Thursday, July 31, 2003
Notes on Word of God from Christian Theology: An Introduction (McGrath, Alister E.)
Christian Theology: An Introduction
McGrath, Alister E.
Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd.
2nd edition, 1997
The Word of God (p199-200)
The phrase 'Word of God' has three meanings:
1. Primarily in the NT it refers to Jesus Christ, as the incarnate Word of God.
2. It refers to the gospel of Jesus Christ that is proclaimed by the church.
3. It refers to the whole of Scripture.
Karl Barth in particular speaks about the threefold Word of God, pointing to the organic progression from Jesus as the Word, to the witness to Jesus found in Scripture, and to the preaching of Scripture by the church.
The Inspiration of Scripture (p210-213)
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says Scripture is 'God-breathed'. The Jewish Philo regarded the Hebrew scriptures as fully inspired by God, who used the writers as passive instruments.
At the time of the Reformation the more catholic reformers believed that the authority of Scripture rests on its recognition by the church as authorative. The radical reformers believed that Scripture could be by-passed or ignored in favour of a personal, direct, revelation. Calvin mediated these positions: the Holy Spirit works through Scripture, and gives it authority by inspiring it. The authority of Scripture rests on its inspiration by the Spirit, not its recognition by the church.
To the reformers, inpiration was not concerned with the absolute historical reliability or factual inerrancy of the Bible. God's revelation was always accommodated to the abilities and understanding of the recipients of that revelation. The stress on biblical infallibility (inerrancy) is more a product of 19th century US protestantism.
Belief in the inspiration of Scripture by the Holy Spirit is still a normative position in the church, as expressed, for example, in the 1994 Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states that the Spirit uses human language to express the words of God.
During the Enlightenment, rationalism and critical study of the Bible questioned the special place of Scripture.
Three main positions on the meaning of 'inspiration':
1. Scripture is inspired in an artistic or aesthetic sense, and is therefore a human achievement rather than a gift of God. Influenced by Romanticism, especially propounded by J.G. Herder.
2. Scripture is supernaturally inspired by the Holy Spirit. The writers were dominated by the Spirit to such an extent that their words became the words of God, and therefore infallible. Especially propounded by the Old Princeton School, Charles Hodge and Benjamin B. Warfield.
3. Inspiration is God's guidance of the reader of Scripture, who is enabled to see God's word in the biblical text. The authority of Scripture is not located in the objective text alone, but is bound up with its subjective reception as authorative by the church. Especially associated with Augustus H. Strong.
McGrath, Alister E.
Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd.
2nd edition, 1997
The Word of God (p199-200)
The phrase 'Word of God' has three meanings:
1. Primarily in the NT it refers to Jesus Christ, as the incarnate Word of God.
2. It refers to the gospel of Jesus Christ that is proclaimed by the church.
3. It refers to the whole of Scripture.
Karl Barth in particular speaks about the threefold Word of God, pointing to the organic progression from Jesus as the Word, to the witness to Jesus found in Scripture, and to the preaching of Scripture by the church.
The Inspiration of Scripture (p210-213)
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says Scripture is 'God-breathed'. The Jewish Philo regarded the Hebrew scriptures as fully inspired by God, who used the writers as passive instruments.
At the time of the Reformation the more catholic reformers believed that the authority of Scripture rests on its recognition by the church as authorative. The radical reformers believed that Scripture could be by-passed or ignored in favour of a personal, direct, revelation. Calvin mediated these positions: the Holy Spirit works through Scripture, and gives it authority by inspiring it. The authority of Scripture rests on its inspiration by the Spirit, not its recognition by the church.
To the reformers, inpiration was not concerned with the absolute historical reliability or factual inerrancy of the Bible. God's revelation was always accommodated to the abilities and understanding of the recipients of that revelation. The stress on biblical infallibility (inerrancy) is more a product of 19th century US protestantism.
Belief in the inspiration of Scripture by the Holy Spirit is still a normative position in the church, as expressed, for example, in the 1994 Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states that the Spirit uses human language to express the words of God.
During the Enlightenment, rationalism and critical study of the Bible questioned the special place of Scripture.
Three main positions on the meaning of 'inspiration':
1. Scripture is inspired in an artistic or aesthetic sense, and is therefore a human achievement rather than a gift of God. Influenced by Romanticism, especially propounded by J.G. Herder.
2. Scripture is supernaturally inspired by the Holy Spirit. The writers were dominated by the Spirit to such an extent that their words became the words of God, and therefore infallible. Especially propounded by the Old Princeton School, Charles Hodge and Benjamin B. Warfield.
3. Inspiration is God's guidance of the reader of Scripture, who is enabled to see God's word in the biblical text. The authority of Scripture is not located in the objective text alone, but is bound up with its subjective reception as authorative by the church. Especially associated with Augustus H. Strong.
