Lesson 1: The bible as a sole source of authority
Agape love: unconditional love, the only ethical norm in situationism
Church Tradition: the traditions of how Christian life in community works. The
teachings of the church handed down across time.
Bible/ Scripture: the collection or canon of books in the Bible which contain the
revelation of God
Sacred tradition: in addition to the bible, the revelation of Christ is communicated
through the apostolic and authorities' teachings of the Church councils and the Pope
“All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching”
The Evangelical Alliance
- All their members must agree to the divine inspiration and supreme authority of
the Old and New Testament, in other words in everything go to the Bible and
trust it
The canon of scripture
- Bible is best described as the best “closed canon”, meaning an authoritative
collection of books that cannot be added to or taken away from.
- With very few exemptions it has remained practically unchanged since the 4th
Century
Accepted tests of a canonical book
1. Apostolic Origin: attributed to and based upon the teaching of the first-
generation apostles.
2. Universal acceptance: acknowledged by all major Christian communities in the
ancient world
3. Liturgical use: read publicly during the Lord’s supper
4. Consistent message: complementary to other accepted Christian writings
The Bible Alone - “Sola Scripture”
- The protestant reformation was an enormous split in the western church 500
years ago.
- One of the primary statements of the reformation was Sola Scriptura
- It means the Bible is supreme authority in all matters of doctrine and practice
, - The bible offers propositional revelation – clear teachings on morality
- Christians who take the Bible literally must see it as authority
Sufficient
- For many Christians the bible is sufficient. It is self-authenticating and plain to
understand for the individual reader. Some see it as dedicated by God meaning
that the writers are merely scribes, not authors.
- Other's view is as humans' writers inspired God, therefore still authoritative.
“Then the lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have
put my words in your mouth””
Bible as the only authority for moral decision making
- Canon is a free fixed set of writings that everyone has free access to.
- Translated into virtually every language on earth
- All believers can hold each other to account
- Anyone’s teachings can be tested against a fixed and infallible source
Criticisms of the Bible only approach to ethics:
- You can’t read the bible straight without subjective interpretation, it adds too
much choice
- Christians don’t follow all the Old Testament rules
Agape love: unconditional love, the only ethical norm in situationism
Church Tradition: the traditions of how Christian life in community works. The
teachings of the church handed down across time.
Bible/ Scripture: the collection or canon of books in the Bible which contain the
revelation of God
Sacred tradition: in addition to the bible, the revelation of Christ is communicated
through the apostolic and authorities' teachings of the Church councils and the Pope
“All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching”
The Evangelical Alliance
- All their members must agree to the divine inspiration and supreme authority of
the Old and New Testament, in other words in everything go to the Bible and
trust it
The canon of scripture
- Bible is best described as the best “closed canon”, meaning an authoritative
collection of books that cannot be added to or taken away from.
- With very few exemptions it has remained practically unchanged since the 4th
Century
Accepted tests of a canonical book
1. Apostolic Origin: attributed to and based upon the teaching of the first-
generation apostles.
2. Universal acceptance: acknowledged by all major Christian communities in the
ancient world
3. Liturgical use: read publicly during the Lord’s supper
4. Consistent message: complementary to other accepted Christian writings
The Bible Alone - “Sola Scripture”
- The protestant reformation was an enormous split in the western church 500
years ago.
- One of the primary statements of the reformation was Sola Scriptura
- It means the Bible is supreme authority in all matters of doctrine and practice
, - The bible offers propositional revelation – clear teachings on morality
- Christians who take the Bible literally must see it as authority
Sufficient
- For many Christians the bible is sufficient. It is self-authenticating and plain to
understand for the individual reader. Some see it as dedicated by God meaning
that the writers are merely scribes, not authors.
- Other's view is as humans' writers inspired God, therefore still authoritative.
“Then the lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have
put my words in your mouth””
Bible as the only authority for moral decision making
- Canon is a free fixed set of writings that everyone has free access to.
- Translated into virtually every language on earth
- All believers can hold each other to account
- Anyone’s teachings can be tested against a fixed and infallible source
Criticisms of the Bible only approach to ethics:
- You can’t read the bible straight without subjective interpretation, it adds too
much choice
- Christians don’t follow all the Old Testament rules
