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Wisdom & Authority - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Propositional revelation
        
        Reveals his divine word
        
        The 'word of God'
      - Non-propositional revelation
        
        Reveals God through the books of the Bible that record individual author's experiences of God
    - - Bishop Irenaeus of Lyon
        
        Proposed a canon of the New Testement
        
        Same as the canon that remains to this day
        
        The body of works that are agreed to be authorative
      - Martin Luther questioned the inclusion of James and the Book of Revelation in Irenaeus' canon
      - Modern scholars question other areas of Irenaeus' list
    - - Maurice Wiles argues that authority can have more than one sense
      - Hard authority
        
        Status of a law
        
        Traditionally, the Bible has been regarded as hard authority
        
        Literalists believe the Bible is the word of God and so does not need to be interpreted for the present day as the teachings are timeless
      - Soft authroity
        
        Equal to non-inerrant experience
        
        Non-literalists believe that the Bible is divinely inspired by God and so there may be a need for interpretation
    - - Teaches that the Bible is a propositional revelation from God/ the word of God
      - However, emphasise the role of humans who wrote it down
        
        Important to consider......
        
        Intentions of the authors
        
        The culture and circumstances of the time
        
        Literary models in use
      - The Bible, despite being propositional revelation, needs to be interpreted for Christians today
    - - Verbal inspiration
        
        'All scripture is inspired by God' (2 Timothy 3:16)
      - Reading the Bible literally
      - Martin Luther
        
        Sola scriptura
      - Bible has hard authority
      - Contradictions in the text are due to mistakes made in translating the original Hebrew texts and to limitations in the human intellect
      - ??? Outdated
    - - Conserving truths in the Bible
      - Divine inspiration
      - Propositional revelation
      - Needs to be interpreted to identify which bits are God and which from the authors
      - Apostolic succession
        
        The successors to Peter and the apostles have the divine authority to interpret scripture
      - Example of difference between literalist and conservative reading
        
        Original sin
        
        Interpreted from Genesis by Augustine but isn't actually in the Bible
        
        Baptism
        
        Catholics practice paedobaptism
        
        Protestants practice credobaptism
      - Bible has hard authority, but its meaning is determined by the Catholic Church's magisterium
    - - Non-propositional revelation
      - Reject inerrancy
        
        Some of the Bible is historically and scientifically inaccurate
        
        Contraditctions
      - God revealed himself through Jesus, not the Bible
        
        Through scripture we can experience God
        
        The experience carries the authority and makes the scripture personally meaningful
      - Soft authority
  - - - If the Bible is verbally inspired, then every word of it comes from God
        
        Every word should be respected and followed
      - Since the c19th, a literalist approach to the Genesis creation stories has been a matter of despite among Christians
      - The Bible states various things which may be controversial today to obey
        
        Capital punishment
        
        'Whoever strikes father or mother shall be put to death'
        
        'Whoever kidnaps a person ... shall be put to death'
        
        'Whoever curses father or mother shall be put to death'
      - Questions over whether the Bible can be disobeyed
      - 'All scripture is inspired by God' (2 Timothy 3:16)
    - - Issue over which instructions come directly from God and which do not
      - Divinely inspired rather than the actual word of God
      - Problems with teachings about morality
        
        Attitudes towards rape and women
        
        Attitudes towards homosexuality
        
        Xenophobia
  - - - Teaches that the Bible is a propositional revelation from God/ the word of God
      - However, emphasise the role of humans who wrote it down
      - The Bible, despite being propositional revelation, needs to be interpreted for Christians today
- - - - Nicene Creed: 'We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church'
      - Scripture; tradition; magisterium
        
        Scripture
        
        Roman Catholic canon
        
        Tradition
        
        Oral teachings passed from Jesus to the Apostles to their successors to the Church's magisterium
        
        Magisterium
        
        Derived through apostolic succession
        
        The office of the Church tasked with providing an authentic, authoritative Interpretation of divine revelation and to deliver the 7 sacraments
      - Catholic Tradition
        
        Two definitive witnesses to divine revelation
        
        The Bible
        
        Christ's teachings which are not in scripture
      - Scriptural references that address Church authority
        
        'Make disciples of all nations ... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you' (The Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-20)
        
        The authority Jesus is giving the Apostles derives from his own divine authority
        
        The mission is to lead/govern, sanctify, and teach
        
        The Apostles' authority and mission comes directly from Christ himself
        
        'As the father has sent me, even so I send you' (John 20:21)
        
        The mission has its source in the divine authority of the Father
        
        'You are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My Church' (Matthew 16:18-19)
        
        Christ's deliberate intent to establish a new Church
        
        Peter is chosen as head of this Church
        
        Christ confers on Peter his own divine authority for ruling the Church
      - It was the Church that selected the books of the New Testament and defined the canon of the Bible
        
        Those who believe that the Bible is reliable, and relying on the Church's testimony
    - - Sola fide and sola Christus
        
        Protesting the Church's authority
        
        Sola fide: faith alone is sufficient for salvation
        
        Sola Christus: God grants sinners pardon/justification on the basis of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus
        
        No human act can force God to impart justification
        
        Good works are motivated by faith
        
        'A person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus' (Galatians 2:16)
        
        'The righteous shall live by faith' (Romans 1:17)
      - The church as brought about through the Word of God
        
        The church is called into being by God with a mission that derives from God
        
        Luther
        
        An ordained ministry is not necessary to safeguard the existence of the church
        
        What matters is preaching the gispel which is essential to the identity of the church
        
        It is more important to each the same gospel as the apostles than to be a member of an institution historically derived from them
        
        'Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them' (Matthew 18:20)
      - What is authoritative for Protestants?
        
        The Bible
        
        Individual consciente as a guide
        
        Offices of the church leaders
        
        Bishops, priests, ministers
    - - The church is the community that comes into being in response to the preaching of the Word of God
      - Spreads the good news of Christ's sacrifice
      - Trinitarian
        
        The church is united with Christ through the Holy Spirit
      - The church is an event/ a happening, not an institution
        
        The work of the Holy Spirit is not limited to an institution
  - - - Imperialist
        
        Only one empirical, observable Church should be treated as the true church
        
        All other churches are heretical
        
        View of the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council, which recognised other churches as 'seperated' Christians
      - Platonic
        
        Distinguished between empirical churches and the ideal church
        
        The ideal church is typically understood in eschatological terms
        
        John Calvin distinguished between the visible and invisible church
        
        Visible
        
        Observable community of believers
        
        Can be experienced in this world
        
        Inludes the damned and chosen/ good and evil
        
        Invisible
        
        The assembly of the chosen elect are only known to God
        
        The objets of present faith and future hope
        
        Consists of only the chosen elect
      - Eschatological
        
        The present disunity will be abolished on the last day
      - Biological
        
        The evolution of the church is analogous to the branches of a tree
        
        Individual churches have organic unity despite institutional differences
- - - - The Trinity
        
        God is one, but three coequal, consubstantial persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
        
        'I and the Father are one' (John 10:30)
      - 'This is my Son, whom I love' (Jesus' Baptism, Matthew 3:16-17)
      - The Transfiguration of Jesus
        
        Jesus is again called the 'Son' by the voice of God the Father
    - - Binitarianism
        
        God as two persons rather than three
      - Two kinds of Christians who hold that Jesus' authority was only human
        
        Those who follow the teachings of denominations in which it is believed that Jesus was not divine
        
        Those who take a liberal approach to scripture
      - Most churches today believe in the Trinity, is the idea that Jesus's authority is only human is an abnormal Christian understanding
      - Historical moments which viewed Jesus as human rather than divine
        
        Adoptionism
        
        Jesus was born human and was later adopted by God
        
        Jesus' authority was something he acquired from God when he was baptised
        
        His authority was not something he had as a right because he was the Son of God
        
        The Cathars
        
        Taught that created matter was too corrupt for the perfect God to become incarnate as Jesus
        
        Jesus, therefore could not be God in human form
        
        Views about the authority of Jesus are similar to Arianism
        
        Arianism
        
        Taught that Jesus was not truly divine
        
        Believed he was created by God to fulfil a specific role
        
        The title 'son of God' was an honour bestowed on him by God
        
        Unitarianism
        
        Has a deistic understanding of God
        
        Jesus had a special place, but he only human and has no divine authority
  - - - Divine Command Theory
        
        We must do as God says because He says it
    - - Pure-body ecclesiology
        
        Its members are doctrinally and morally pure
        
        Demands a high level of commitment
        
        The church is an 'assembly of the righteous' (Menno Simmons)
        
        Anabaptists
        
        Baptism must be a conscious declaration of faith
        
        'The ban' in Amish communities
      - Mixed-body ecclesiology
        
        Roman Catholic Church
        
        The Church is sanctified by the Holy Spirit and so has the authority to sanctify others through the sacraments
        
        Good works
        
        Demands less commitment on the part of its members
        
        Augustine
        
        The separation of good and evil takes place as the end of time. To attempt to separate sinners and true Christians in this life is premature and improper as only God can make such a judgement
    - - Sermon on the Mount
      - Parable of the Sheep and Goats