P2 - Sources of Wisdom and Authority Flashcards
What are the three different views (general ideas) within Christianity regarding the writer of the Bible
- God gave the writers the words to write
- 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
- The Bible is the human interpretation of the way God expressed himself through Jesus’ life
Why may some doubt the authority of the Bible?
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
What is evangelism
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
What is atonement
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
What is evangelical protestanism
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’
What are evangelical protestants’ view on the inspiration and authority of the Bible (quote)
“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)
What are evangelical protestants’ view regarding the text of the Bible
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
what is apostolic tradition
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
what is apostolic succession
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
what are catholic views on scripture along with tradition
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
what are catholic views on the contents of scripture
scripture is the ‘speech of God’, put down in writing under ‘the breath of the Holy Spirit’
article 3 of Catechism – catholic view on the nature of inspiration of the Bible and interpretation
“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”
catholic view on the inspiration of the Bible
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
catholic view on interpreting scripture
- scripture as a whole must be seen as a unity
- must be read within the living tradition of the church
- the interpreter must be attentive the the ‘analogy of faith’
what does neo-orthodoxy refer to
refers to the work of a number of theologians such as Karl Barth, Reinhold Niebuhr and Paul Tillich
What is the neo-orthodox view on the bible
- 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
what is liberalism
an umbrella term – refers to the views of those Christians who reject any idea that the Bible is literally the inspired word of God
what are the two liberal approaches
- the social gospel movement
2. process theology
what is the social gospel movement
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
what is process theology
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
The Bible as inspired by God but written by human beings – catholic view
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.”
The Bible as inspired by God but written by human beings – Barth’s neo-orthodox view
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
what is special revelation
revelation that occurs to specific people at specific times
e.g. scripture, also religious experiences and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit
what is incarnation
the doctrine that Jesus as the Son of God became flesh
“the Word became flesh and dwelt among us’
what is general revelation
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
what is the authority of the Church from scripture
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
What does each Church tradition have
- 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
what split the church in the 16th century
the great schism - split between the Protestant Church and the Catholic Church
what is the catholic church
the largest Christian church
has consistently produced a formidable array of brilliant scholars
e.g. Thomas Aquinas
what is the protestant church
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
what are main protestant beliefs + definitions
sola scriptura – the sole authority of scripture
sola fide – justification by faith alone
what are the main denominations of the protestant churches
Baptist, Calvinist, Luteran, Methodist and Pentecostalist
apostolic tradition biblical quotes
‘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)
Sola Scriptura – quotes from Martin Luther
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’
what is the priesthood of all believers
all believers are priests, and all stand equally before God
‘but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood…’ (1 Peter 2:9)
what does the priesthood of all believers mean for the protestant church
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
Jesus’ authority as God’s authority
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
Jesus’ authority as God’s authority – biblical quotes
‘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..’
what is the trinity
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
son of God - biblical quotes
“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”
what does it mean to say that Jesus is the Son of God
that he has God’s authority, this is the sense in which most Christians have understood Jesus’ authority
son of man – bible quotes
“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!”
Christians who understand Jesus’ authority as only human
- those who, historically, have followed the teachings of a particular sect in which it was believed that Jesus waas not divine
- those who take a liberal approach to scripture
what is adoptionism
that Jesus was born human, but later adopted by God at his baptism
Jesus’ authority was acquired from God when he was baptised
what is arianism
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
what are the cathars
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
What is unitarianism
desitic understanding of God (once creation was complete, God ceased to act within the created order)
