Sources of Wisdom and Authority

Question 1

Different Christian beliefs about the nature and authority of the bible

What are the conservative beliefs about the nature and authority of the bible?

Answer 1

• Conservative ideas about the authority and inspiration of the Bible range from those of Evangelical Protestants who tend to regard Scripture as the literal Word of God, inerrant even in passages that are unscientific, to those of Catholics for whom Sacred Scripture is the word of God written through inspiration of the Holy Spirit using human authors who were both inspired and allowed to use their human faculties.
• For Catholicism, the inspiration of Scripture guarantees the truth of all different forms of literature in the Bible and guarantees that Scripture is a unity.
• Scripture must be interpreted and maintained as a unity, through the analogy of faith.

Question 2

Different Christian beliefs about the nature and authority of the bible

What is Karl Barth’s Neo-Orthodox belief about the nature and authority of the bible?

Answer 2

• Karl Barth’s Neo-orthodox view does not see the Bible as the Word of God but as a human work that becomes inspired when it provides those who read it with a personal encounter with Jesus.

Question 3

Different Christian beliefs about the nature and authority of the bible

What is the Liberal belief about the nature and authority of the bible?

Answer 3

• Liberal views take many different forms, ranging from partial inspiration to seeing the Bible as a fully human document.
  o For the Social Gospel Movement, social action is more important than worrying about insoluble matters of doctrine.
  o For Process theologians, God is not the Creator, is not omnipotent and does not intervene in the world.

Question 4

The different perspectives of the Protestant and Catholic traditions on the relative authority of the Bible and the Church

What is the Catholic view on the relative authority of the Bible and the Church?

Answer 4

• The Catholic view is that the Bible and the Church have equal authority, being inextricably linked through the work of the Holy Spirit.
• The ongoing Tradition of the Church, continued through Apostolic Succession, means that the Church - specifically the Magisterium of the Pope and Bishops - alone has the authority to interpret Scripture correctly.
• Scripture and the teaching authority of the Church are therefore joined together: neither can stand alone. Under the action of the Holy Spirit, both contribute effectively to the salvation of souls.

Question 5

The different perspectives of the Protestant and Catholic traditions on the relative authority of the Bible and the Church

What is the Protestant view on the relative authority of the Bible and the Church?

Answer 5

• For Protestants, authority is focused on Scripture - Luther’s doctrine of Sola Scriptura.
• Humans cannot pass judgement on God’s Word.
• The Bible is the sole judge of truth, so the authority of the Church, tradition, councils and Church scholars is subservient in every case to Scripture and cannot contradict it.
• All believers form a priesthood of believers, consecrated as priests through baptism, by virtue of which all are equal before God and can achieve salvation without the need for intervention by the Church or a priest.

Question 6

The authority of Jesus

What is the view that Jesus’ authority is the Son of God?

Answer 6

• Most Christians will accept the statements about Jesus given in the Nicene Creed, where Jesus is the Son of God, so has God’s authority. The Gospels use a number of titles for Jesus, including Son of God and Son of Man, to indicate his divinity.
• Historically, certain Christian groups viewed Jesus as divine, including those who believed in Adoptionism, Arianism, Catharism and (still today) Unitarianism.
• When we look at Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount on retaliation and love for enemies, for those who accept Jesus’ authority as God’s authority, Christians literally should not retaliate and must love their enemies.
• Jesus can be seen as a role model for Christian behaviour, his authority is divine but less relevant.

Question 7

The authority of Jesus

What is the view that Jesus’ authority is the Son of Man?

Answer 7

• Nevertheless, some Christians see Jesus’ authority as only human.
• Moreover, liberal Christians use textual analysis and science to argue that Jesus was human and not divine, so, for example, where the Gospels tell of Jesus’ resurrection from death, they really mean that.
• ‘Accepting Jesus brings new life, so all suggestions that Jesus was divine are just the result of the early Christian community reflecting on who Jesus was and coming to an unlikely conclusion.
• When we look at Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount on retaliation and love for enemies, for those who see Jesus’ authority as only human, Jesus words have to be interpreted in terms of the brutal Roman occupation of Palestine, or in terms of hyperbole, or perhaps in terms of how individuals should confront issues of violence and hatred; not only that, but some would also simply reject pacifism and love of enemies, arguing that this is a rare example of Jesus getting it wrong.
• Jesus can be seen as a role model for Christian behaviour, his example becomes more relevant if he is human, however his authority decreases.