SOWA Flashcards
3.1 The Bible
How is the Bible arranged?
OT divided into:
- Torah (first 5 books containing laws of Judaism and Ten Commandments
-The prophets (the history books, has messages from God to the people)
-The writings (such as Psalms - wise sayings such as Proverbs
NT divided into:
-Four Gospels
-Acts of Apostles
-The letters
-Revelation
3.1 The Bible
Why is the bible important for Catholics?
-Records teachings of Jesus and tells Christians what to believe and how to live
-Records life, death and resurrection
-Contains the Decalogue - Gods basic guideline on how to live.
-Reveals what God is like and what he does for Christians
3.2 Interpretations of the Bible
Different Christian views of the Bible
-No agreements in the early days on what books would make up the Bible
-Catholic Bible was decided at Council of Trent - included Greek old testament translated into Latin
-At the Reformation, Protestants used Hebrew Old Testament (34 books compared to 47 for Catholics)
3.2 Interpretations of the Bible
Different ways to interpret the Bible: Inspired Word of God
View of Catholics. The idea that the Bible came from and was inspired by God but written down by humans.
Timothy - “All scripture is inspired by God”
God is the primary author - human writers were inspired by the Holy Spirit. There is truth in the message of the Bible.
3.2 Interpretations of the Bible
Different ways to interpret the Bible: Liberal Word of God
Belief that the Bible is true, word for word. There are no mistakes (inerrant) and it must be taken literally. If there is a contradiction it is a deliberate one. If there is a contradiction with science, then science must be wrong.
3.2 Interpretations of the Bible
Different ways to interpret the Bible: Liberal View
Belief that the Bible was written by humans who were inspired like many authors. The Bible contains spiritual but not literal truths. The Bible invites closeness to God by sharing human experience. Believes that some parts of the Bible are outdated and irrelevant to modern life.
3.2 Interpretations of the Bible
What do Catholics believe about the Bible?
-It is inspired by the Holy Spirit which means it comes from God and should be accepted and followed by Catholics.
-God speaks through the Bible, showing his character and commands, so it should be followed
-The Bible contains God’s laws on how to behave, showing how God wants them to live, especially in the Gospels where Jesus teaches how to live Christian life.
3.2 Interpretation of the Bible
Why is the Bible important?
- For some Christians, it has God’s words (his truths) in it and so therefore is important
- It has Jesus’ examples and teachings in it as Jesus said that no one comes to the Father except through him
- It helps guide Christians on how to live a good moral lifein the way God wants which helps them achieve salvation
- Teaches us what happens after death
3.3 The Magisterium
What is the hierarchy of the Magisterium?
Pope: -Spiritual leader of all 1.2 billion Catholics around the world
-Catholics believe he has been given power and authority passed on from Jesus through the apostles, which is shared with other bishops
Cardinals: -Main responsibility is to choose a new Pope when one dies or abdicates. They form the Roman Curia and serve as the Pope’s right hand men
-They assist with overseeing all the bishops around the world and have responsibility of Catholic education to name a few
Archbishops: -Responsible for an archdiocese
-Means ‘chief bishop’ and is more senior than a bishop, looking after a larger, more important diocese
Bishops: -Responsible fore a diocese which is a larger area made up of several parishes. He is responsible for all the priests, deacons and all the Catholics that live in that area
Parish priests: -have the responsibility of looking after people who live close to the church called a parish
-priest look after the emotional and spiritual needs of his people. He can do this by:
- Leading mass weekly
- Giving advice/guidance
- Can marry and baptise people
3.3 The Magisterium
What were the gifts of the Holy Spirit?
On the day of Pentecost the Apostles receive gifts that allowed them to go out and ‘make disciples of all nations’. These gifts included:
- They could speak in different languages (tongues)
- They knew and understood everything from God’s perspective
- They had more faith and trust in God (faith)
- They received the power to heal the sick (healing)
- They were able to explain God’s words to others and apply it to modern day situations (Interpretation)
- They had the power to do things that science cannot explain (miracles)
3.3 The Magisterium
What is apostolic succession?
- Most apostles died horrific deaths and were martyrs for Catholicism
- Catholics believe that the Apostles passed on their power and authority to others and received the same gifts and power as the original apostles and they too went out into the world to spread the message
- Catholics believe this has continued for 2000 years until today with the Magisterium
- Catholics believe that the Pope has the exact same power and responsibility as St. Peter. He inherited the power and authority from the popes before him and this gives him the right to lead and guide the Catholic Church today
3.3 The Magisterium
What is apostolic tradition?
- Catholics also believe that the Apostles were given their teachings by Jesus. This means that the tradition from the Apostles have been handed down in the Church through the Pope and his bishops
- This means that the teachings of the Church have not changed since the Apostles
- This is important as it means that everything that Catholics follow today is correct and true as it has come from Jesus through the Apostles
3.3 The Magisterium
What is the main task of the Magisterium?
- to teach and lead Catholics around the world
- they have to explain what the Bible teaches and define what they should believe in
- the world continues to change and new problems continue to pop up e.g. Abortion, IVF, genetic engineering etc.
- the church has to keep up with these changes and ensure that Catholics are living a life in the way that God would approve of so the Magisterium has to interpret the Bible for the modern Catholic
- to do this they need to understand the Bible deeply and apply it to modern day situations
3.3 The Magisterium
SOWA for the magisterium
CCC teaches that “The task of interpreting the word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium”
3.3 The Magisterium
What are the three different levels of The Magisterium?
1) Ordinary Magisterium:
- this is when the bishops teach everything that has always been taught throughout Christianity
2) Conciliar Magisterium:
- when the Pope calls a council to decide on teachings e.g. the Second Vatican Council
- the Pope and his bishops meet together to discuss issues and dedcide on new teahcings
- this has happened only 21 times in the Church’s history
3) Pontificial Magisterium:
- where the Pope declares a teaching as ‘infallible’
- this means that there are times that the Pope can decide on a new teaching without consulting his bishops
- no one can argue with this because what the Pope says is considered ‘infallible’
- there have only been two occasions of this (Assumption of Mary & Immaculate Conception of Mary)
3.3 The Magisterium
Why is the Magisterium important for Catholics?
- There is no higher authority for Catholics than the Magisterium
- It gives Catholics answers to issues that did not exist in the time of the Apostles e.g. abortion, same-sex partnerships
- It provides clear guidelines for Catholics on what to believe and how to behave as Catholics in today’s world
3.4 The Second Vatican Council
What was the Catholic Church like in 1958?
pope john 23rd
- In 1958, the Catholic Church was seen as too out of date and out of touch with a modern world that had new technologies, inventions and discoveries
- In 1958, the Catholic Church had a new Pope. His name was Pope John XXIII and he said that the church was too inward
- He said “I want to throw open the windows of the Church so that we can see out and the people can see in”
- Pope John had been brought up poor and when he became pope, he refused to take advantage of his position
3.4 The Second Vatican Council
What did the Second Vatican Council mean?
- In 1962, Pope John called a council meeting (concilliar magisterium) to discuss the changes that needed to be made to Catholicism
- The meeting lasted three years and at the end of it, four key documents were produced:
1) Sacrosanctum Concilium (The Sacred Council)
2) Lumen Gentium (The Light of Humanity)
3) Gaudium et Spes (Joy and Hope)
4) Dei Verbum (The Word of God)
3.4 The Second Vatican Council
Key Document 1: Sacrosanctum Concilium
1) - Mass used to be in Latin. No one could understand what was being said in the mass
- So the mass was now in the vernacular. People who attended mass could now understand the different parts to the mass
2) - People who attended mass were expected to sit quietly and listen. Many felt like they were not part of the mass at all
- People could now get involved in the mass. People could go up and read from the Bible and read prayers
3) - The priest used to have his back towards the people who were sat in the mass. They couldn’t always see what was going on or hear what the priest was saying
- The priest now faced the front. All people who attended mass could now see and hear the priest as he led the service
3.4 The Second Vatican Council
Key document 2:
Lumen Gentium
1) - Catholics used to be taught that only Catholics could go to Heaven. That means that any other type of Christian and non-Christians do not make it to Heaven causing arguments and divides between faiths
- The church now taught that anyone of any religion can be saved and enter heaven. This ensured that people were being brought together not divided
2) - The Church used to be seen as a pyramid shape - with the Pope at the top with the most power and everyone else below him
- The Church now seen as a circular shape. This emphasises the importance that we are all equal and it is the pope and bishops that holds it together
3) - Only priests were expected to erve Christ in the world
- All Christians are now expected to serve Christ. It doesn’t mean that we are all expected t become priests, this can be achieved in numerous ways
3.4 The Second Vatican Council
Key Document 3:
Gaudium et Spes
1) - People were treated differently because of their race, gender, sexuality, religion etc.
- Now the importance of human rights were emphasised. We are all created in the image of God and therefore we deserve to be treated with dignity and respect
2) - The Catholic Church had very little involvement with those of little or no religious faith (atheist)
- Now, more involvement and communication with those of no religious faith. This is to help promote world peace regardless of religion
3.4 The Second Vatican Council
Key Document 4:
Dei Verbum
1) - Catholics had to rely upon the priests and bishops in order to understand the Bible
- Now, the catholic church encouraged Catholics to read the Bible independently. They can read and listen for the gospel message to be revealed to them and apply its teaching to their lives
2) - Catholics told to rely on the Bible to guide them in life
- Now, Catholics should not use the Bible on its own to guide them in life. They should look to the Bible as well as other sources in order to guide them in life
3) - Science contradicted some of the Bible’s teachings e.g. Creation story
- The Bible was shown as not a book of science or fact. It was written by humans who were inspired by the Holy Spirit, therefore some of the stories should not be taken literally, but contain spiritual truths
3.4 The Second Vatican Council
Divergent Christian viewpoints of Second Vatican Council
Some christians believed:
- it brought great relief for them e.g. being able to listen to the mass in their language
- Allowed Catholics to understand the importance behind certain aspects of their faith e.g. sacrament of Holy Communion
- Allowed Catholic voices to be heard. It showed them that the Church was willing to listen and act upon their concerns
Other Christians believed the Second Vatican Council…
- Went too far, The Mass has been Latin for 500 years and it should have stayed that way. Catholic Church is losing tradition
- Some changes gave too much freedom to Catholics e.g. independently reading the Bible. They should always be guided by those who have the power and authority to do so
Other Christians believed the Second Vatican Council didn’t go far enough…
- Women are still not allowed to become priests. The number of Catholic priests continued to decline
- Catholics are still taught that they cannot use contraception even in a marriage
- Catholics who are homosexual are still not allowed to enter a same-sex partnership
- Catholic partners are still taught that living together before marriage is a sin
3.5 The Church as the Body of Christ
What is the ‘Church as the body of christ’ SOWA?
St. Paul describe the Church as the ‘Body of Christ’ when he said:
“Christ is like a single body, which has many parts; it is still one body, even though it is made up of different parts. In the same way, all of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free, have been baptised into the one body by the same spirit” 1 Corinthians 12: 12-13
3.5 The Church as the Body of Christ
Why is the Church as the Body of Christ important for Catholics?
- It means that Christ (Jesus) is still with us on Earth
- It means that we as Christians are still continuing the work of Jesus in the world today e.g. we are his ‘hands’
- It means that Christians are united as one body and so are brought together
- It shows that Christians can perform different tasks but still be in unity. We can have different talents and tasks and still be part of one body
3.5 The Church as the Body of Christ
What do different Christians think about the Church as the Body of Christ?
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