The Bible as a Source of Authority

Overview

Recall questions on the Bible as the word of God, the formation of the canon and differing Bibles, its use in worship and ethics, tradition alongside scripture, revealed and natural theology, the Spirit, and literalist and historical-critical readings.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   In what senses do Christians call the Bible the word of God?

   Model answer

   The strongest sense is that God is the true author and the human writers were carried along by the Spirit, so the text says what God says. A more moderate sense holds that the writers were inspired but wrote as people of their time, so the text is God's word conveyed through human limitation. A third treats the Bible as the record of and witness to revelation, which becomes God's word as the Spirit uses it; on this account the Word of God is finally Christ himself, and scripture is the witness that points to him.

2. 2

   How was the biblical canon put together?

   Model answer

   Gradually and by use rather than by a single decree. The Church inherited the Hebrew scriptures, and over the first few centuries settled which Christian writings were read publicly. The rough tests were connection to the apostles, wide acceptance across the churches, and agreement with the faith the churches already taught. Lists circulated well before any council ratified them, which is why Christians argue about whether the Church created the canon or recognised it.

3. 3

   Why do Christian Bibles differ in contents?

   Model answer

   Because of a disagreement over the books preserved in Greek but not in the Hebrew scriptures, such as Sirach, Wisdom, Tobit and the Maccabees. Catholics count them as fully scriptural, Orthodox churches include these and a few more, and Reformation churches followed the Hebrew list, printing the rest separately as Apocrypha, useful for edification but not for establishing doctrine. Most Protestant Bibles now omit them entirely, so two Christians can hold quite different books in their hands.

4. 4

   How is the Bible actually used in Christian life and worship?

   Model answer

   It is read aloud in services, often on a set cycle so congregations hear the whole sweep of it over years; it is preached on; its words shape prayers, hymns and the liturgy; it is studied in groups and read privately in devotion; and it is used in teaching converts and children. Practice differs, from Orthodox liturgy saturated with scripture to Free Church services built around an extended sermon.

5. 5

   How does the Bible function as a basis for the Church's ethical teaching?

   Model answer

   Churches appeal to it on wealth and poverty, marriage and sexuality, violence and war, honesty and the treatment of strangers. The difficulty is method: which texts govern, how commands given to ancient Israel apply now, and what to do where texts pull in different directions or endorse practices Christians now reject, such as slavery. Most traditions therefore read scripture alongside some further authority rather than lifting rules straight off the page.

6. 6

   What role does tradition play alongside scripture, and how do denominations differ?

   Model answer

   Catholic teaching holds that scripture and tradition flow from one source and are interpreted authoritatively by the Church's teaching office. Orthodoxy treats scripture as part of the Church's living tradition, read with the fathers, the councils and the liturgy. Reformation churches asserted scripture alone as the final authority, though in practice they read it with creeds and confessions. Anglicans traditionally speak of scripture, tradition and reason together, with scripture holding primacy.

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