P2 - Sources of Wisdom and Authority

Question 1

What are the three different views (general ideas) within Christianity regarding the writer of the Bible

Answer 1

1. God gave the writers the words to write
2. God inspired the writers to write, but only the Catholic Church can correctly interpret the teaching, because the style and intention of writer is not always clear
3. The Bible is the human interpretation of the way God expressed himself through Jesus’ life

Question 2

Why may some doubt the authority of the Bible?

Answer 2

There is a large range of different statements in the Bible; teachings, moral commands, historical statements, erotic poems, salutary tales, humorous proverbs
– it is one thing to say that the accounts of Jesus’ resurrection are given or inspired by God but it is another thing to say that EVERYTHING in the Bible is inspired by God

Question 3

What is evangelism

Answer 3

means ‘good message’ in Greek
To evangelise is to spread the good news about Jesus the Messiah
The writers of the four gospels are also known as the Four Evangelists

Question 4

What is atonement

Answer 4

part of the theology of St. Paul

Held that after the original sin of Adam, the God and the world were ‘reconciled’ by the sacrifical death of Jesus

Question 5

What is evangelical protestanism

Answer 5

a world-wide movement within Protestantism
hold that Christians are saved by grace (God’s free gift) through faith in Jesus’ atonement
this is part of St. Paul’s theology
Evangelicals are committed to spreading the word about Jesus, and those who are converted have the experience of being saved from sin by recieving salvation through being ‘born again’

Question 6

What are evangelical protestants’ view on the inspiration and authority of the Bible (quote)

Answer 6

“All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for correction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
“No prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy every came by the impulse of a man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:20-21)

Question 7

What are evangelical protestants’ view regarding the text of the Bible

Answer 7

for many Evangelicals, the text of the Bible is literally true
If the Bible says that God created the world in 6 days, then it is true
they believe that religion is authoritative and dictates what the science really is

Question 8

what is apostolic tradition

Answer 8

the tradition that stems from Jesus’ Apostles
Jesus commanded them to preach the Gospel to all men
this was done orally, from the teachings they recieved from Jesus and from the Holy Spirit; also in writing by the Apostles and by others associated with hum, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit

Question 9

what is apostolic succession

Answer 9

the idea that the authority and ministry of the Church derives from Jesus’ apostles through the succession of bishops who came directly after them
for Roman Catholics, this includes the idea that the authority of Peter, as the leader of the 12 Apostles, is transferred directly to the Pope, and gives the Pope an infallible authority

Question 10

what are catholic views on scripture along with tradition

Answer 10

along with apostolic tradition, scripture then remains eternally dynamic and alive because tradition finds new interpretations of scripture to address modern situations and needs
tradition and scripture are from the same divine source, so share the same divine authority

Question 11

what are catholic views on the contents of scripture

Answer 11

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

Question 12

article 3 of Catechism – catholic view on the nature of inspiration of the Bible and interpretation

Answer 12

“for holy mother church… accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the God and New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts, on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author, and have been handed on as such to the Church herself”

Question 13

catholic view on the inspiration of the Bible

Answer 13

God chose the human authors and inspired them, but allowed them full use of their own faculties to write what he wanted
Old and New Testament are without error and contain the saving truth
truth comes through all the literacy forms in the Bible

Question 14

catholic view on interpreting scripture

Answer 14

1. scripture as a whole must be seen as a unity
2. must be read within the living tradition of the church
3. the interpreter must be attentive the the ‘analogy of faith’

Question 15

what does neo-orthodoxy refer to

Answer 15

refers to the work of a number of theologians such as Karl Barth, Reinhold Niebuhr and Paul Tillich

Question 16

What is the neo-orthodox view on the bible

Answer 16

• reject conservative belief in biblical inerrancy, because there are many historical and scientific errors
• Barth, Bible is not the Word of God, but it contains the Word of God
• God does not reveal himself in the words of the Bible, but reveals himself in Jesus
• Barth, scripture is a vehicle through which God may be experienced

Question 17

what is liberalism

Answer 17

an umbrella term – refers to the views of those Christians who reject any idea that the Bible is literally the inspired word of God

Question 18

what are the two liberal approaches

Answer 18

1. the social gospel movement

2. process theology

Question 19

what is the social gospel movement

Answer 19

liberal approach
founded by protestant intellectuals at end of 19th century
idea was to use Christian ethical principles to address social issues ranging from poverty and crime to racism and war
believed that social action of the movement was more important than worrying about which doctrines are true

Question 20

what is process theology

Answer 20

liberal approach
fully takes on board the discrepancies between some Biblical claims and what we know to be true from science
some ideas
- God is not the creator, exists panentheistically with the physical universe
- God is not all-powerful, he can do no more than to ‘persuade’ matter, cannot move problem of evil
- God cannot intervene in the world
- the Bible is entirely a human document

Question 21

The Bible as inspired by God but written by human beings – catholic view

Answer 21

God’s Holy Spirit is the main author of Scripture, but human authors also used their own faculties and powers
e.g. the Gospels were written by humans
“Our God comes willingly to be immersed in our humanity. The Son comes to live human life to the full, and the words of God share fully in the dynamics of human language. It follows that in order to understand the word of God in Scripture we should seek to know the intention of the human author.”

Question 22

The Bible as inspired by God but written by human beings – Barth’s neo-orthodox view

Answer 22

words of Bible are not inspired
but Scripture becomes inspired when it provides those who read it with a personal encounter with Jesus
the Bible has a human side, leving room for the personal encounter with God that humans can find in the Bible

Question 23

what is special revelation

Answer 23

revelation that occurs to specific people at specific times

e.g. scripture, also religious experiences and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit

Question 24

what is incarnation

Answer 24

the doctrine that Jesus as the Son of God became flesh

“the Word became flesh and dwelt among us’

Question 25

what is general revelation

Answer 25

revelation that is available to all people at all times

knowledge of God that comes through natural means, such as reason and observation of the world

Question 26

what is the authority of the Church from scripture

Answer 26

Matthew 28:19-20 – where Jesus commissions his disciples to make disciples of all nations, to baptise him, and to teach what Jesus has command them
Matthew 16:18-19 – Jesus tells Peter that he is the ‘rock’ on which the Church will be built and that he has full authority

Question 27

What does each Church tradition have

Answer 27

• its pattern of worship and ritual
• its approach to the ecumenical councils (councils of Church leaders and scholars who meet to desicuss and decide matters of doctrine and practice)
• its leadership structure and organisation

Question 28

what split the church in the 16th century

Answer 28

the great schism - split between the Protestant Church and the Catholic Church

Question 29

what is the catholic church

Answer 29

the largest Christian church
has consistently produced a formidable array of brilliant scholars
e.g. Thomas Aquinas

Question 30

what is the protestant church

Answer 30

emerged from the 16th century protestant reformation
Martin Luther was expelled from the Catholic Church from protesting, he created theology and teachings with John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli which formed the basis of modern-day protestanism

Question 31

what are main protestant beliefs + definitions

Answer 31

sola scriptura – the sole authority of scripture

sola fide – justification by faith alone

Question 32

what are the main denominations of the protestant churches

Answer 32

Baptist, Calvinist, Luteran, Methodist and Pentecostalist

Question 33

apostolic tradition biblical quotes

Answer 33

‘I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you’ (1 Corinthians 11:2)
‘[W]hat you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also’ (2 Timothy 2)

Question 34

Sola Scriptura – quotes from Martin Luther

Answer 34

the only true authority is ‘… the word of god, through which alone we obtain whatever knowledge we have of God and divine things.’
all that was needed was ‘… the sure rule of God’s word’

Question 35

what is the priesthood of all believers

Answer 35

all believers are priests, and all stand equally before God

‘but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood…’ (1 Peter 2:9)

Question 36

what does the priesthood of all believers mean for the protestant church

Answer 36

all believers have equal access to God through their prayers, without the need of an ordained priest as an intermediary
all individuals consecrated as priests through baptism

Question 37

Jesus’ authority as God’s authority

Answer 37

expressed in the Nicene Creed, ‘son of god’

Jesus was seen as someone who spoke and acted with authority from God, e.g. performinig miracles

Question 38

Jesus’ authority as God’s authority – biblical quotes

Answer 38

‘Now I know that you are a man of God’ Spoken by Elijah
‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’
‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… baptising them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit..’

Question 39

what is the trinity

Answer 39

the oneness of God is understood in three ‘persons’
God is ‘the father’
God is the ‘holy spirit’
God is the ‘son’ – incarnate, Jesus in God form

Question 40

son of God - biblical quotes

Answer 40

“thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased.”
“This is my beloved Son; listen to him”
“All things have been delievered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him”

Question 41

what does it mean to say that Jesus is the Son of God

Answer 41

that he has God’s authority, this is the sense in which most Christians have understood Jesus’ authority

Question 42

son of man – bible quotes

Answer 42

“Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head”

“truly this man was the son of god!”

Question 43

Christians who understand Jesus’ authority as only human

Answer 43

1. those who, historically, have followed the teachings of a particular sect in which it was believed that Jesus waas not divine
2. those who take a liberal approach to scripture

Question 44

what is adoptionism

Answer 44

that Jesus was born human, but later adopted by God at his baptism
Jesus’ authority was acquired from God when he was baptised

Question 45

what is arianism

Answer 45

Jesus was not truly divine – created by God to fulfil a specific role, the title ‘son of god’ was an honour bestowed on him by God

Question 46

what are the cathars

Answer 46

taught that created matter was too corrupt for the perfect God to become incarnate as Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ could not be God in human form

Question 47

What is unitarianism

Answer 47

desitic understanding of God (once creation was complete, God ceased to act within the created order)