Christianity 1 D The Bible as a source of wisdom and authority: How the Christian biblical canon was established. Diverse views on the Bible as the word of God: different understandings of inspiration (the objective view of inspiration; the subjective view of inspiration; John Calvin’s doctrine of accommodation)

Recap What is the focus of Matthew’s birth narrative? What is the focus of Luke’s birth narrative? What does redaction mean? What does incarnation mean? What is the word used to mean ‘self emptying’? How did Bultmann interpret Jesus’s resurrection? Why did Wright claim Jesus must have had a physical resurrection? Give one reason for the early Christian belief in resurrection? Explain St Paul’s ideas about the resurrected body. Give one way the Bible is authoritative as a source of moral advice.

Watch the video http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=How+did+we+get+the+Bible+ by+3+Minute+Theology+from+Youtube.mp4&view=detail&mid=020D 03905D032A6E16BA020D03905D032A6E16BA&FORM=VIRE Create a brief visual summary of the books of the Bible Canon – Greek word meaning ‘rule’ or ‘measuring stick’

How the Christian biblical canon was established Keith Ward (Religion and Revelation) Identified four stages in the development of canonical writings Primary experience – prophets and holy ones reflecting on their own religious experiences Primary witnesses – presentation of the visions, prayers and teachings of prophets Theological redaction – communities evolving rites, festivals, creeds and traditions – seek to encourage participation and commitment to the wisdom of the prophets Canonical definition – religious community identifies a core set of truths – key to the identity of the religious tradition. These teachings are then given authority.

How the Bible came together Early Jewish believers already had scripture – (the Old Testament) which contained the Law of Moses, the Prophets and Psalms (Luke 24:44). Outside the Holy Land some Jews also had the Septuagint – translated in Egypt, it also includes the Apocrypha. The Apocrypha was rejected by the Protestant churches and accepted by the Roman Catholic Church at the Council of Trent in 1545-63. Early Christian meeting included readings from the Old Testament

How the Bible came together 3. The Apostles travelled – they spoke and taught at church services. They wrote letters which were read in services and then copied and shared with other religious communities. Justin Martyr (150CE) in the 2nd Century after Jesus said that memoirs of the Apostles and the Gospels were being read in services.

How the Bible came together 4. Two controversies - Marcion and Montanus Marcion – rejected some parts of the Old Testament and some Gospels and some of St Paul’s letters Montanus – called for a new prophecy and claimed Jesus had been superceeded by the Holy Spirit. These controversies pushed the church to decide on a fixed canon of scripture

How the Bible came together 2. God confirmed the authority of His spokesperson through miracles e.g. in Exodus 4 Moses is given miraculous powers to confirm his call. In 2 Corinthians Paul teaches a sign of an apostle is ‘signs, wonders and miracles’ 3. It has to be in agreement with other books and historical accuracy is important. 4. It needs to have an inner sense from God. 5. This means initial acceptance by the people whom the book was addressed to e.g. Daniel called the book of Jeremiah ‘Scripture’ and Paul called the Gospel of Luke ‘Scripture’ in 1 Timothy 5:18 Spurred on by these dilemmas the church developed a list of canonical books using the following guidelines – Was the book inspired by a prophet of God? Was the writer confirmed by acts of God? Does the message tell the truth about God? Did it come from the power of God? Was it accepted by God’s people?

Muratorian Fragment A fragment of writing discovered by Muratori in the Vatican archive in 1740. It dates from 190CE, the fragment includes the following . . . ‘third book of the Gospels is Luke’ It also lists – John, Acts, all of Paul’s letters, James, 1 and 2 John, Jude and the Revelation of John, also the Revelation of Peter, the wisdom of Soloman and (to be used in private) the Shephard of Hermas.

How the Bible came together By the early 3rd Century only a few books of the New Testament were still in question. Eusebius – a church historian of the 4th Century records that James, 2 Peter 2 and 3, John and Jude were the only books spoken against. Athanasius – bishop of Alexandria in 367 CE wrote an Easter letter that contained all 27 books of the present New Testament – canonical and inspired and therefore official scripture. 393 – Synod of Hippo – affirmed the current New Testament 397 – Council of Carthage published the same list of books The Church says it didn’t develop the canon, God did that by inspiring its writing and overseeing its preservation.

In summary Why the establishment of the canon occurred. There was a growing need to establish a set body of literature as authoritative to combat heretical sects that claimed to possess secret knowledge about Jesus or salvation. In the first three centuries there were many writings accepted by different groups of Christians. But gradually they accepted a core group of texts which all churches valued In establishing the early creeds e.g. Nicene in 325 CE, theological reflection on a ‘core’ set of beliefs was encouraged The adoption of Christianity by Constantine (Emperor) in 312 CE, encouraged the trend to identify a specific body of Scripture

Summary of the establishment of the Biblical canon Keith Ward – holy books Bible 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4.

The Bible ‘is’ the word of God The Bible is identical to God – both the Old and New Testaments 2 Timothy 3:16 ‘All scripture inspired by God’ Jesus was speaking words given from God the Father – John 8:26 Certain people have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Bible ‘contains’ the word of God The Bible contains doctrines or beliefs and guidance on rituals Some passages of the Bible are more important that others May include the idea that God continues to speak to believers e.g. through nature Diversity of perspectives concerning the status of Biblical authority within Christian communities The Bible reveals the word of God The Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit and reveals God’s words Some sections are more significant than others. This view allows for historical and literary critical perspective and spiritual and mystical understanding. Experiences recorded in the Bible offer spiritual insight to people today e.g. those suffering and facing injustice. The Bible as ‘sacrament’ A sacrament is a holy mystery – a gift from God. Hearing the words of the Bible can be connected to a sacramental gift.

Different understandings of inspiration In the modern word inspiration means a stimulus of the intellect or emotions. In connection to the Bible inspiration is ‘supernatural divine influence on the prophets, apostles, or sacred writers, by which they were qualified to communicate truth without error; a supernatural influence which qualifies men to receive and communicate divine truth’ Webster. The objective view of inspiration is direct revelation by God of who he is through accounts of God's intervention and activity and work as revealed to the writers of the Bible. It is objective since it doesn't rely on us working it out etc. God tells us. Hence reflected in propositional revelation (the words of God). The significance is that the Bible is indeed the word of God and is reliable (some variance amongst theologians as to the exact extent it is reliable).  The subjective refers to the Bible more as the story of human beings searching for God, trying to encapsulate their understanding and experiences. The Bible reflects their search and understanding and attempts to express it through stories and events and people's experiences. Hence the expression of the conclusions of this inspiration is more in terms of non-propositional (the interpretation of events and words).

Different understandings of inspiration https://biblhttp://www Different understandings of inspiration https://biblhttp://www.theopedia.com/inspiration-of-the-bible e.org/seriespage/1-bible-inspired-word-god Objective – factual/ not interpreted Propositional view Subjective – personal/ interpreted Non-propositional view The way things are in reality The Bible contains divine truths The bible is God’s direct word and is inerrant as there can be no theological historical or cultural error. They would therefore stay clear of any form of biblical criticism. The Bible is dictated as each word was deliberately inspired by God through the Holy Spirit’s guidance of the writers. However most literalist groups will accept that the bible does not simply contain history-it also contains poetry and allegory. But where a text can be interpreted as recording history a literalist will always view it as such. Also bible literature was written 2000yrs ago and assumes some of the values of 2000yrs ago. Biblical literalists have to decide whether to re-interpret certain statements in the light of today’s commonly held assumptions. This has lead to radical differences in practice in practice. The subjective view is that the Bible records the experiences of people seriously seeking after God in their own lives, situations and cultures. They are not inspired and authoritative in themselves and neither are they inerrant. Indeed, a liberal theologian would feel free to make judgements on the practice and attitudes found in the Bible. Therefore they believe that the bible must be interpreted and that it cannot contain facts. However they do believe that it is meaningful and does correspond to an objective reality. It is the duty of individuals to weigh what is found in the Bible and apply it, if appropriate, to their own lives as they seek in their path after God. The essential difference between this view and the last two is that there is no perceived need for a total community response (e.g. the church) to all parts of the Bible. The assumption is that the individual response is what counts. Schleiermacher – ‘feeling of absolute dependence’ is revelation from God. The Bible is an outcome of human reflections on personal inner experience and their feelings for God.

Calvin’s view of accommodation John Calvin – protestant reformer – 1509-1564 Calvin was not the first theologian to discuss the idea of accommodation, it has a long history from ancient Jewish writers to Augustine. Accommodation is a theological doctrine or idea. It states that Scripture has accommodated, or made allowances for, the original audiences language and general level of understanding. God accommodates Himself to the human capacities of those to whom biblical revelation is given

The extent to which the Bible can be regarded as the inspired word of God. What does inspired word of God mean? Can there be different views of the inspired word of God? What are they? How do some Christians see the Bible as the inspired word of God? What evidence do they are use? Do any scholars support this viewpoint? How do some scholars reject the view that the Bible is the inspired word of God? What evidence do they are use? Conclusion – answer the question - The extent to which the Bible can be regarded as the inspired word of God.

Whether the Christian biblical canonical orders are inspired, as opposed to just the texts they contain. What is the biblical canon? What does inspired mean in the context of the Bible? How could Christian biblical canon orders be inspired? How could the texts be inspired?