Revealed Knowledge in the Bible & Church
Religious Studies: OCR A Level, topic 3.3.3
Revealed Knowledge of God Through the Bible & Church
For all Christians, the Bible tells the story of salvation history. The Catholic Church thinks that God has not left us with just the Bible, but a Church
Salvation
- In Christianity, salvation is the saving of human beings from death and separation from God through Christ's death on the cross and resurrection.
- Salvation is also called deliverance or redemption.
- It is clear throughout the Bible that God speaks to his people directly.
- This is through visions and the work of key figures.
- God becomes known to people in the Bible through his direct revelation to them.
Direct revelation
- A Biblical example of direct, immediate revelation is that of St Paul, whose previous name was Saul.
- Saul travelled to Damascus to arrest Christians there.
- As he did so, Jesus appeared from the heavens in a flash of bright light to ask him why he was persecuting the Christians.
- He was struck blind and Saul proceeded to Damascus where he fasted and prayed.
- In a vision, Jesus told his disciple Anania to find Saul and restore his sight.
Direct revelation continued
- Ananias was skeptical, as he knew Saul hated Christians and would probably punish him.
- But Ananias went anyway and did what he was told.
- Saul's sight was restored and he became a disciple of the religion he sought to destroy.
- He took the name Paul, to signify a new start in his life.
- Paul became a pivotal figure in the Christian church. He wrote over half of the New Testament.
- Through Paul, many Christians gain revelation of God through the Bible and Paul’s stories and letters.
Interpreting the Bible
- Different Christians interpret the Bible differently.
- Fundamental Christians will take the Bible as the Word of God that cannot be wrong.
- They will take the Genesis story as a literal account of creation.
- Other Christians will see the Bible as an inspired text that still holds authority.
- But, they may see the Bible as an account of how God has worked through the lives of different people.
Church
- The Catholic Church thinks that God has not left us with just the Bible, but a Church. - The Church is the ‘Body of Christ’, which passes on truths and teachings from one generation to the next.
- In 325 AD the Bishops of the Church met at Nicaea to discuss what the official teachings of the Church should be.
- They eventually came up with the Nicene Creed.
- This sets out numerous Catholic beliefs, including those about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit
- The Church believes that the Nicene Creed is revealed truth from God.
- This is because the Holy Spirit is believed to guide and inspire the leaders of the Church in their decisions.
- The Catholic Church believes that there is a combination of sources of Christian truth.
- In addition to the Bible, there is the continuing inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
- The Holy Spirit works within the Church to deliver fresh inspiration and teachings.
- The Holy Spirit does this through the Magisterium and the Pope to pass on to Catholics today.
Test yourself on Revealed Knowledge in the Bible & Church
What is the function of the Nicene Creed?
What do Catholics see as the ‘Body of Christ’?