Sources of Wisdom and Authority

Question 1

describe the key difference between catholics and protestants

Answer 1

catholics follow Jesus’ teachings as transmitted through the Old and New Testament via Rome and the Vatican, and they follow the CCC. They believe that the Catholic Church is the original and first christian church

protestants however follow the teachings of Jesus Christ as transmitted through the old and New Testament. they believe that the Catholic Church stemmed from the original christian church, but that it became corrupt - we cannot add/take away from the bible

Question 2

describe how the two denominations differ in terms of the sufficiency and authority of scripture

Answer 2

• protestants dont view tradition as equal in authority with scripture, but the CC disagrees.
  ‘the issue of sola scriptura… Jesus scripture plus tradition is perhaps the fundamental difference’ - Dr Horrell
  Protestants only view scripture as authoritative - however the CCC states that ‘both scripture and tradition must be accepted and honoured with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence’

Question 3

describe evangelical protestant beliefs about the nature and authority of the bible

Answer 3

• evangelical protestants believe humans are saved through faith in Jesus’ atonement and are committed to spreading the word about him.
• ‘All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction’ - they believe that God literally dictated the books of the bible so that the authors were dictating machines - the text is therefore ignorant so that which comes from god is without error
• they believe the text is literally true, therefore if there’s any conflict between religion and modern science, religion is authoritative. Genesis story is historically accurate

Question 4

describe catholic beliefs about the nature and authority of the bible

Answer 4

• catholics believe that the bible is inspired by god, but catholic teaching on the inspiration and authority of the bible forms an ‘organic whole’
• Apostolic tradition: tradition stemming from Jesus’s apostles of spreading the Gospel as Jesus ordered through the Holy spirit’s inspiration in teaching and writing
• this continued with the Apostolic succession - Jesus’s apostles appointed bishops as their successors who were given teaching authority, establishing a continuous line of succession lasting until the end of time.
• tradition is seen as a living tradition - done to distinguish it from sacred scripture which is closely connected through the work of the Holy Spirit which is seen as being active within the church
• the catholic approach to the bible is conservative - it is essentially dynamic and new truths can be discovered in scripture
• centuries of reflection and prayer have led christians to discover new truths and new senses of biblical passages. catholic teaching has treasured ‘the spiritual sense of scritpture’
• scripture therefore remains eternally dynamic and alive because Tradition finds new interpretations of scripture to address modern concerns

Question 5

Describe the catholic view on the idea that the bible is written by humans but inspired by god

Answer 5

• god’s Holy Spirit is the main author of scripture but human authors also used their faculties - reflected in the different gospels/styles
• the catholic view of inspiration holds that the humour and eroticism in the Bible are the result of human authors. inspiration covers the whole human response to god, since god is the author of humanity. in order to understand the word of god in scripture we should seek to know the intention of the human author.

Question 6

describe Karl Barth’s Neo-orthodox view about inspiration

Answer 6

• Barth didn’t see the words of the bible as inspired, nevertheless he believed that scripture BECOMES inspired when it provides those who read it with a personal encounter with Jesus
• for Barth, revelation comes to us in a. fallible human vehicle. the bible is veiled by fallible human words and can only be unveiled by a revelatory act of god.
• he proposed the text is both fully divine and fully human - he insisted that the bible contained scientific/historical/religious error, but that this fallibility is essential to its intended theological function
• this is because it prevents humans from setting t up as a false absolute and leaving revelation under the control of god - leaving room for the personal encounter with scripture that humans can find in the bible

Question 7

describe the protestant perspective on the authority of the church

Answer 7

• Luther, founder of protestantism, had been excommunicated for criticising the corruption of Catholic Church practices - thus protestantism was formed on a schism from catholciism
• key teachings include sola scriptura (sole authority of scripture) and sola fide (justification by faith alone)
• sola scriptura - authority is with scripture alone, humans cannot pass judgement on god’s word.
• the bible is the sole judge of truth - the church is substantial 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/a priest

Question 8

the catholic church’s belief about the authority of the church

Question 9

describe the idea of Jesus’s authority as god’s authority - Jesus as son of god

Answer 9

• the gospels contain teachings which imply Jesus was god in human form
• christianity is based on the belief of the historical figure of Jesus who had a unique authority rom god which was both human and divine
• eg John 1:14 ‘and the word became flesh and dwelt among us’
• Jesus healed the centurion’s servant in Matthew 8:5-13 - an authority believed to be held by god
• the belief in the trinity: Father as creator and sustained, Holy Spirit as source/force of life in creation and ongoing presence in the world, and Jesus as god incarnate and made flesh

Question 10

describe evidence for Jesus as son of god

Answer 10

• Jesus has authority over death, his resurrection is pivotal to the christian faith and is another example of his divinity
• healing miracles
• ability to exercise supernatural control
• many Christian denominations take his teachings literally, believing he is speaking with the direct authority of god

Question 11

describe the idea that Jesus was the son of man

Answer 11

• not widely held, historically groups like the adoptionists believed that Jesus was human over divine - but this didn’t spread
• a belief held also by those who take a liberal approach to scripture
• people who believe this look to the context/historical setting of Jesus’s teachings and only select and adhere to those that reflect modern society and are achievable - leaving hi free to interpret his teachings
• Eg in Matthew: ‘you must be perfect’ - Jesus is exaggerating, you shouldn’t take it literally

Question 12

describe jesus’s authority as a teacher

Answer 12

• he provided guidance/advice on the application of the law to moral problems
• he is often described as rabbi
• Dawkins: ‘Jesus was a great moral teacher’
• ## Jesus spoke on moral issues

Question 13

describe how Jesus’s role as a teacher could support the idea that he was not the son of god

Answer 13

• he could be seen as best understood as a teacher of wisdom, with his message beign a longstanding moral one
• eg sermon on the mount
• his teachings are concerned with love for all therefore he is a role model for all christians
• he used the sermon in Matthew 5:38-48 to outline specific moral teachings - ‘eg turn the other cheek’

Question 14

describe how Jesus’s role as teacher/role model could be seen to confirm his authority as both human and divine

Answer 14

• only someone with authority considered a role model could teach such important messages to large crowds
• as the son of god he had a unique relation ship with god - he could understand His true message and relay it due to his understanding of scripture and its symbolism
• since Jesus was human and could empathise with his followers, he knew society’s problems
• Jame Stewart: ‘the teaching of Jesus has had a power and effect with which the influence of no other teacher can even for a moment be compared’
  Mathew: ‘he taught as one having authority, not as the teachers of the law’

Question 15

describe the impact of the belief that Jesus was only a human with authority

Answer 15

• they can freely interpret/evaluate teaching according to experience and judgement.

Question 16

describe evidence that Jesus was the son of god

Answer 16

• he seems uniquely close to god - evident in Jesus’s baptism and the transfiguration
• Jesus worked miracles - many christians today believe that miracles still happen and are signs of the kingdom of god

Question 17

describe the impact of a belief in Jesus’s divine authority

Answer 17

• the resurrection therefore vindicates Jesus’s certainty in the future kingdom of god, and gives humans hope about their own future after death - afterlife
• he shows god’s love for us in his sacrifice - the idea that mankind needs a fresh start in order to achieve salvation.
• ‘for god so loved the world he gave His one and only son’
• ‘believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the father is in me’

Question 18

describe how the humanity of Jesus is equally as important as his deity

Answer 18

• ‘god sent his son…born under law, to redeem those under law’ - only a human could redeem other humans born under law
• only a perfect human like Jesus could perfectly keep the law and fulfil it, thereby redeeming us from that guilt. Jesus accomplished our redemption on the cross, exchanging our sin for His righteousness
• he sacrificed his human life to cover the sins of all who believe in Him - if he weren’t human this would have been impiossible
• the humanity of Jesus enables us to relate to him in a specific way - only a human could understand/sympathise with our weaknesses

Question 19

describe how Jesus as a role model is impacted by the argument of whether he had divine authority or not

Answer 19

• all christians see Jesus as a role model for christianity - the more human Jesus is, the more relevant his example iOS. perhaps then it is less authoritative. conversely, perhaps the more divine Jesus is, the more irrelevant his example becomes, but more authoritative
• if Jesus is to be understood as divine, clearly humans should model their behaviour on the qualities of god which he exemplifies
• the WWJD method of applying his principle of love held by evangelicals only has merit if Jesus’s example is relevant to ordinary people
• Jesus DID conflict with corrupt temple authorities - some christians argue that his willingness to respond vigorously to injustice provides them with a model which allows them to do the same