Sources of wisdom and authority Flashcards
Authority of the Bible: Evangelical Protestants (Conservative)
- fundamentalist view
- the Bible is the infallible word of God and contains no mistakes
- the authors were directly inspired by God
- apparent contradictions in content are due to limitations of the human intellect
Evangelical Protestants on the creation story
- young earth creationists: literalist approach to the Bible and reject any theories that contradict the literal meaning of Genesis 1
- old earth creationists: Genesis 1 gives a scientifically correct account of the origins of the universe, do not adopt literalist approach
Authority of the Bible: Catholic views (Conservative)
- the Bible is inspired by God, but was written by human beings
- inspiration relates to the Bible as a whole rather than to each word or verse
- distinguish between key messages regarding salvation and accounts of individual authors who were the products of their time and culture
- Genesis 1 is not scientific or factual - it uses myth to convey truths about the nature of God and humanity
- guidance in interpreting the Bible comes from Tradition and the Magisterium, and the individual’s conscience and reason
Tradition
teachings, customs and practices of the Church passed down through the centuries and seen as equal in importance to the Bible
Apostolic Tradition
Jesus commanded the Apostles to preach the Gospel to all men. This was done orally, from teachings they received from Jesus and from the Holy Spirit
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
Authority of the Bible: Neo-orthodoxy
- key figure: Karl Barth
- the Bible is not the word of God but rather contains the word of God
- Scripture is the vehicle through which God can be experienced, where humans can realise their need for forgiveness and divine mercy shown through Jesus
- not inerrant with respect to science, history and religion, as its writers were products of their time and subject to limitations of intellect
Authority of the Bible: Liberalism
Range of approaches:
1. authors were guided by God
2. the Bible is an entirely human document, consisting of what the writers believed about God.
What each author wrote was a product of their culture and age and their temperament and outlook on life
3. the Bible is not inspired, but may be inspiring (e.g. ‘those who draw the sword will die by the sword’ inspired some Christians to adopt pacifist views)
4. The Sea of Faith Network - faith is a purely human creation, so the Bible has no authority other than any that an individual might choose to give it
History of the Church
- after his resurrection, Jesus gave the Apostles authority to lead the Church
- cue Apostolic Succession
- in Western Europe, the Pope was the leader of the Church and everyone had to obey him
- in the 16th century, many Christians rebelled agains the Pope and became known as Protestants
- from the 16th century, the two main Christian traditions were the Catholic and Protestant churches
- a key area of disagreement is authority given to the Bible and Church
Protestant view of the authority of the Bible and Church (intro)
- Sola scriptura: the Bible alone has authority
- believers interpret what it says to them in their situation through prayer and in the light of their conscience
Catholic view of the authority of the Bible and Church (intro)
- Bible and Tradition are equal in status
- The Magisterium is the guardian and interpreter of both the Bible and Tradition
Protestant views of the authority of the Bible and Church: Martin Luther
- Sola scriptura
- The Bible gives authority to Church teachings
- no Bible = no Church
- Luther believes salvation comes through faith, not through institutions of the Church
- all Christians have equal access to God through prayer (the ‘priesthood of all believers’)
Protestant views of the authority of the Bible and Church: the Baptist Church
- evangelical Christians
- most are not fundamentalists
- they combine sola scriptura (special revelation) with the use of reason and conscience (general revelation)
- NT>OT, and it provides the standard for other teachings
- reject the authority of the Church as an institution of religious tradition, creeds etc.
The Catholic Church on authority of the Bible and Church
- the Bible was passed on in written form by the Apostles and other inspired religious teachers
- once the Bible gained its fixed form, it cannot be added to or taken away from
- Apostolic Tradition
- passing-on and interpretation of the Bible and Tradition are overseen by the Magisterium
- it receives the authority from God to give an interpretation of both the Bible and Tradition that is authentic, and its teachings must be obeyed
Magisterium
the teaching authority of the Catholic Church, consisting of the Pope and bishops
Two different views of the authority of Jesus (summary)
Jesus’ authority as God’s authority:
- based on the claim that Jesus was God incarnate
Jesus’ authority as only human:
- based on the claim that Jesus was not divine
Jesus’ authority as God’s authority
- the official view of almost all Churches
- according to the Gospels, Jesus claimed to have divine authority, seen in:
- his teaching
- the miracles attributed to him
- the titles used by and of Jesus e.g. Son of God, Messiah, Son of Man
- Jesus is the ongoing presence of God in human form
Jesus’ divine authority seen in his teaching
- Mark: those who heard Jesus teach were amazed both by what he said and the manner in which he taught
- Jesus taught in a new, direct and original way
- he taught with authority, and those who believed in him were convinced that his authority came from God
Jesus’ divine authority seen in his healing
- Jesus healing the centurion’s servant (a Roman centurion asks Jesus for his help because his servant is ill)
- he only had to say one word for the healing to take place (unique authority)
- centurion recognised the absolute authority of Jesus over healing
Jesus as Son of God
- in OT, this title was used of kings
- ‘son’ = ‘reflecting the nature of’/’like’
- kings were thought to have been adopted by God
- they were meant to reflect God’s justice and mercy in their rule
- linked with title of ‘Messiah’ at Jesus’ time
- in NT, it indicates Jesus’ unique divine authority
- Mark: Jesus referred to as ‘my beloved son’ at his baptism
Jesus as Son of Man
- OT: a human being, a representative of humanity, or a supernatural figure bringing God’s judgement (ambiguous)
- Jesus’ preferred title for himself
- ambiguity means concealment of power/revolutionary status
- open to the same human hardships that we are subjected to
- Messianic Secret - fully divine and fully human
Jesus’ authority as only human: adoptionism
- Jesus was not divine by nature
- God ‘adopted’ his as his ‘son’ at the baptism (Mark) in the same way kings in ancient Israel were thought to be chosen by God to be his representative
Jesus’ authority as only human: unitarianism
- deist view of creation of the world: God created the world but then had no further connection with it
- Jesus was just a spiritual leader, so his teachings may contain useful insights but there is no idea of divine authority associated with them
Jesus’ authority as only human: Liberal Christian views
- oral passing of Jesus’ teachings would have been subject to alterations and exaggerations
- the influence of Greek philosophy and mystery religions led to the human Jesus being transformed into a divine figure
- this is reinforced by the outlook of modern science, which rejects the possibility of miracles
- Jesus was a human, but his spiritual nature gave his teaching authority
Christian responses to the teaching of Jesus
- pacifism, as Jesus intended his disciples to be pacifists
- Jesus used violence when he overturned tables in the Temple (against pacifism)
- Jesus encouraged an attitude that sought peace and love (makes sense in Roman times)
Jesus as a role model
- all Christians see him as a role model
- seek to emulate his life of self-giving love, which reflected the two greatest commandments of love of God and love of neighbour
- non-Christians e.g. Gandhi have been inspired by teachings and example of Jesus
Authority of the Bible: Process Theology
- God isn’t the creator - he exists panentheistically
- God is not omnipotent - only holds persuasive power
- God does not intervene - no miracles, Jesus is not God incarnate
