Afrocentrism and Biblical Authority

1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cain Hope Felder
Keyword(s):  
African Americans ◽  
Biblical Authority ◽  
Western History ◽  
Tacit Assumption ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Narratives ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
The Church

“Throughout Western history, the authority of the Bible has been predicated upon the tacit assumption of the preeminence of European cultures as somehow the most suitable and, thus, the most reliable ‘bearers of the tradition'—a tradition that has been passed on and otherwise shared with the Americas and Asia. Especially in the modern period, the attitude developed that African Americans, Afro-Asiatics, Asians, and Hispanics were quite secondary to the ancient biblical narratives. The Europeans and Euro-American church and academy historically and unevenly struggled to speak and, sometimes, to write with a vision of universalism and inclusiveness, but, actually, the church and academy thought and practiced particularity and exclusiveness without reference to the authority of what the biblical authors thought or did in their ancient contexts. Recent studies, however, help us to appreciate the biblical world as being, as one title indicates, Before Color Prejudice.”

Scripture

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale B. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Human Behavior ◽  
Theological Interpretation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
The Church

Many Christians in the modern period have worked with inadequate notions about what “scripture” is. They have often thought of the Bible as a rule book, a manual for human behavior, a source for scientific or historical facts, a constitution for modern structures, including the church, or even a sex manual. In order to proceed with an adequate theological interpretation of the Bible, Christians need to develop an adequate notion of what theological scripture “is.” Chapter 2 offers different and various ways of imagining the nature of scripture, as cathedral or space we occupy rather than a foundationalist source for ready-to-hand knowledge.

The Effects of Confessional Strife on Religious Authority in the First Half of the Seventeenth Century

2021 ◽  
pp. 303-324
Author(s):  
Henk Nellen
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Hard Core ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Religious Authority ◽  
Church Fathers ◽  
Biblical Authority ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Status ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

This chapter discusses the confessional controversies on biblical authority and ecclesiastical tradition in the first half of the seventeenth century. While Protestant theologians upheld the status of the Bible as a divinely inspired, unique, coherent, and self-evident source of faith and stressed the subordinate significance of the patristic legacy, the Roman Catholic camp embraced the importance of the teachings of the Church Fathers, conciliar decrees, and papal decisions as a rock-solid criterion for a sound interpretation of the Bible. On the basis of treatises authored by eminent and hard-core exponents of Calvinism like Abraham Scultetus, Jean Daillé, Louis Cappel, and André Rivet, set against the views of the Jesuit Denis Pétau, expert in the history of the primitive church, it is argued that debates led to a reciprocal undermining of viewpoints, which eventually paved the way for more radical positions at the end of the century.

Biblical Authority and the Continental Reformation

1957 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 337-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Gerrish
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Authority ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Medieval Church ◽  
Jewish Scriptures ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

That the distinctively ‘Protestant’ understanding of biblical authority can be grasped only by seeing it against its medieval background, may appear to be a truism. But the affirmation is necessary, if for no other reason, at least because the relationship of Protestantism to Catholicism has too often been interpreted as one of simple opposition in every respect. In part, however, the Reformers' understanding of biblical authority arises directly out of scholasticism, not by conscious opposition, but by unquestioning acceptance. The differentia of Protestantism cannot be defined simply by appeal to the so-called ‘formal’ and ‘material’ principles, unless the twin principles be themselves carefully defined. There was nothing new in the mere fact that the Reformers resorted to the Bible for verification of their theological convictions, nor even in their affirmation of the necessity of grace for salvation. The medieval Church had a rigorous doctrine of biblical inspiration, and it found grace as indispensable for justification as did the Reformers themselves.No doubt the earliest disciples took their view of inspiration and authority from Judaism. To begin with, their Scriptures were the Jewish Scriptures, and they themselves were all Jews. But it was natural enough that the Jewish doctrine of ‘verbal inspiration’ should persist even after the Church had become predominantly Gentile. The authority of Scripture is made to rest upon a theory of inspiration: the words of Scripture are binding because, in the last analysis, they are the Words of God.

The Mappe and the Bible: Nation, Empire and the Collective Memory of Jonah

2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 476-500
Author(s):  
Simon Staffell
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
Early Modern Period ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
Political Discourses ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Narratives ◽  
Modern Period

AbstractThis article uses the work of the English cartographer John Speed as a way to explore the role of the collective memory of Jonah in social and political discourses during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The paper engages with debates concerning nationalism during the early modern period. Collective memory theory is also used to consider how Jonah became a reified site of memory. By placing Speed's writing alongside the works of his forebears and examining the function of the Jonah text within three sermons, the evolving collective memory of the biblical text, and its imagined attachment to national identity, is traced. It is suggested that Speed's cartographic selectivity in depicting biblical narratives can be seen in relation to the nascent nationalist and imperialist worldviews and ideologies of sixteenth and seventeenth century England.

God and Story in the Church and in Doctrine

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-22
Author(s):  
Paul S. Fiddes
Keyword(s):  
West African ◽  
Reciprocal Relation ◽  
Narrative Theology ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Bible ◽  
African Heritage ◽  
Biblical Narratives ◽  
The Church ◽  
Church Tradition

The paper aligns theological discussion about narrative theology with an empirical study of story-telling in a congregational setting, drawing conclusions about the ecclesial basis of method in doctrinal theology. It proposes to develop a narrative theology in a form that is inclusive of non-biblical narratives, drawing deductively upon story in Scripture and the past tradition of the church in constructing regulative doctrinal concepts for the community, while insisting that these must always be shaped inductively by the stories which people inhabit inside the church today, and outside the church in cultures which interpenetrate it. The paper offers a particular case-study of reflecting on stories from the Bible, church tradition and modern life among a group of young people of mainly West African heritage in the uk. From a ‘thick’ account of ‘everyday theology’ in the church, it offers suggestions for a reciprocal relation between deductive and inductive movements in making doctrine, taking as an example the doctrinal issue of ‘naming’.

Pontifical Encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu (1943) and Principle of Interpretation Bible

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-116
Author(s):  
Daniel Slivka
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Bible Studies ◽  
Higher Criticism ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
The Church ◽  
Made In

Pontifical Encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu (1943) and Principle of Interpretation Bible Divino Afflante Spiritu (Inspired by the Divine Spirit) is an encyclical letter issued by Pope Pius XII on September 30, 1943. It inaugurated the modern period of Roman Catholic Bible studies by permitting the limited use of modern methods of biblical criticism. The Catholic bible scholar Raymond E. Brown described it as a 'Magna Carta for biblical progress'. The first purpose of the encyclical was to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the issuing of Providentissimus Deus by Pope Leo XIII in 1893, which had condemned the use of higher criticism. In the encyclical, Pius XII noted that since then, advances had been made in archeology and historical research, making it advisable to further define the study of the Bible. In his encyclical the Pope stressed the importance of diligent study of these original languages and other cognate languages, so as to arrive at a deeper and fuller knowledge of the meaning of the sacred texts. Catholic translations of the Bible have been based directly on the texts found in manuscripts in the original languages, taking into account also the ancient translations that sometimes clarify what seem to be transcription errors in those manuscripts, although the Latin Vulgate remains the official Bible in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. The Holy Scripture as a source of revelation was getting more often towards the believers at the beginning of last century. Interest in individual aspects of biblical text meant many difficulties for the Church. On the other end it brought great interest in Bible. Also new movements in Church and Magisterium explications helped it. Convocation of Second Vatican council vouched Catholics interest in positive changes in various Church ranges. It led to ratification the constitutions, edicts and declarations.

The Bible

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Coogan
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Fine Arts ◽  
Western Culture ◽  
Biblical Authority ◽  
Western History ◽  
Saturday Night ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Saturday Night Live ◽  
Influential Book

The Bible is the most influential book in Western history. As the foundational text of Judaism and Christianity, the Bible has been interpreted and reinterpreted over millennia, utilized to promote a seemingly endless run of theological and political positions. Adherents and detractors alike point to different passages throughout to justify wildly disparate behaviors and beliefs. Translated and retranslated, these texts lead both to unity and intense conflict. Influential books on any topic are typically called “bibles.” What is the Bible? As a text considered sacred by some, its stories and language appear throughout the fine arts and popular culture, from Shakespeare to Saturday Night Live. In Michael Coogan’s eagerly awaited addition to Oxford’s What Everyone Needs to know® series, conflicts and controversies surrounding the world’s bestselling book are addressed in a straightforward Q&A format. This book provides an unbiased look at biblical authority and authorship, the Bible’s influence in Western culture, the disputes over meaning and interpretation, and the state of biblical scholarship today. Brimming with information for the student and the expert alike, The Bible: What Everyone Needs to Know ® is a dependable introduction to a most contentious holy book.

Mormonism and Race

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Q. Mason
Keyword(s):  
African Americans ◽  
Pacific Islanders ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Racial Categories ◽  
Joseph Smith ◽  
Book Of Mormon ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
History Of ◽  
American Society ◽  
The Church

As a religion born in the modern period, Mormonism inherited and has in many ways inhabited modern racial categories and theories. Since the time of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, the majority of Latter-day Saints’ racial views have generally tracked with broader American society, but the religion’s distinctive theology and history also produce alternative racial rationales, discourses, and experiences unique to Mormonism. Focusing on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this chapter examines how race has been operationalized in Mormon scripture (in particular the Book of Mormon), the history of Mormonism in America, and scholarly treatments. Never simply dichromatic, Mormon considerations of race have included African Americans but also paid substantial attention to the native peoples of the Americas (North and increasingly Central and South) and Pacific Islanders.

The Bible in the spiritual culture of Kievan Rus

1998 ◽  
pp. 46-52
Author(s):  
S. V. Rabotkina
Keyword(s):  
Full Text ◽  
Spiritual Life ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Spiritual Culture ◽  
Slavonic Language ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Church

A huge place in the spiritual life of medieval Rusich was occupied by the Bible, although for a long time Kievan Rus did not know it fully. The full text of the Holy Scriptures appears in the Church Slavonic language not earlier than 1499.

The Church on the World's Turf

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. Bramadat
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Sexual Ethics ◽  
Institutional Settings ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Conservative Protestant ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Christian Fellowship ◽  
The University ◽  
The Church

Is it possible for conservative Protestant groups to survive in secular institutional settings? Here, Bramadat offers an ethnographic study of the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) at McMaster University, a group that espouses fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible, women's roles, the age of the earth, alcohol consumption, and sexual ethics. In examining this group, Bramadat demonstrates how this tiny minority thrives within the overwhelmingly secular context of the University.

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