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
Who was Karl Barth?
Karl Barth was a Swiss Protestant theologian
What did Karl Barth believe about the Bible?
- is not the word of God but it contains the word of God
- is the way through which humans may experience God
- is not inerrant with respect to science, history, and religion, as its writers were products of their time and subject to limitations of intellect
What does the Sea of Faith Network believe about the nature and authority of the Bible?
The Sea of Faith Network, which includes Christians with very Liberal views, claims that faith is a purely human creation, so the Bible has no authority other than any that an individual might choose to give it
What are some Liberal approaches to the nature and authority of the Bible?
- The Bible is an entirely human document, consisting of what the writers believed about God and his purposes for the world
- What individual authors wrote was a product of the culture and age in which each of them lived
- The Bible is not inspired, but it may be inspiring to individuals
After his resurrection Jesus gave the ________ authority to lead the Church
The Apostles passed on their authority to new leaders - _______
It became known as the _________ __________
In Western Europe, the Bishop of Rome (known as the ____) was the leader of the Church and everyone had to obey him
In the _________ century, many Christians rebelled against the Pope’s _________ and they became known as ___________
Apostles
Bishops
Apostolic
Succession
Pope
sixteenth
authority
Protestants
From the sixteenth century, there were two main Christian traditions in Western Europe:
- the Catholic Church, led by the Pope
- the Protestant Church, which consists of many different denominations
Reformation
Reformation refers to the split in the Church that occurred in the sixteenth century when individuals and groups protested against what they believed to be wrong teaching and corrupt practice in the Catholic Church
Sola Scriptura
Sola Scriptura means ‘Scripture alone’, which is the view of the Protestant denominations - the Bible alone has authority
Who is Martin Luther?
Martin Luther, a German teacher and a monk, brought about the Protestant Reformation - he was the seminal figure
What does Martin Luther believe about the nature and authority of the Bible?
- Sola scriptura
- The Bible gives the standard of measurement for deciding on the truth of Church teachings
- Without the Bible, there would be no Church
The precedence of the Bible over the Church is illustrated in Martin Luther’s belief that…
salvation comes through faith, not through the institutions of the Church and that all Christians have equal access to God through prayer
Salvation comes through faith, not through the institutions of the Church and that all Christians have equal access to God through prayer - what is this belief known as?
‘the priesthood of all believers’
What do Baptists believe about the nature and authority of the Church?
- Baptists believe in the Bible as the ultimate authority - the Bible is foundational for Baptist doctrine and Church policy
- The New Testament takes priority over the Old Testament
- They reject the authority of the Church as an institution
Why does the Catholic Church believe that the Bible is a living form of the truth?
It is added to by new insights, e.g. ethical teachings on bio-medical issues
Summary of the two different views about the authority of Jesus
Jesus’ authority as God’s authority:
- based on the view that Jesus was God incarnate
Jesus’ authority as only human:
- based on the claim that Jesus was not divine
God incarnate states the belief that Jesus is…
God in human form; ‘incarnate’ means ‘in flesh’
What does Messiah mean?
Messiah is a title meaning ‘anointed one’ that was used for Jewish kings, indicating that they were chosen by God and so were sons of God; Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah
According to the Gospels, what did Jesus claim to have?
Divine authority
Jesus’ divine authority was seen in:
- his teachings
- the miracles attributed to him
- the titles used by and of Jesus, e.g. Son of God, Messiah, Son of Man
Jesus’ authority as God’s authority scripture
Matthew 28:18
Matthew 28:18
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”
Jesus’ divine authority seen in his teaching
Those who heard Jesus teach were amazed both by what he said and the manner in which he taught as he taught in a direct and original way (according to Mark)
Jesus as Son of God
At the beginning of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus is referred to as the Son of God and he is said to be “my beloved Son” in the visions at his baptism
Jesus as Son of Man
Jesus called himself Son of Manto remind his disciples that he was a person like them
Jesus as Son of Man is used in…
the prophesy of Daniel to describe a figure with authority from God
Jesus’ authority as only human
- Adoptionism
- Unitarianism
- Liberal Christian views
Jesus’ authority as only human - Adoptionism
The belief that Jesus was not divine by nature:
- God ‘adopted’ him as his ‘son’ at the baptism (Mark 1:9-11) in the same way as Kings in ancient Israel were thought to be chosen by God as his earthly representatives
Jesus’ authority as only human - Unitarianism
- It adopts a deist view of the creation if the world
- Jesus was a spiritual leader so his teachings may contain useful insights, but there is no idea of divine authority attached to them
Deist refers to the view that…
God did not have any further relationship with the world after creating it
Jesus’ authority as only human - Liberal Christian views
- Jesus’ teaching and the stories associated with him had been passed down by word of mouth and would have been altered and even exaggerated in the telling
- The influence of Greek philosophy and mystery religions led to the human Jesus being transformed into a divine figure
Jesus’ teaching and the stories associated with him had been passed down by word of mouth and would have been altered and even exaggerated in the telling - what substantiates this view?
The differing accounts of the calming of the storm that are found in the first three Gospels
Jesus’ teaching on retaliation and love for enemies scripture
Matthew 5:38-48
