The Church

Question 1

the spec says …

Answer 1

different perspectives of prot + catholic traditions on the relative authority of the Bible and Church

Question 2

number 1

Answer 2

for most christians, god is all-powerful and all-knowing so all other forms of authority are subject to him

Question 3

number 2 - bible as special revelation

Answer 3

• bible seen as special revelation from God which provides knowledge of G and of those of G’s teachings that can’t be worked out just by using reason

-authority of Bible can be understood in diff ways, ranging from belief that its G inspired + inherent word to belief that its a fully human document

-B also gives authority to other forms of special revelation, such as religious experiences.

Question 4

3. reason and conscience

Answer 4

-R+C seen as general revelation from God. allow us to understand the place for humans in the world and purpose for which god created humans

-for many theologians, conscience carries Gods authority (Augustine sees conscience as literally the voice of G that is informing us concerning right and wrong

Question 5

4. Authority of the Church

Answer 5

church has authority from scripture

e.g Matthew 28:19-20 where Jesus commissions his disciples to make disciples of all nature

Question 6

5. Authority of Church tradition

Answer 6

each church has body of holy tradition that’s part of its authority, and some churches today claim that their authority goes right back to tradition that comes directly from J and his apostles e.g eastern orthodox church, catholic + anglican churches

Question 7

what does early church tradition have?

Answer 7

-its pattern of worship + ritual

-approach to ecumenical councils (councils of Church leaders and scholars who met / meet to discuss and decide matters of doctrine and practice)

-its leadership structure and organisation. each church has evolved an organisational structure based on its understanding of Scripture and tradition, so each tradition considers its structure to be authoritative

Question 8

road map

Answer 8

God—>G gives authority to scripture(Bible)—-> General revelation, The Church, Other forms of special revelation

then the church —> authority of tradition either Catholic or Protestant

Question 9

the Catholic Church

Answer 9

-largest Christian Church, over a billion adherents
-also called roman Catholic Church
-despite its reputation in some quarters for being hostile to intellectual inquiry, Cath church consistently produced array of brilliant scholars ( Thomas aquinas)

Question 10

The Protestant churches

Answer 10

-those which emerged from the sixteenth century-Protestant Reformation, which was a schism from the Catholic Church.

-Martin Luther was expelled from the Catholic Church for protesting at what he saw as corrupt Catholic practices, and he and later leaders including John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli developed distinctively different theology and teachings which form the basis of modern-day Protestantism.

-To be called ‘Protestant’, a Church had to subscribe to beliefs such as: sola scriptura (the sole authority of Scripture’), and sola fide (‘justification by faith alone’).

-The number of Protestant Churches today is vast. Main denominations (that is, recognised independent branches) include: Baptist, Calvinist, Lutheran, Methodist and Pentecostalist.

-Some Protestant movements are trans-denominational (reaching out to Christians across different denominations), such as Evangelical Protestantism, which we looked at earlier as an example of a conservative view of the inspiration and authority of the Bible.

Question 11

Apostolic tradition

Answer 11

-The Apostolic Tradition is the tradition that stems from Jesus’ Apostles.

-Jesus commanded his Apostles to preach the Gospel to all men.

-This was done orally, from the teachings the Apostles had received from Jesus and from the Holy Spirit; also in writing by the Apostles and by others associated with them, again under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Question 12

Apostolic tradition quote

Answer 12

Within Scripture, Paul refers to this tradition, for example, when talking to the members of the Church in Corinth:
‘I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you.” (1 Corinthians 11:2)

Question 13

Apostolic succession

Answer 13

-The Apostolic Tradition was therefore continued in the Apostolic Succession.

-Jesus’ Apostles appointed bishops to be their successors, and the bishops were given teaching authority, and this established a continuous line of succession that would last till the end of time.

Question 14

Tradition and scripture

Answer 14

-Tradition and Scripture are closely connected through the work of the Holy Spirit, who remains active within the Church.

-The ‘rule of faith’ for Catholicism is therefore to embrace both Scripture and Tradition, because the Church (and the Church alone) has the authority to interpret Scripture correctly.

-The relationship between Tradition and Scripture is explained clearly in the Second Vatican Council’s document on divine revelation, Dei Verbum [‘The Word of God’], and this speaks for itself:

Question 15

What did martin Luther say the only true authority was?

Answer 15

… the Word of God, through which alone we obtain whatever knowledge we have of God and divine things.

All that was needed was:

… the sure rule of God’s Word.’

Question 16

What was Luther concerned about?

Answer 16

-Luther was concerned that humans should not pass judgement on God’s Word, and claim of different parts of Scripture that ‘That is true’ and ‘That is false’.

-Exegetes (people who interoperates text) have no right to tamper with the text, because to do that is to become a teacher of the Holy Spirit who wrote Scripture and teach him how or what to write:

‘… let us not change the Word of God; we ourselves should be changed through the Word’

Question 17

What does the catholic teaching rely on

Answer 17

Whereas the Catholic Church relies on the teaching authority of the Church and the Pope,

Question 18

What do protestants believe about church teaching?

Answer 18

-Church teaching must be in line with the Bible, and if it is not, then it is false.

-The Church is the creation of the Word, and not the other way round.

-Without Scripture, there would be no Church, so the Church cannot be the judge of Scripture.

-The same reasoning applies to all the authorities of Church and Tradition, such as its councils and its great scholars and Fathers.

-They are all subject to the authority of Scripture. Christianity stands or falls by the authority of Scripture.

Question 19

What catholic belief did Luther oppose?

Answer 19

-Luther opposed the Catholic belief that salvation is mediated through the priesthood and the sacraments, hence (although he did not use the phrase)

-he taught the ‘priesthood of all believers’ – all believers are priests, and all stand equally before God, 1 Peter 2:9:
‘But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood …’
This means that all believers have equal access to God through their prayers, without the need of an ordained priest as an intermediary. All individuals are in effect consecrated as priests through baptism.

Question 20

What catholic belief did Luther oppose?

Answer 20

-Luther opposed the Catholic belief that salvation is mediated through the priesthood and the sacraments, hence (although he did not use the phrase)

-he taught the ‘priesthood of all believers’ – all believers are priests, and all stand equally before God, 1 Peter 2:9:
‘But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood …’
This means that all believers have equal access to God through their prayers, without the need of an ordained priest as an intermediary. All individuals are in effect consecrated as priests through baptism.