Theononomy Flashcards
theonomy
Moral authority comes from God, which we access through God’s revelation in the Bible.
This often involves suggesting the Church has less authority than the Bible.
This is typically a protestant view.
2 ways to undertsand the bible
propositional
- the ppl who take bible literally think writers of it r scribes of god not authors n bible=supreme authority
- scripture is revealed directly by god
- bible has fixed moral principles
2 ways to undertsand the bible
non-propositional
- ppl experience god in many diff ways
- eg some believe god is revealed in nature like sunsets
bible as only authority
- it alon ehas authority to be used for moral instruction
- from pov of god is author of bible, its infallible n if we misinterpret it its r fault
- strength= bible teaches thru egs like david n bathsheba to show moral life
- stories shuld also be read in context of a covenant w god which is expressed via jesus
- important egs= 10 commandments=summarise idea of ethics being personal n social
- also sermon on the mount= focal point of moral teaching, reforming biblical teachings in old testament
- ‘cant serve both god n money’- som
biblicists quote
supports view scripture is inspired by god
‘all scripture is inspired by God, and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.’
criticism of theononemous
literalism n interpretation
- no one can read bible at face value, shown in example of teaching
- ‘if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.’\
- this is not telling you to literally maim yourself, but a metaphor for changing the way one sees things
- bible is gods word but worked over a long period of time via many writers
- supreme source of christian knowledge but must be read as inspiration alone
- they must be careful to take into account the type of literature a passage may be how it fits into the themes as a whole n whether its symbolic, metaphoircal or literal
karl barth on literalism
reminds christians that literalism can lead to what he calls ‘bibliolatry‘, worship of the bible, by giving it divine status
karl barth
- gods word=revelation to the world n god has worked thru the diff writers over long period of time
- so bibles words=witness to the word but not the word itself
- bible shud be a supreme source of christain moral truth but it isnt the truth
- christian thenomous ethics has to take into account the place of human reason to decide:
1. what kind of literature a text belongs to (eg book of widsom, history) n teaching, poems
2. how it fits into the larger biblical themes such as justice
3. whether its symbolic, metaphorical or literal eg genesis story - catholics say we should take genesis as symbolic as god as creator n gods nature
how should we deal w bibilical contradiction?
- biggest challenges to christian thenomous ethics
- how do we reconcile the diff contradictary
dealing w contradiction
- what happens when the bible contradicts itself?
- eg of this is the bible’s perspective of whether violence is condoned
- OT permits war n retributive justice
- via: ‘an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth’.
- capital punishment is used by god for blasphemy, adultery, dishonouring parents n more
- deuteronomy also sets out the rules for war
- NT in jesus’ sermon on the mount these laws of retribution r replaced by reconciliation n love of enemies
- some argue jesus’ teachings stress the future ideals of the kingdom of god, and that war and violence are a necessary evil for now
- this view can be attributed to Augustine, Luther n conservative views
- others argue that it promotes pacifism n non-violence n this must be followed on jesus’ authority.
- these problems seem to suggest that a narrow view of the bible is not sufficient
- there must be more than the bible involved if a clear answer or solution is to be reached
The books in the New Testament (biblical canon) were not decided on until the 4th century by Catholic clergy5
- suggests bible shouldnt be only source since it grew out of the church n so if its aythoritive the church is also
- it seems strange for portestants to trst those catholics in their choice of what to incl in bible
protestants could respond
that the holy spirit influenced the creation and choosing of the Bible, thus ensuring its validity.
Jesus said “the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” John 14:26-27.
~BUT they only know Jesus said that because the catholic Church decided to put that part in the Bible!
Furthermore, Catholics also argue that the holy spirit guides their magisterium too.
