Lecture notes
Sources of Wisdom and Authority
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- AQA
Religious Studies AQA A Level. Complete Year 1 Christianity notes.
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Sources of wisdom and authorityNature and authority of the Bible
- There are many types of literature in the Bible.
- It is difficult to see how erotic poetry and myth are inspired and authoritative.
- Evangelical:
o Regard Scripture as the literal word of God, incapable of being wrong even in passages that
are unscientific.
- Catholic:
o Sacred Scripture is the word of God, written through the inspiration of the Holy Scripture,
using human authors.
o These human authors were both inspired and allowed to use their human faculties.
o The inspiration of scripture guarantees the truth of all the different forms of literature and
guarantees that Scripture is a unity.
o Scripture must be interpreted and maintained as a unity, through the analogy of faith.
- Neo-orthodox (Karl Barth):
o The Bible is not the word of God but is human work that becomes inspired when it provides
those who read it with a personal encounter with Jesus.
- Liberal:
o Liberal views take many different forms, ranging from partial inspiration to the Bible being a
fully human document.
o Social Gospel Movement – social action is more important than worrying about insoluble
matters of doctrine.
o Process Theology – God is not the Creator, is not omnipotent and does not intervene in the
world.
- The idea that the Bible is inspired by God but written by humans can be seen in different
interpretations by the Catholic Church and Barth’s Neo-orthodoxy.
Authority of the Bible and the Church
Catholic View:
The Bible and the Church have equal authority, being inextricably linked through the work of
the Holy Spirit.
The Apostolic Succession means that the Church, specifically the Magisterium, alone has the
authority to interpret scripture correctly.
Scripture and the teaching authority of the Church are therefore joined together, neither can
stand alone.
Under the action of the Holy Spirit, both contribute to the salvation of souls.
Protestant view:
Authority is focused on scripture, due to Luther’s doctrine of Sola Scriptura (scripture alone).
Humans cannot pass judgement on God’s Word.
The Bible is the sole judge of truth, so the authority of the Church is subservient.
Believe that Church or a priest is not needed to achieve salvation as all believers are
consecrated as priests through baptism, by virtue of which all are equal before God.
There are many different interpretations of scripture and its authority, however many believe the
important thing is the attitude of faith brought about by belief in Jesus.
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