The Church (AQA A-Level Religious Studies): Revision Notes

The Church

Overview: sources of authority in Christianity

Christianity recognises multiple sources of authority that form a 'cascade' flowing from God. Understanding this hierarchy helps explain differences between Catholic and Protestant traditions.

The cascade of authority

1. God as primary authority

• For most Christians, God is all-powerful and all-knowing
• All other forms of authority are subject to God

2. The Bible as special revelation

• Provides knowledge of God and teachings that cannot be discovered through reason alone
• Examples of doctrines requiring special revelation:
  • The Trinity
  • The incarnation (the doctrine that Jesus as the Son of God became flesh, as stated in John 1:14: 'the Word became flesh and dwelt among us')
• Different views exist on biblical authority, ranging from belief in inspired and inerrant word to seeing it as a fully human document

3. Reason and conscience as general revelation

• Allows understanding of humanity's place in the world and God's purpose for humans
• Example: Natural moral law in Catholic ethics, worked out through God-given reason
• Conscience carries God's authority. St Augustine (354-430 CE) saw conscience as literally the voice of God informing us about right and wrong

4. The authority of the Church

Scripture gives authority to the Church:

• Matthew 28:19-20: Jesus commissions disciples to make disciples of all nations, baptise them, and teach what he commanded
• Matthew 16:18-19: Jesus tells Peter he is the 'rock' on which the Church will be built, with full authority

5. The authority of Church tradition

Each Church has a body of holy tradition forming part of its authority. Some Churches claim their authority traces directly back to Jesus and his Apostles (the inner core of Jesus' 12 disciples):

• Eastern Orthodox Church
• Catholic Church
• Anglican Church (a Christian tradition consisting of the Church of England and Churches with historical and organisational ties to it)

Elements of Church tradition

Each Church tradition includes:

• Pattern of worship and ritual
• Approach to ecumenical councils (councils of Church leaders and scholars who meet to discuss and decide matters of doctrine and practice)
• Leadership structure and organisation, considered authoritative based on understanding of Scripture and tradition

The Catholic perspective

Background

The Catholic Church is the largest Christian Church with over one billion adherents. Also called the Roman Catholic Church, though this post-Reformation description is not universally popular among Catholics. The Church has produced formidable scholars, including Thomas Aquinas (the thirteenth-century 'Angelic Doctor').

Apostolic Tradition and Apostolic Succession

The Catholic view rests on these two interconnected concepts:

Equal authority of Bible and Church

Key Catholic principles:

• The Bible and the Church have equal authority
• They are inextricably linked through the work of the Holy Spirit
• The rule of faith embraces both Scripture and Tradition
• Only the Church has authority to interpret Scripture correctly

Dei Verbum (Second Vatican Council document)

This document on divine revelation explains the relationship clearly:

Sacred Scripture is the word of God in as much as it is consigned to writing under the inspiration of the divine Spirit, while sacred tradition takes the word of God entrusted by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, and hands it on to their successors in its full purity, so that led by the light of the Spirit of truth, they may in proclaiming it preserve this word of God faithfully, explain it, and make it more widely known. Consequently it is not from Sacred Scripture alone that the Church draws her certainty about everything which has been revealed. Therefore both sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture are to be accepted and venerated with the same sense of loyalty and reverence.

The document continues:

But the task of authentically interpreting the word of God, whether written or handed on, has been entrusted exclusively to the living teaching office of the Church, whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ. This teaching office is not above the word of God, but serves it, teaching only what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully in accord with a divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it draws from this one deposit of faith everything which it presents for belief as divinely revealed.

The Protestant perspective

Background

Protestant Churches emerged from the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation, which was a schism (split) from the Catholic Church. Martin Luther was expelled from the Catholic Church for protesting corrupt practices. Later leaders included John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli, who developed distinctively different theology and teachings.

Defining beliefs of Protestant Churches:

• Sola scriptura: the sole authority of Scripture
• Sola fide: justification by faith alone

Main denominations (recognised independent branches):

• Baptist
• Calvinist
• Lutheran
• Methodist
• Pentecostalist

Some Protestant movements are trans-denominational (reaching across different denominations), such as Evangelical Protestantism.

Sola Scriptura: by Scripture alone

This doctrine was developed primarily by Martin Luther during the Protestant Reformation.

Luther's key teachings:

The only true authority is:

the Word of God, through which alone we obtain whatever knowledge we have of God and divine things

All that is needed is:

the sure rule of God's Word

Authority in the Church:

Luther emphasised:

We must learn to adhere solely to the Word of God. It is not who speaks that matters in the Church, but what is spoken. The person is of no consequence; nor is the person's name important, whether it be Peter or Paul. The person is acceptable so long as he teaches faithfully. Therefore let the Word of God be your guide, and assure yourself that this is presented correctly. If the preacher does that, he is above suspicion. But if he does not follow that guideline, then may he be accursed, even if it were ... an angel from heaven.

The priesthood of all believers

Luther opposed the Catholic belief that salvation is mediated through priesthood and sacraments.

He taught (though did not use this exact phrase) the 'priesthood of all believers':

• All believers are priests
• All stand equally before God
• Based on 1 Peter 2:9: 'But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood'

What this means:

• All believers have equal access to God through prayer
• No need for an ordained priest as intermediary
• All individuals are consecrated as priests through baptism

Why these differences exist

Different Christian understandings of Scripture's inspiration and authority, and the relative authority of Bible and Church, stem from the fact that religious beliefs can always be interpreted differently.

Current situation:

• Different Christian denominations today regard different things as 'the Truth'
• Nothing has changed in this respect
• All major Christian beliefs are subject to different interpretations
• Even where denominations agree broadly, individual members may disagree with each other

Alternative perspective:

Some believe differences of doctrine are less significant. What matters is not belief that something is true about Jesus (belief-that), but rather belief in Jesus (belief-in) that decides how a person should live. This does not mean differences are unimportant, but there is no obvious way of resolving them.