Inspiration and authority of the Bible

Question 1

whats the definition of “apostles”?

Answer 1

-from Greek word meaning someone who is ‘sent out’ applied particularly to Js original 12 apostles: also wider group of Christian figures such as St Paul.

Question 2

what is ‘canon’?

Answer 2

a collection of books which religious groups regards as inspired by God, and which therefore forms a body of authoritative scripture

-e.g Christian Canon of books of OT + NT

Question 3

what is evangelical protestantism?

Answer 3

-world-wide movement within Protestantism

-holds that christian saved through faith in Js atonement

-“world became ‘reconciled’ by sacrificial death of Jesus”

-committed to spreading word about J and those who are converted have experience of being saved from sin by receiving salvation by being ‘born again’

Question 4

what are Evangelical views of inspiration + authority of Bible based on?

Answer 4

-number of texts in particular 2Timothy3 + 2Peter1

-some interpret texts to men God literally dictated books of the Bible , so authors were in a sense ‘dictating machines’

-text therefore ‘inerrant’ that which comes from God must be without error

Question 5

2Timothy3

Answer 5

“all scripture inspired by God + profitable for teaching”

-word ‘inspired’ comes from Greek word that’s often translated as ‘God-breathed’ in sense of being breathed out by God. - god wrote the scripture

Question 6

2Peter1

Answer 6

“no prophecy of scripture is matter of ones interpretation , because no prophecy ever came by impulse of man , but men moved by Holy Spirit spoke from God”

Question 7

how do Evangelicals interpret Bible?

Answer 7

-literally true

-god literally created world in six 24 hour periods.

-if conflict between religion + modern science, religion authoritative and dictates what science really is

-many evangelical Protestants believe creating story historically + scientifically true

Question 8

whats the apostolic tradition?

Answer 8

-tradition that stems from Jesus’ apostles.

-j commanded them to preach the Gospel to all men

-done orally from teaching they have received from J and from HS

-also in writing by apostles and by others associated w them, again under inspiration of HS

Question 9

whats the apostolic succession?

Answer 9

-apostolic tradition continued in apostolic succession

-Js apostles appointed bishops to be their successors, and the bishops were given teaching authority, and this established a continuous line of succession that would last till the end of time.

Question 10

catholic tradition

Answer 10

-tradition is seen as living tradition

-called “tradition” to distinguish it from Sacred Scripture, with which its closely connected through work of Holy Spirit, and the HS seen as remaining active within Church.

-tradition dynamic, truths can be discovered in Scripture.

Question 11

CCC account

Answer 11

catholic teaching has treasured the ‘spiritual sense of Scripture, which has been defined as the meaning expressed by biblical texts when read under info of Holy Spirit

Question 12

The Catechism and scripture

Answer 12

-tradition and scripture from same divine source, so share the same divine authority

-scripture is ‘speech of God’put down in writing under breath of Holy Spirit

-tradition transmits active word of God given by J and HS to successors of the apostles

Question 13

CCC quote

Answer 13

written under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as there author, and have been handed on as such to the Church herself

Question 14

what are testaments?

Answer 14

without error, containing the saving truth

truth comes through literary forms in the Bible (historical, moral, poetic)

forms together cover whole range of human thinking + expression

Question 15

what does inspiration of the Holy Spirit mean?

Answer 15

-original books of the bible were without error

-over course of time mistakes may have arisen (imperfect copying) so may need to be interpreted to understand original meaning and to apply to modern issues

Question 16

how do we interpret scripture?

Answer 16

1. Scripture as a whole must be seen as a unity

2.It must be read within living tradition of the church

3. Interpreter must be attentive to ‘analogy of faith’

Question 17

whats the ‘analogy of faith’?

Answer 17

unchanging faith of the Church, so that no scholar will interpret any passage in such a way that it forgets unity of Scripture and sets truth of one passage against truth of another

Question 18

Neo-orthodoxy

Answer 18

-‘new orthodoxy’

-work of theologians such as Karl Bath, Paul Tillich etcw

Question 19

what do Neo-orthodox believe?

Answer 19

-reject conservative belief in biblical inerrancy as modern forms of studying Bible suggest parts aren’t true due to historical + scientific errors

-Bible contains apparent contradictions

Question 20

what does Karl Barth believe?

Answer 20

-Bible not word of God, Instead it contains the word go God

-Other religions are humanity’s attempt to reach God, whereas Christianity is Gods attempt to reach humanity

-doesn’t reveal himself in Bible but in Jesus (the word who becomes flesh)

-scripture vehicle through which G may be experienced.

Question 21

liberalism

Answer 21

-umbrella term which is used here to refer to views of those Christians who reject any idea that Bible is literally the inspired Word of God

Question 22

what are examples of Liberal approach?

Answer 22

-The Social Gospel Movement

-Process Theology

Question 23

whats the social gospel movement?

Answer 23

-founded by protestant intellectuals

-use christian ethical principles to address social issues ranging from poverty/crime to racism/war

Question 24

whats process theology?

Answer 24

-gods not creator ‘he’ exists panentheistically with physical universe , G in the the universe and uni in G

-G not all-powerful, he does no more than persuade matter into more complex arrangements, can’t remove problem of evil

-doesnt intervene in the world - no miracles, J not G incarnate, G doesn’t answer prayer. Bible entirely human document.

Question 25

What do neo orthodox reject

Answer 25

-They reject the conservative belief in biblical inerrancy, largely because modern forms of studying the Bible suggest that parts of the Bible are not true, because there are many historical and scientific errors.

-the Bible contains apparent contradictions: for example in Mark 10:11 Jesus says that anybody who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, whereas in Matthew 19:9 Jesus says that anyone who divorces his wife - except for marital unfaithfulness- and marries another woman, commits adultery.

Question 26

What does Karl Barth hold?

Answer 26

-Karl Barth held that the Bible is not the Word of God; instead it contains the Word of God. Barth held that other religions are humanity’s attempt to reach God, whereas Christianity is God’s attempt to reach humanity.

-So, God does not reveal himself in the words of the Bible; rather, God reveals himself in Jesus, who is the Word who becomes flesh for the salvation of humanity, and who should be worshipped.

-Reading the Bible we become aware that we are sinners in need of forgiveness and we feel the presence of God the forgiver in Jesus.

Question 27

What is scripture for Barth?

Answer 27

-For Barth, scripture is a vehicle through which God may be experienced.

-At the moment that the presence of God is experienced, the text becomes personally meaningful, and the experience is authoritative for the believer.

Question 28

Liberalism

Answer 28

Liberalism’ is an umbrella term which is used here to refer to the views of those Christians who reject any idea that the Bible is literally the inspired Word of God. Here are two examples of the Liberal approach:

Question 29

What is the social gospel movement?

Answer 29

-The Social Gospel Movement was founded by Protestant intellectuals at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries,

-where the idea was to use Christian ethical principles to address social issues ranging from poverty and crime to racism and war.

-This is not to say that Christians within the Social Gospel Movement had no identifiable doctrinal beliefs; merely that for many, the social action of the movement was more important than worrying about which doctrines are true.

-In other words, the Bible is authoritative for recommending how we should live.

Question 30

What was the point of the social gospel movement?

Answer 30

-You can see the point: in the aftermath of two world wars, with political and social unrest on a large scale in many countries,

-it might seem more important to put the gospel into practice rather than to debate insoluble questions about inspiration and authority.

Question 31

Beliefs held by process theologists?

Answer 31

-God is not the Creator; ‘he’ exists panentheistically with the physical universe, meaning that God is ‘in’ the universe and the universe is ‘in’ God.

-God is not all-powerful, because he can do no more than to ‘persuade’ matter into more complex arrangements. God certainly cannot remove the problem of evil.

-God does not intervene in the world - there are no miracles; Jesus is not God incarnate; and God does not answer prayer.

-The Bible is an entirely human document. It is inspired only in the sense that it contains passages that people might find uplifting.