Bible, Church & Reason

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Bible, Church & Reason as Authority for Christian Ethics

Christian ethics must be a combination of biblical teaching, Church teaching and human reason. Catholic ethics largely centre around the ideas of Sacred Tradition and natural law.

Liberal Christians

Liberal Christians believe that the Bible is inspired by God but written by humans.
- Because humans wrote the Bible, they believe that it may contain some errors. Some parts may also be metaphorical.
They may also say that the Bible was written a long time ago and society has since changed since.
So, parts of the Bible may well be out of date and reflect the time that it was written in.

Sacred Tradition

Catholics refer to tradition and Sacred Tradition.
- They see tradition as having a precedent over the Bible.
This is because it was the Church community that decided what texts should be sacred and form the Bible.
Sacred Tradition is a means of coming to know the revelation of Jesus.
It follows the oral tradition handed down by Jesus to the first Christian leaders in an unbroken chain of Apostolic Succession.

Sacred Tradition - origins

The sacred chain of Apostolic Succession chain begins with St Peter.
Jesus appointed St. Peter as the first Bishop of Rome. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus says the following to Peter:
- 'And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.'

Sacred Tradition - Holy Spirit

Tradition is seen as the way in which the Holy Spirit works in the world.
The task of interpreting the Bible is given to the Church.
The Church is the only authority that can give authentic interpretation of scripture.
- This is because Church leaders are seen to be inspired by the Holy Spirit.
The council of Vatican II formally declared that Sacred Tradition is seen as binding authority on moral life.

Natural law

The Catholic Church also draws on natural law as a method of ethical decision-making.
- ‘To the Church belongs the right always and everywhere to announce moral principles'. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, para. 2032)
With this authority comes the assertion that there are moral absolutes: some things are simply wrong or right.
Humans are weak and sinful and so cannot rely on themselves to make moral decisions properly. The Bible and Church are required.
Catholics use reason alongside the Bible and Sacred Tradition in natural law ethics.

Reason & conscience

Reason is understood as a gift from God to enable humanity to access God’s revelation.
The most important area in ethics is understanding natural law as put forward by St. Thomas Aquinas.
- Aquinas said that we use the conscience to reason what is right to do. In doing so, we identify the secondary precepts of natural law.
In the 19^th century, John Henry Newman said that conscience has more authority than even the Pope (i.e. the Church).
- This is because having a conscience predates the Church’s existence.

Bible, Church & Reason as Authority for Christian Ethics

The common understanding of the Anglican Church is that Church tradition relates both to the practices and beliefs of the first Christians to current traditions in the Church.

Bible & Church

In Anglican ethics, the Bible comes first but it is not the only source of understanding.
Influences from the Bible and Church tradition are often combined.
- This may be when making moral decisions, or decisions about practices within the Church.

Church & moralilty

Over 2,000 years, the Church has interpreted the Bible and this interpretation should guide people in their moral lives.
Churches are often governed by councils or synods that guide people in how to live.
- The Church is the bridge between the 1^st century and today and its journey is as important as the journey of the 1^st Christians.

Reason

Reason is also required to understand the Bible in an ever-changing world.
But, it is also important to understand reason as trying to establish what would be in the Bible if it were being written today.
The Bible can speak into current situations if appropriately analysed.
Many protestants emphasise the importance of both:
- Studying the Bible through Bible study groups.
- Engaging in private reflection and listening to preaching.