sources of wisdom and authority Flashcards
What is the Bible?
It is a collection of books that express beliefs about God and God’s purposes for humanity and the rest of the created world
The Bible falls into two parts:
the Old Testament and the New Testament
What do the books of the Old and New Testament together form?
The Canon of the Bible
The Old Testament contains the writings of…
the Jewish scriptures (though the order is different)
The New Testament contains…
Christian writings that date mainly from the first century
Many evangelical Protestants hold what is called a ______________ view of the nature and authority of the Bible
fundamentalist
What do many evangelical Protestants believe about the nature and authority of the Bible?
- The Bible is the infallible word of God; it contains no mistakes of any kind
- The authors were directly inspired by God
- Apparent contradictions in content are due to the limitations of the human intellect
What is a key scripture that many Evangelical Protestants (fundamentalists) refer to regarding the nature and authority of the Bible?
2 Timothy 3:16
2 Timothy 3:16
“All Scripture is God-breathed”
What are two fundamentalist approaches to Genesis 1?
- Young earth creationist
- Old earth creationist
What do young earth creationists believe?
- Creation occurred around 6,000 years ago
- Literalist understanding of the text (creation in six days means literally six days)
- Scientific theories rejected as products of limited and mistaken human intelligence
Some young earth creationists say that fossil evidence was planted by God to…
make the Earth look old and test faith
What do old earth creationists believe?
- Acceptance of scientific dating of universe, i.e. circa 13.8 billion years ago
- Not literalist
- Acceptance within limits of Darwinian evolution
- Genesis 1 and modern science compatible
Why do old earth creationists believe Genesis 1 and modern science are compatible?
“let there be light” refers to the Big Bang and the six ‘days’ match the six stages of the evolution of the cosmos according to scientific thinking
Catholics believe that the Bible was ________ by God, but _______ by human beings
inspired
written
What do Catholics believe about Genesis 1?
Genesis 1 was never intended as a scientific or factual account of the origins of the universe; the author used the genre of myth to convey truths about the nature of God and the nature of humanity and of the created world
In Catholicism, where does guidance in interpreting the Bible come from?
Tradition and the Magisterium, as well as the use of the individual’s informed conscience and reason
Tradition
Tradition refers to teachings, customs and practices of the Church passed down through the centuries and seen as equal in importance to the Bible
Magisterium
Magisterium refers to the teaching authority of the Pope and bishops who preserve and interpret the Bible and tradition
‘Dei Verbum’ quote about the nature and authority of the Bible
“The Bible is not meant to convey precise historical information or scientific findings to us”
Neo-orthodox approaches to the nature and authority of the Bible are based on the arguments of philosophers like ____ _____
Karl Bath