interpretations of authority of bible

Question 1

conservatism evangelical protestantism & importance of bible

Answer 1

• holds that christians are saved by grace through faith in jesus’ atonement
• committed to spreading word about jesus & those who convert have experience of being saved from sin by receiving salvation by being ‘born again’
• not all believe same things
• views of authority of bible based mainlt on timothy 3 & 2
• some interpret god literally dictating books of bible so texts are inerrant (what comes from god is without error)
• for many evangelicals text of bible is literally true if it says god created world in 6 days then he did & if any conflict between religion & modern science then religion is authorative
• god inspired authors to produce precise words he wanted but human authors avoid express own personalities in it

Question 2

conservative catholicism & importance of bible

Answer 2

• bible is inspired by god
• catholic teaching an inspiration & authority of bible forms an organic whole
• jesus’ apostles appointed bishops to be their successors & bishops given teaching authority
• truth can be discovered in scripture
• scripture remains eternally dynamic/alive as tradition finds new interpreations of scripture to address modern situations
• tradition & scripture sprang from same divine source so share same divine authority
• scripture is speech of god
• authoritive body to interpret both is magisterium
• sacred scripture is word of god
• as inspired word of god, both OT and NT have no error
• truth comes through all literary forms in bible
• overtime errors may have arose though imperfect copying
• to interpret scripture must be seen as unity and read within living tradition of the church

Question 3

neo-orthodoxy

Answer 3

• refers to theologians kike barth and tilich
• reject conservative belief in biblicalinerrancy as modern forms of studying bible suggests parts of bible aren’t true due to historic/scientific errors
• contains contradictions - in mark 10:11 jesus says anyone who divorces their wife & marries another commits adultery but in matthew 19:9 says anyone divorcing his wife & marries another commits adultery unless maritial unfaithfulness
• barth held bible isn’t word of god but contains word of god & other religions are humanity’s attempt to reach god but christianity is god’s attempt to reach humanity
• god doesn’t reveal himself in words of bible but in jesus who is the word who becomes flesh for salvation of humanity
• reading bible we become aware we’re sinners in need of forgiveness

Question 4

liberalism

Answer 4

• umbrella term for those who reject any idea that the bible is literally the inspired word of god
  SOCIAL GOSPEL MOVEMENT
• founded by protestant intellectuals end of 19th dentury & beginning 20th where idea was to use christian ethical principles to address social issues
• not to say christians in this had no identifiable doctrinal beliefs but the social action more important than worrying which doctrines are true
• bible authoritive for recommending how we should live
  PROCESS THEOLOGY:
• form of christianity fully takes on board the dicrepancies between some of the claims made in bible & what we know to be true from science
• god isn’t the creator he exists panentheistically with physical universe meaning god is ‘in’ universe visa vera
• god isn’t all powerful as can do no more than ‘persuade’ matter into more complex arrangements
• god doesn’t intervene in the world
• bible is entirely human document