P2 - Sources of Wisdom and Authority Flashcards
(47 cards)
What are the three different views (general ideas) within Christianity regarding the writer of the Bible
- God gave the writers the words to write
- God inspired the writers to write, but only the Catholic Church can correctly interpret the teaching, because the style and intention of writer is not always clear
- The Bible is the human interpretation of the way God expressed himself through Jesus’ life
Why may some doubt the authority of the Bible?
There is a large range of different statements in the Bible; teachings, moral commands, historical statements, erotic poems, salutary tales, humorous proverbs
– it is one thing to say that the accounts of Jesus’ resurrection are given or inspired by God but it is another thing to say that EVERYTHING in the Bible is inspired by God
What is evangelism
means ‘good message’ in Greek
To evangelise is to spread the good news about Jesus the Messiah
The writers of the four gospels are also known as the Four Evangelists
What is atonement
part of the theology of St. Paul
Held that after the original sin of Adam, the God and the world were ‘reconciled’ by the sacrifical death of Jesus
What is evangelical protestanism
a world-wide movement within Protestantism
hold that Christians are saved by grace (God’s free gift) through faith in Jesus’ atonement
this is part of St. Paul’s theology
Evangelicals are committed to spreading the word about Jesus, and those who are converted have the experience of being saved from sin by recieving salvation through being ‘born again’
What are evangelical protestants’ view on the inspiration and authority of the Bible (quote)
“All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for correction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
“No prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy every came by the impulse of a man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:20-21)
What are evangelical protestants’ view regarding the text of the Bible
for many Evangelicals, the text of the Bible is literally true
If the Bible says that God created the world in 6 days, then it is true
they believe that religion is authoritative and dictates what the science really is
what is apostolic tradition
the tradition that stems from Jesus’ Apostles
Jesus commanded them to preach the Gospel to all men
this was done orally, from the teachings they recieved from Jesus and from the Holy Spirit; also in writing by the Apostles and by others associated with hum, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit
what is 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
for Roman Catholics, this includes the idea that the authority of Peter, as the leader of the 12 Apostles, is transferred directly to the Pope, and gives the Pope an infallible authority
what are catholic views on scripture along with tradition
along with apostolic tradition, scripture then remains eternally dynamic and alive because tradition finds new interpretations of scripture to address modern situations and needs
tradition and scripture are from the same divine source, so share the same divine authority
what are catholic views on the contents of scripture
scripture is the ‘speech of God’, put down in writing under ‘the breath of the Holy Spirit’
article 3 of Catechism – catholic view on the nature of inspiration of the Bible and interpretation
“for holy mother church… accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the God and New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts, on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author, and have been handed on as such to the Church herself”
catholic view on the inspiration of the Bible
God chose the human authors and inspired them, but allowed them full use of their own faculties to write what he wanted
Old and New Testament are without error and contain the saving truth
truth comes through all the literacy forms in the Bible
catholic view on interpreting scripture
- scripture as a whole must be seen as a unity
- must be read within the living tradition of the church
- the interpreter must be attentive the the ‘analogy of faith’
what does neo-orthodoxy refer to
refers to the work of a number of theologians such as Karl Barth, Reinhold Niebuhr and Paul Tillich
What is the neo-orthodox view on the bible
- reject conservative belief in biblical inerrancy, because there are many historical and scientific errors
- Barth, Bible is not the Word of God, but it contains the Word of God
- God does not reveal himself in the words of the Bible, but reveals himself in Jesus
- Barth, scripture is a vehicle through which God may be experienced
what is liberalism
an umbrella term – refers to the views of those Christians who reject any idea that the Bible is literally the inspired word of God
what are the two liberal approaches
- the social gospel movement
2. process theology
what is the social gospel movement
liberal approach
founded by protestant intellectuals at end of 19th century
idea was to use Christian ethical principles to address social issues ranging from poverty and crime to racism and war
believed that social action of the movement was more important than worrying about which doctrines are true
what is process theology
liberal approach
fully takes on board the discrepancies between some Biblical claims and what we know to be true from science
some ideas
- God is not the creator, exists panentheistically with the physical universe
- God is not all-powerful, he can do no more than to ‘persuade’ matter, cannot move problem of evil
- God cannot intervene in the world
- the Bible is entirely a human document
The Bible as inspired by God but written by human beings – catholic view
God’s Holy Spirit is the main author of Scripture, but human authors also used their own faculties and powers
e.g. the Gospels were written by humans
“Our God comes willingly to be immersed in our humanity. The Son comes to live human life to the full, and the words of God share fully in the dynamics of human language. It follows that in order to understand the word of God in Scripture we should seek to know the intention of the human author.”
The Bible as inspired by God but written by human beings – Barth’s neo-orthodox view
words of Bible are not inspired
but Scripture becomes inspired when it provides those who read it with a personal encounter with Jesus
the Bible has a human side, leving room for the personal encounter with God that humans can find in the Bible
what is special revelation
revelation that occurs to specific people at specific times
e.g. scripture, also religious experiences and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit
what is incarnation
the doctrine that Jesus as the Son of God became flesh
“the Word became flesh and dwelt among us’
