Theme 1D: The bible as a source of Wisdom and authority Flashcards
What does the term ‘Canon’ mean?
It means ‘measuring rule’.
What does the ‘Canon of Scripture’ refer to?
It refers to the list of books that are authoritative for correct faith in God.
What is the significance of the Canon?
It is the inspired and authoritative ‘Word of God’.
What are the three sections of the Jewish Tenakh?
- Torah
- Nevi’im
- Ketuvim
When were the Torah and Nevi’im written?
During and after the Babylonian Exile in the 6th BC.
In what language were the Torah and Nevi’im written?
Hebrew.
What are the Apocrypha?
They are texts written during the Greek conquest period that are considered deuterocanonical.
What does ‘deuterocanonical’ mean?
It means belonging to the second canon.
Do Catholics and Protestants agree on the authority of the Apocrypha?
No, Catholics believe they are equally inspired, while Protestants do not.
In which century was the Tenakh translated into Greek?
In the 3rd century BC.
What is the Septuagint?
It is the Greek translation of the Tenakh.
What scripture would Jesus have known?
The Septuagint.
What is the composition of the New Testament?
- 4 Gospels
- Letters of Paul and other apostles
- Book of Revelation
In what language was the New Testament written?
Greek.
When was the Vulgate translated and by whom?
In the 4th century AD by St Jerome.
What is the Vulgate?
It is the Latin translation of the Septuagint and the New Testament.
Fill in the blank: The Jewish Tenakh consists of the Torah, Nevi’im, and _______.
Ketuvim
True or False: The official order of the New Testament was decided shortly after Jesus’ death.
False.
What is considered ‘the canon within the canon’ for the Old Testament?
The law given to Moses, known as the Torah.
Which books are considered canonical as they are thought to be written by Moses?
- Genesis
- Exodus
What are the criteria for establishing what scripture became canonical for Jews?
- Key revelation is the Torah
- Recognition by a wide variety of Jews
- Existence of the books
- Support of the teachings of the Torah
What are the canonical books of the Old Testament that support the Torah?
- Numbers
- Leviticus
- Deuteronomy
What is the central revelation of the New Testament canon?
The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
What is the significance of apostolic writings in the New Testament canon?
They must have a connection with the Apostles.
Which writings are included in the New Testament due to their connection with the Apostles?
- Gospels
- Letters of Paul
- Letters of James
- Letters of John
- Letters of Peter
What is the ‘diatessaron’?
A compilation of the four gospels.
What role did churches play in the establishment of the New Testament canon?
If churches found the letters useful, they were copied and circulated.
Which books were questioned for their usefulness in supporting correct faith but still included in the New Testament?
- Book of Revelation
- Letter to Hebrews
- Ephesians
What is the earliest known list of canonical books?
The Muratorian Canon.
When was the Muratorian Canon established?
Around 170 AD.
Who decided the definitive New Testament canon and when?
Pope Damasus in 382 AD.
True or False: The New Testament canon includes any writings that do not support the correct interpretation of faith.
False.
Fill in the blank: The books included in the Old Testament must support the teachings of the _______.
[Torah]
What is in the New Testament Canon?
- Letters of Paul AD50-70
- long eg Romans
- short eg Galatians
- to Churches eg to the Corinthians, Thessalonians
- to individuals eg to Timothy, Philemon - Book of Revelation – a prophetic, richly symbolic book, concerning persecutions of Christians, growth of Churches & second coming of Christ
- Gospels: Mark 70AD, Matthew, Luke (80-90AD), John (100AD)
- Letters of other apostles, or ascribed to disciples of apostles
- Letter of James
- Letters of Peter
- Letters of John - Other, non-apostolic letters
- Letter to the Hebrews
- Jude
What does 2 Timothy 3:16-17 state about Scripture?
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.
What is the Greek term for ‘God-breathed’?
Theopneustos.
What are the two main perspectives on the inspiration of the Bible?
Objective (God-side) and subjective (human-side).
What do objective views of inspiration assert?
God directly moved the biblical writers to write certain texts.
Who used the analogy of a flautist to describe objective inspiration?
Athenagorus.
What do subjective views of inspiration emphasize?
The link between the Bible and God through the inspired experience of the writers.
What is inerrancy/verbal plenary inspiration?
God gave each word of the Bible to the human writers, ensuring no error, contradiction, or falsehood.
What does the term ‘plenary’ mean in the context of verbal plenary inspiration?
Full or complete.
What does ‘verbal’ signify in verbal plenary inspiration?
Inspiration extends to the very words the writers chose.
Which scripture refers to the Holy Spirit speaking through David?
Acts 1:16.
What does Paul call all scripture in 2 Timothy 3:16?
‘God-breathed’.
What does ‘Scripture’ refer to in 2 Timothy 3:16?
The Old Testament.
How does the Holy Spirit interact with the biblical writers according to the text?
Guided the writers while allowing their own personalities and freedom to shine through.
What does the view of inspiration assert about the elements within Scripture?
Both human and divine elements are present.
How is the relationship between the two natures of Jesus analogized in the context of inspiration?
To the human and divine elements within Scripture.
What concept explains how God’s authorship can co-exist with historical/scientific errors in the Bible?
Accommodation
The concept of accommodation is used by some theologians to reconcile perceived discrepancies in the Bible with divine authorship.
What is a practical example of accommodation as described in the text?
Buying a pet
The analogy illustrates how changes are made in one’s home to meet the needs of a pet, similar to how God accommodates human understanding in the Bible.
How does the gap between humans and pets relate to the gap between human reality and God’s reality?
Both involve a need for accommodation to bridge understanding
Just as we modify our environment for pets, God modified His communication for humans.
What does John Calvin compare God’s communication in the Bible to?
A nurse using baby talk to speak to a toddler
This analogy highlights how simpler language encourages interaction despite the capacity for more sophisticated communication.
What belief did John Calvin hold regarding the Bible?
The Bible is without error
Calvin asserted that the human authors of the Bible chose language that was clear and understandable to their audience.
What is an example from Genesis that Calvin uses to support his view on the Bible’s accuracy?
Genesis 1:16 about the ‘two great lights’
Calvin interprets this passage as not containing scientific error, as it can include other celestial bodies like Saturn.
Fill in the blank: God is _______ and beyond our language.
above
This statement emphasizes the transcendence of God over human language limitations.
True or False: John Calvin believed that the Bible contained scientific errors.
False
Calvin believed that the language used in the Bible was intentionally chosen to be comprehensible to its readers.
What does the concept of accommodation suggest about the expressions of history/science in the Bible?
They were tailored for comprehension by ancient readers
This means that the expressions were simplified to ensure understanding.
What does Neo-Orthodoxy believe about God’s transcendence?
Neo-Orthodoxy believes that God is so completely different and set apart from us that we cannot comprehend him apart from his revelation to us.
How do proponents of neo-orthodoxy view the Word of God and the Bible?
Proponents of neo-Orthodoxy believe that the Word of God is God himself, and thus the Bible is a witness to the Word of God. As a witness, the Bible cannot be the Word of God (i.e. God is not the Bible), but the Bible still remains a mediator of the Word of God in some manner.
How did neo-orthodox writers contribute to the Bible according to their beliefs?
Proponents of neo-orthodoxy believed that while the writers of the old and new testament recorded their experiences and witness to relevation, they were finite and sinful, capable of error in their writings. Therefore, although these writings are important, they should be interpreted with a critical eye.
What does the ‘limited inspiration’ view propose about Scripture’s reliability?
This view asserts that although God guided the writers, who could have included historical errors due to their individual human perspectives and experiences, it is also claimed that the Holy spirit protected the writers from any doctrinal error, ensuring that despite potential inaccuracies in history, the Bible remains a reliable source for doctrine. This highlights how the view allows for some limitations in accuracy but maintains trustworthiness.
How does ‘limited inspiration’ accomodate historical error within scripture?
This view accepts that the writers, guided by God’s spirit, may have included historical errors, acknowledging their human limitations. However, it asserts that these errors are not doctrinally signifcant and do not undermine the Bible’s reliability as a source for doctrine. This approach balances faith in divine inspiration with recognition of individual writer’s fallibility.
What is one key difference suggested by ‘limited inspiration’ compared to full inspiration?
The limited inspiration view differs from the idea of full or unlimited inspiration, which posits that every word in scripture was directly inspired and without error. In contrast, limited inspiration allows for human contributions by acknoweledging historical errors but maintaining trust in the overall doctrinal accuracy provided by God’s guidance through the writers.
What is Dictation theory?
This view expresses the belief that God simply dictated what he wanted to be written down. Therefore, all the author did was write down as he was told from God and the end product is the Word of God.
What is the evidence against Dictation theory.
Although Scripture does portray this idea (Jer 26:2; Rev 2:1,8), this is not the way all of it was written. At other times authors expressed their own personalities (Gal 1:6, 3:1; Phil 1:3, 4, 8) and the Holy Spirit still insured that the writings reflected God’s desired outcome
