2. The Bible as a source of wisdom and authority

What are the subjective views of inspiration?

Scripture can contain error due to human authorship. Humans experience God. Humans recorded their personal experiences. Scripture reflects a personal encounter with God. Can be liberal (interpreted in a modern context) Humans are active authors.

Who are the Church Fathers? What is their belief about the canon?

Teachers and writers in the early Church, many of whom were bishops, whose teachings are a witness to the Apostolic Tradition. They considered that some of these books could be misleading believers in their faith and practice.

When and why was the New Testament canonised?

This was in the fourth century CE. Many writings circulated as the Church grew, a collection of authoritative writings was needed to preserve the integrity of Christ's message and teachings.

Key Quote for Calvin.

"We must never forget that God is above and beyond our language" - Calvin

What are the marks of canonicity?

A guide to why things are canonical. Apostolic (have to have a connection with the Apostles) Authentic (consistent) Accepted (recognised by many) Authoritative (confirmed) Activating (dynamic)

Why do Christians believe the Bible is inspired?

Because when they read it they often want to think and act differently, they believe it has been inspired by God. The exact word used in the New Testament to describe this is Theopneustos which means God-breathed.

What is the Christian claim about the canon?

Christians believe that the books that comprise the Old and New Testaments in the Bible are 'canon'. There was some disagreement about which books were to be included in the canon as some books were falsely claimed to be written by important figures.

What made the cut in the New Testament canon?

Churches in Syria used the Diatessaron (a harmony of the four Gospels) - today most churches reject this. Most chose to use the Muratorian Canon which was a list from 170CE containing 22 of the 27 books the New Testament contains today. This mentions books that should not be included as they are forgeries.

What are the objective views of inspiration?

God's perfect character causes the truthfulness of the Bible. Scripture is inerrant (it can't be wrong). Every word was chosen by God (plenary verbal inspiration) God dictated scripture. Human's are God's passive instrument.

What is the order of the New Testament?

Gospels Acts Letters of Paul Other letters Epistles Apocalyptic

What is the order of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament?

How we order things often reflect their importance. The Bible begins with the Torah, these give insights on living faithfully in different situations. The Hebrew Bible and Old Testament end differently. The Christian Bibles follow the order of the Septuagint whereas the Hebrew Bible places the writings last.

What is Calvin's theory of accomodation?

Human's cannot have a direct understanding of God because God is too incomprehensible and must reveal himself slowly. God accommodated how he revealed himself so human's would understand, through the authors. God is represented anthropomorphically (human terms) It is simplified so much so humanity can comprehend it, Calvin refers to this as 'baby talk'. He believes this explains scientific errors as humans have interpreted it differently.

Who is John Calvin?

John Calvin (1509-1564) was a French scholar during the Protestant Reformation.

How are subjective and objective views balanced?

Many Christians seek to balance these views. On one hand they affirm God is the author of the Bible, but also that God has worked through unique human authors each with their own style.

What are the disagreements about the New Testament?

Marcion (a Church leader) created a Bible composed only of the Gospel of Luke and the letters of Paul, he believed that the God of Jesus Christ was different and superior from the God of the Hebrew Bible, this meant he attempted to remove all references to Judaism. The Apostolic Fathers rejected Marcion's Bible. Books such as the Didache and Shepherd of Hermas were rejected but not because they were wrong, because they were written later than Apostolic writings.

What is the TNK (Tanak)?

The Hebrew Bible. Torah - the 5 books about the law, traditionally though to be written by Moses. Nevi'im - these include the 'former prophets', the 'latter prophets' and the 12 'Minor prophets'. Kethuvim - a diverse set of writings which includes poetical books, prophecy and history.

What is the Jewish canon?

The Jewish Bible is not exactly the same as the Christian 'Old Testament'. Jewish believers so not consider it to be 'old', it is seen as God's revelation. All Jews agree on the books in the Hebrew scriptures. It is comprised of three parts; Torah, Nevi'im and Kethuvim.

Why are there different Christian Old Testaments?

The Jewish canon was not closed at the time of the New Testament. The New Testament writers used the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible (the Septuagint) which included some Jewish writings excluded from the Jewish canon. Some Church Fathers such as Jerome rejected these books, others such as Augustine accepted these works. Augustine's opinion prevailed and the books were included in the Old Testament.

How were the decisions made to accept or reject books into the canon?

The books had to survive time. Books must be supporting the Torah (sometimes referred to as the canon within the canon - there are central ideas that strongly influence which writings are chosen). Had to be recognised by a wide variety of Jews in diverse locations as supporting their faith and practice.

What is the biblical canon?

The collection of books the Church recognises as the inspired Word of God. It is a standard to guide faith.

Why is the order important?

The order of the biblical canon is not chronological, it is connected to the story line, importance and authorship.

Is the Bible written by a man or God?

There are two sides. At the extreme objective end is the view that the biblical writers were mere stenographers (transcribe speech) writing down the word of God. Most theologians recognise that there is a human side to inspiration since each of the books have their own tone. At the extreme subjective end is that the Bible isnt inspired, but the authors themselves are.

Why did the Protestant Bibles reject these books?

They used the term Apocrypha to refer to this collection - suggesting they are false and heretical. Martin Luther raised doubts about their inclusion and said that 2 Maccabees supported the doctrine of purgatory - undermining the theme that was most important for Luther, justification by faith as a gift of God. This collection is called Intertestamental literature (works written between the date of the final book fo the Hebrew Bible and the beginning of the New Testament). It is sometimes included in Protestant Bibles but not in their canon.

What books were included in the Old Testament that Augustine supported but Jews rejected?

Tobit, Judith, Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch. Catholic Christians included these in the Latin translation of the Bible (the Vulgate). They refer to these books as deutero-canonical (secondary canon). Catholics believes all the books of the Bible are fully and equally inspired.

When did the Hebrew Bible become canon?

We do not know the exact dates when these books were first considered canonical by Jewish believers. Many scholars believe the three parts represent three successive stages in the formation of the canon With the Torah as the earliest part to be recognised, shared orally before being written down at the exile to Babylon. Jesus refers to the scriptures as "the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms" - only one of the writings is mentioned, suggesting the final part of the canon was in process.