‘Bible is infallible’
(1)
Whole of Christianity is built on the truth of god’s self revelation.
E.g. Nicene Creed ‘i am the way and the life’
Christianity stakes everything on an exclusivist claim: salvation can only be achieved thru belief in Jesus validated by His resurrection: ‘If Christ was not raised, then empty our preachings and your faith’ (Corinthians)
If not infallible, our knowledge of the path of salvation becomes uncertain rendering ‘extra ecclesia nulls salus’ ( no salvation outside church) futile.
Therefore for Christianity to be coherent, must be infallible in its testimony to Christ.
Howver, Bible written by humans- Marl no immaculate conception
Overall, the fact that the church’s earliest gospel mark focused in the cross and resurrection argues against human embellishment of Jesus cuz if the early church was fabricating stories, they would have started w the miraculous birth narrative
‘Bible is infallible
(2)
Infallible cuz it is the inspired word of god which allows for the living framework of sacred tradition and magisterium
Pope, teaching authority rests on the authenticity of scripture and trad
TIS bibles infallibility is inseparable from the living authority of the church and its proclaimed truths
However, difference in teachings in OT v NT (abortion, moral dilemma)
‘Church is necessary for salvation’
(1) baptism
‘Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved’ Mark
Necessary for entry to heaven
Magisterium- Christ entrusted the administration of this sacrament to the church,apostolic succession- church holds authority alone to perform baptism
To receive the sacrament that initiates salvation, one must approach the church to which Jesus authorized to perform it
However, excludes Christian’s who hv no access to church - like converts in persecuted nation. If church is necessary via the church, they r denied salvation
Howver, gods grace is not limited by physical access (baptism of blood)- still be saved
‘Church is necessary for salvation’
(20 interpret Bible’s meaning
Church was established by Jesus (apostolic succession): ‘u r the rock on which i build my church’
St Peter is 1st pope thus being the 1st line of succession dating from Jesus all the way to pope Leo XIV.
Look up to church to interpret text since scripture uses analogies like ‘god is light’
A living authority is needed to define their meaning
Howver, faith is more important than church- Jesus sacrifice god offers forgiveness to all based on his grace not human efforts (conviction)
Conc- ‘even devil believes’, ‘faith without action is dead’
Anthropomorphic language (15)
(1) patriarchal language
People understand his qualities better and to reveal diff aspects of his revelation w us
King/lord, enthroned, ‘bring about his kingdom on earth’- reveals god’s absolute authority, sovereignty and power
We understand our place as creatures- dependent and held accountable under divine order, submit to Him
Power dynamic between god and humans, where humans understand their position of inferiority and their role to glorify, serve and remain loyal to Him
Howver, feminist scholars hampson, ‘irredeemably sexist’ , Christian theology is aptricahl (shaped by and for benefit of men) routinely oppresses women.
Perpetuates a cycle of female inferiority which excludes women from the church
E.g. Roman Catholic Church, women cannot be ordained
Dial role for women under the CC strips women to the mere role child managers of the household
Anthropomorphic language (15)
(2) avoid sing language all together cuz god is above and beyond human linguistic
Pseudo- Dionysus via negativa
Cannot say that god is powerful; cuz god god’s power cannot be compared to human power.
Strengthed- aquinas analogy as our limited language is not enough to talks about god
E.g. to say that god is not living is not the same as saying god is lifeless but rather god is beyond life
Negation does not mean privation/ loss of quality
Howver, Christian’s need language in order t ensure personal understanding and connection w god, simply using apologies and metaphors to develop a deeper understanding of God is part of their daily life
E.g. God is love, generates imagery of god being amiable, cherishable and a guardian, begin to develop a closer and holistic understanding of god.
Nature and authority of the Bible to evangelical baptists Christian’s
Emphasise that the Bible is the sole written authors for Christian’s
Bible is authorative cuz it is from god and about god
They may gain insight from and express appreciation for other documents like creeds, they refuse to acknowledge them as authoritative
It is ‘the perfect treasure of divine instruction’
Howver, Hobbes ‘to say that the Bible is an authorative book, doesn’t mean that it’s authorative in every filed of human thought like science.’
Bible is sexist
Bible was written in a patriarchal society where the established norm often favored men. Therefore bible texts reflect cultural context of their time rather than sexist viewpoint
Feminist responses to the language of the Bible interrogates how biblical language can marginalize women which perpetuates patriarchal views.
Male centric language- father, king, lord reaffirms god’s manliness as it suggests that god is exclusively male.
Royal imagery of king suggests male dominance highlighting supreme authority over the world and all its creation which can propagate inequality in the social and religious hierarchy.
Thus labelling women to be inferior to men as men are described to hv social superiority as their gender align w god
Therefore feminist aim to vilify the use of patriarchal language as it endorses a segregated ideology between men and women.
Examine attitudes to church
Catholic would argue that bible and church r equal in status as they beloved that authority derives from church.
Apostolic succession, authority given by Jesus to his apostles has been passed down an untainted line of bishops. This ensures that current church leaders inherit governing authority of the apostles.
Continuity and legitimacy of Jesus teachings remain consistent and connected to original messages of Christ, illustrating that if succession grants the church exclusive authority to administer sacraments, and sacraments r necessary for salvation, then participating in church is only way for a believer to reach heaven.
However, New Testament emphasizes faith and holy spiritual
Protestant attitudes to bible
Bible alone has authority due to the doctrine of sola scriptura.
Bible is a sufficient guide for life and salvation which is encompassed in the quote ‘sure rule of gods word’
Encourages Bible study and individual responsibility which affirms that god word is available to everyone.
Salvation is a matter of indivual faith in Jesus not dependent on the church.
Furthermore, The reformation caused a schism from the CC as they believed that the church was corrupt, thus forming the Protestant church where they reject authors of the church
However, Bible emphasises the necessity of sacraments for salvation
‘No one can enter the kingdom of god unless they r born of water
Sacraments are instruments of gods grace
Jesus is not divine
1)
Nicene creed
‘I am the way and life’
In order to be saved from eternal damnation one must believe in Jesus and NC w conviction to achieve salvation which can only be achieved thru personal belief.
Strengthen by st Paul’s’ justification by faith ‘only the faithful will live’
Corinthians ‘if Christ has not been raised, then empty is our preaching and ur faith’
TIS an exclusive view is needed for salvation, faith is a prerequisite for salvation, importance of extra ecclesiam nulla salus
However. Earliest gospel mark no mention of immaculate conception conflicts w last gospel
Less reliable-more historical sources move away from events
Written by human authors and fabricated to embellish.
Jesus is not divine
2)
Divine+human= incompatible
Divinity is infinite, human is finite not both
Hick, Jesus is god= circle= square
OA ‘greatest conceivable being’ but Jesus had a start and end
However, gospels written at different times and authors, but stories had similar points towards a divine
‘Justification is through the church’ (15)
1) sacraments
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved’ Mark
Necessary for entry to heaven
Magisterium- Christ entrusted the administration of this sacrament to the church,apostolic succession- church holds authority alone to perform baptism
To receive the sacrament that initiates salvation, one must approach the church to which Jesus authorized to perform it
However, excludes Christian’s who hv no access to church - like converts in persecuted nation. If church is necessary via the church, they r denied salvation
Howver, gods grace is not limited by physical access (baptism of blood)- still be saved
‘Justification is through the church’ (15)
2) interpret bibles meaning
Church was established by Jesus (apostolic succession): ‘u r the rock on which i build my church’
St Peter is 1st pope thus being the 1st line of succession dating from Jesus all the way to pope Leo XIV.
Look up to church to interpret text since scripture uses analogies like ‘god is light’, ‘lamb of God’
A living authority is needed to define their meaning. If meaning of analogies r left to private interpretation it can lead to contradictions and divisions between denominations.
Therefore god provided a living authority to interpret scripture so that Christian’s don’t risk error on the very doctrine that grants them access to salvation
Howver, faith is more important than church- Jesus sacrifice god offers forgiveness to all based on his grace not human efforts (conviction)
Conc- ‘even devil believes’, ‘faith without action is dead’
Examine catholic attitudes to bible
1)non literally/symbolic
Catholics view bible non literally when a statement from the Bible contradicts reasoning of science.
Pope john Paul II- discoveries in science should be taken as literal fact e.g. Big Bang because t deny empiricism would risk Christianity losing its authority which is detrmental in a world where church membership is on the decline.
St Augustine’s biblical exegesis, Christian’s must interpret scripture w new knowledge to avoid being ridiculed.
Therefore Catholics deny literal interpretations of genesis e.g. ‘god created world in 6 days’ cuz it conflicts with science.
However they’d still view bible to be inerrant as it is inspired and comes from gods direct revelation.
Examine catholic attitudes to bible
2)church’s living authority
Combine teachings of bible w living authority in order to gain richer understanding of scripture.
Apostolic succession, an unbroken line of Jesus disciples dating all the way back from St. Peter to pope Leo XIV(14)
Due to this beleif Catholics believe in the magisterium where the church and pope has authority due to living tradition’holy sprit present w them, to define meaning of scripture.
Therefore, Catholic hold a more liberal interpretion of the bible as the Caetchism does not subscribe to sola scriptura instead interpretation are contextual, using biblical criticism to help them define meaning
Examine how the mission of the church has developed overtime (10)
1) evangelism
Changed because during early century to 19th century, church was more focused on its mission of evangelism.
Church missionary society 1812, sent missionaries to parts of the world where majority of people aren’t Christians. The missionaries would be trained in Europe and them sent to these parts of the world to learn locals languages and spread gospel to them.
Supported by Jesus teachings to ‘go make disciples of all nations’ in order to create more image bearers to populate gods good world.
Examine how the mission of the church has developed overtime (10)
2) mission to the Christian community
Cuz of secualristion, where more people r leaving the church due to science/enlightenment.
Local ecumenism partnership 1960s revealed that the main focus of the church is to bring together the Christian community in order to unite denominations to present a united front to face the decline of church membership.
Moreover the church in the 21st century is less focused on expecting people to come to the church and more on bringing the church to them, fresh expressions where they actively encourage forms of informal worship in order to respond to secularism.
Therefore, emphasis on ecumenism
Examine how the mission of the church has developed overtime (10)
3) mission to the poor and disadvantaged
Still maintained this mission
E.g. Christin aid is focused on delivering aid on a sliding scale to LEDCs in order to help these countries develop financially and boost QoL for locals in these areas.
Moreover, the church urban fund focuses on providing financial aid to poor urban densely populated areas in order to help provide support for locals and prevent them from falling into economic destitution
‘The Bible is the ultimate source of truth and morality’ (15)
1) evangelicals
Although not very convincing, could be entertained that the bible is the ultimate SoA as it is god breathed.
Evangelicals- sola scriptura, bibles claims r true for all time and all people and therefore its teachings and moral must be true as they come directly from god - strongly coheres with the DCT where all morals must be true and good as god is good.
However, historical inaccuracies within the bible.
Strongly acknowledge by neo-orthodox Christian’s who believe that the bible cannot be SoA as it claims of mustard seed and kidneys are where u experience emotions are falsified by science.
Undermines authority of god
Different denomination different approaches to moral dlenmans eg. abortion- contradictions and divisions between believers of the same faith.biblical exegesis st Augustine- can’t deny science as it will label Christianity to be ridiculed/lose authority pope Leo
Therefore not SoA as historical inaccuracies suggest that Bible is not god breathed
‘The Bible is the ultimate source of truth and morality’ (15)
2) direct words of god
While weak… fundamentalist believe that the Bible r the truth claims of gods direct revelation.
E.g. believe in the 2nd coming of Jesus and the genesis literally.
Somewhat sig as Christianity stakes everything on an exclusivist claim renders bible to be most authoritative.
If bible wasn’t true, Christianity will fall apart ‘empty your faith’ Corinthians. Renders bible to be false in its claims to Jesus.
However, ‘nothing can withstand science and logic’, science has falsified the truth claims of the bible e.g. genesis- bible is inaccurate and cannot be SoA.
Therefore, due o its claims being falsified by science, it cannot be SoA
To conclude, whilst Christy stakes everything on an exclusivis view which can render the bible to be the ultimate SoA to Christian’s, the fact that historical inaccuracies can be falsified by sconce and biblical contradiction shows that it cannot be ultimate SoA
Examine the nature and authority of the CC (10)
1) nature (what it is, history)
Catholics believe that the church was first established by Jesus to St. Peter
Jesus told St. Peter that he was ‘the rock’ that he builds his Church.
From then apostolic succession was established, w St. Peter being the first pope all the way to the current pope leo xiv.
Due to Catholic beleif that the line of succession dates all the way to Jesus, they believe in the living tradition, where the Holy Spirit is present within the church due to apostolic succession. This beleif led to the establishment of the cathecushim, where the CC created set rules e.g. NML derived from the living tradition which then forms that moral foundations of the CC.
Examine the nature and authority of the CC (10)
2)magisterium
Due to belief in apostolic succession, the church was given authority to administer sacraments as a result of the continued teaching authority of Jesus.
Catholics would therefore believe that the church is necessary for salvation as it helps them unlock the same rent e.g. infant baptism to enter heaven.
Due to this beleif Catholics would view the church in conjunction w the bible- believing that both have the ultimate authority when used together.
Evangelicals would not view the church as authoritative due to their belief in sola scriptura, where they believe that the bible is the only thing needed in order to achieve salvation.
Supported by St. Paul where ‘the righteous will live on through faith’
Therefore, evangelical would view the church to be symbolic, uniting the Christian community together which is essential in a world where church membership is declining.
Anthropomorphic language
