A
- many writings circulated as the church grew.
- some had dubious authorship or contained heresy
- different Christian groups operated with different canons.
- a collection of authoritative writings was needed to preserve the integrity of Christ’s message and teaching
8
Q
The New Testament canon - how?
A
- books were selected based upon their date (closer to the time of Christ the better), apostolic origins, or connection with the apostles - and whether they affirmed the established Christian faith
- those that were rejected are considered apocryphal.
9
Q
The New Testament canon - who?
A
- the first declaration of the canon was at the Synod of Hippo Regius in 393 under the leadership of St Augustine, who regarded the canon as closed
10
Q
The order of the canon:
A
- Hebrew scriptures end with the return from exile and rebuilding the nation
- For Christians, the OT ends looking ahead to Elijah’s return
- the NT order tells the story of Christ’s death and resurrection, followed by the birth of the church and future for believers.
11
Q
Diverse views on the Bible as the word of God:
A
- Christians believe that the Bible is the word of God, but they differ over what this means
- there is a spectrum of views to describe the communication between humankind and God which is known as inspiration.
- these views can be described as objective or subjective.
12
Q
Features of an objective view of inspiration:
A
- focus on divine initiative in authoring scripture
- God’s perfect character causes the truthfulness of the Bible
- scripture is inerrant
- every word was chosen by God
- humans are controlled by the HS
- propositional content
- can be fundamentalist
- humans are God’s passive instrument
13
Q
Features of an subjective view of inspiration:
A
- focus on humanity’s role in authoring scripture
- scripture can contain error due to human authorship
- humans experienced God
- humans recorded their personal experiences
- can be liberal
- humans are active authors
14
Q
Who was John Calvin?
A
- 1509-1564 was a French scholar and pastor during the Protestant Reformation.
- he was a key figure in the formation of the Calvinist church
15
Q
What is John Calvin’s doctrine of accommodation?
A
- ## end of the objective approach fails to address the cultural differences between biblical content and our knowledge today.
