Biblical Authority in Christian Ethics

Throughout time biblical scriptures have been interpreted differently by different religions, scholar’s, and languages. Many theologians have provided different interpretations based off their mentors and time they lived. Using works from the Sacra Pagina Series, Norton Bible scriptures, and excerpts from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and teaching of John Calvin this essay will show the vast differences of interpretations in just one biblical scripture let alone throughout the entire bible and its many interpretations.

The Old Testament books are written in many different literary styles such as historical, prophetic, or biographical. Between the Old and New Testaments there were four hundred years during which time books were not written. As the New Testament begins, it starts with four books commonly known as the Gospels. These gospels are a biography of the life and works of Jesus Christ himself. The remainder of the Bible contains mostly letters to various people and churches throughout Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy. These are letters of encouragement to the early churches of the world and many Christians who may have been imprisoned or in captivity in several countries. Still one question that plagues the minds of several modern day Christians is, how did the modern day Bible come to be? The Old Testament had been decided upon long ago. Elders in the Jewish church met and decided 39 different books in all. These books had been written over the span of several centuries and became what is today known as the Old Testament. The New Testament was somewhat similar. During the time shortly after Jesus, there was controversy over the books that were truly from God and those that were not. The early church hierarchy settled this dispute during the second, third and fourth centuries. During this time, councils, consisting of church elders, met periodically to determine which books had true divine inspiration and which were frauds. In the mid-fourth century, the New

When studying the Bible, it is important to understand its origins; for me, I I have become enlightened, but troubled after learning about the subject. I found the unit, as a whole, very important and a positive experience for me. But, with this comes much apprehension and confusion as to the strength of the Bible.

In order to be declared acceptable to be included within the canon there are specific criteria that are considered for the Old Testament. One of the first questions asked by the curious reader is, “Who authored the Old Testament?” The easy and most appropriate answer to that important question is God. That is to say that the Bible is divinely inspired and is an important, the most important, criterion for acceptance into the canon (Detweiler, 1985).ne can look to 2 Timothy 3:16 for confirmation, “all of scripture is God-breathed’ (NIV). Evidence is found in scripture itself. For instance

Under the doctrine of biblical inerrancy, in what sense is the Bible authoritative? This is a question that has plagued the minds of many as a major element of historic Christian belief about Scripture as well as been a controversial topic of academic discussions. One of the major areas of conflict in the theological arena has been biblical authority as noted in

The Bible is a collection of texts sacred to Jews and Christians. Judaism and Christianity may both use the word Bible, however the texts included in their respective collections differ.

The Bible is one of the greatest piece of literature. It is composed of 66 individual books, however it has no official author. The bible was written by different authors within the time frame of 1500 years. The individual books were gradually collected into one. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary literature is a piece of written work that is considered to be very good and to have lasting importance. The bible has poems, proses, and narratives. It also has a metaphorical way and inability of tracing the reading. It is a subject of more art and theory for those who live within its influence, will ever know. Biblical allusions can propose a degree of seriousness or significance that modern fiction does not always support.

This paper is a review of the book, Reviving Evangelical Ethics: The Promises and Pitfalls of Classic Models of Morality by Wyndy Corbin Reuschling. This book addresses the misconceptions of Christian ethics and why it needs to be revived. Reuschling writes as a Christian social ethicist who understand the language, the communities, the commitments, and the moral and spiritual practices valued in evangelicalism.

No matter which time period we look back into, society has largely opposed the ethical standards of the Bible. Since the beginning of time, with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, man has disobeyed God. Only a few generations after the Creation, man had become so wicked that God destroyed all but one family. Each era since the Flood has had a level of disobedience and opposition to the Bible’s standards. Some have held closely to those standards. Some have been blatantly opposed. The society in which we live today in America is not only blatantly opposed, but takes great satisfaction in mocking those who hold close to the Bible. These groups of people want their standards to be those of all society.

Bible as the Inspired Word of God The Bible is the work of various authors, who lived in different continents and wrote in different eras. Furthermore, much of the text does not claim to have been 'dictated' by God and is not always God speaking to people. In parts it consists of people speaking to God, as in the Psalms, and people speaking to people, as in the New Testament letters written by Paul. In light of this, some maintain that it is not possible to treat the Bible as a book of divine oracles, delivered once by God and recorded by its authors through divine inspiration, since biblical authors were products of their time and subsequently their understanding of divine truth was culturally

H. I. Hester writes in his book entitled The Heart of the New Testament, “The term “canon” as applied to accepted authoritative Christian writing was first used in Alexandria, Egypt. In modern usage the term canon means the list of biblical books which are recognized as inspired by the Holy Spirit and authoritative.” The stories contained in the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible are of paramount importance to the faith and spiritual development of every Christian alive today. Human minds may never completely understand all that is contained in Holy Writ but this research paper will also attempt to shed some light on some of the factors that help determine what biblical books are considered canon today.

Scripture, the saving revelation of God in Jesus Christ, addresses us with full divine authority in its total extent and in all its parts, and therefore the CRC speaks of the Bible as the inspired and infallible Word of God.

The Bible is not a book of religions or rituals. Rather, the Bible is a library of 66 books—39 of which are known as the Old Testament and 27 books referred to as the New Testament—that reveals God’s divine plan of redemption, reconciliation, salvation, restoration and renewal of the whole world. The Bible can be read as a great literature, or as a history of Israel, or as a source of theological information. Though it is all of these things, none of them does full justice to Scripture as being authoritative. God has all authority, and we accept the Bible as the primary authority by which God communicates to us what He wants us to believe and to do. N.T. Wright’s book theorizes that Scripture is authoritative in that “the authority of

The bible was written as an account of what many viewed that God had accomplished so his actions and words could be passed on for generations. Some believe it is a literary account and some believe it is a historical account. The word of God in the bible comes in many forms and is left up to interpretation by the reader. Some believe that the word of God should be the only word and should be strictly followed. Some believe that the words are meant as a guideline to help us through life. Whatever your belief is you can always seem to find the meaning behind your belief through the word of God in the Bible.

Yes, I agree that the Bible is a divine-human book. God uses various authors and genres over an extended time period to bring His Word to humankind. Though this special book has several authors and is written over a considerable time span, the completed book is still one with a cohesive message regardless of the fact that it had multiple authors in different societal structures, political climates and time periods. God allowed these authors to capture the revelations that He gave through His Spirit and preserve it throughout the generations. Additionally, the Bible has not only been substantiated by ancient sources, modern day archeological findings, but also by the prophecies that have been fulfilled and are still being fulfilled today.