See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/374448999

The Authority and Sources of Theology

Preprint · August 2022

CITATIONS READS
0 1,510

1 author:

Moses Adeleke Adeoye

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Moses Adeleke Adeoye on 05 October 2023.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Convener
Moses Adeleke ADEOYE

INTRODUCTION

The formulation of today’s theology is to know how people in the past talked about God, and what the

source of their knowledge of God was. A fresh search for God’s words and acts is inevitable in every

generation for a living and relevant theology. Alister McGrath says that theology is talking about God.

He also says that we should recognize the fact that the word ‘God’ is understood differently in different

religious traditions which makes it more complicated to understand. The Bible is not a systematic

theology book. It contains theology within its pages, but not necessarily in the format, we would like to

have. The Bible is the story of God’s interaction with humanity, and it is sometimes a messy story

involving cultures that are foreign to us. Great care needs to be taken when deriving our theology from the

Bible to separate the content of the theology from the context of the culture in which it was written. If our

tradition, reason, or experience appears to be at odds with the Bible, we should give precedence to the

Bible. It may be that we have misunderstood what the Bible is teaching us. But it will always be true.

Alister McGrath, an atheist scientist turned Anglican Minister and Oxford Christian theologian lists four

sources of Christian theology: The Bible ("Scripture"), tradition, reason, and Christian experience. This

agrees with the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, a methodology for theological reflection credited to John

Wesley, a forerunner of today’s Pentecostalism. Most Protestant groups today agree with this

classification of theological sources. Cappadocian fathers also accepted Scripture, the tradition of the

Apostles as well as Greek philosophy as the sources of their theology. Even though the Bible has been

accepted as the principal source of theologizing since the beginning of Christian history some
engagement with newer areas of knowledge has become necessary in the historical process of

theologizing. For example, Schleiermacher, who is sometimes acclaimed as the father of modern

theology, has claimed that theology is built upon the shared experiences of the believing community in

the context of their culture. He also insisted that theology requires an engagement with reason, as well as

an explication of God about other cultures and thought forms.

SOURCE

There are many sources that people use for developing their theology, some good, some not so good,

and some that are downright terrible. The Wesleyan Quadrilateral describes four of these sources:

Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience. While some use other sources, I believe this one does a

good job of grouping our primary sources. John Calvin like Origen and Luther wrote commentaries

on most books of the Bible and claimed that Scripture is the sole source for theology, authority and

practices in the life of the Church.

The first major source of theology is Scripture. Scripture is recognized as authoritative for Christian

theology. Most Christians agree with the authority of Scripture because this is a foundational Christian

theology. Also, God comes to us through Scripture. It is the foundation and norm for all Christian

preaching and teaching. The second major source of theology is the reason. This assumed exceptional

importance, and the significance of reason for Christian theology has always been recognized. The third

major source is tradition. Tradition is the consensual belief of the Church that began to be developed in

the second and third centuries. Theology is based upon Scripture, and tradition refers to a traditional way

of interpreting Scripture. The fourth major source of theology is experience. Experience is the human

experience, not personal experience, particularly the religious experience in the Christian community.

Experience is the most uncomfortable and unclear source. Nevertheless, experience has to provide a

foundational source for Christian theology, and Christian theology provides an interpretive outline

2
within human experience. The author mentions “ecofeminism.” Ecofeminism is a social and political

movement somewhere between environmentalism and feminism. However, this is not the full human

experience but only this one particular experience. Furthermore, it is not a religious experience.

MEANING OF KEYWORDS

Revelation: is from the Greek word “Apokalupsis” which means to unveil”, “to uncover” or to reveal.

The revelation was declared a form of myth, story or metaphor. Classical Christian usage refers to the

act of God’s self-disclosure to humanity and the knowledge of God. It was conceived as expressing a

language of moral intention rather than conveying information about God as a metaphysical reality.

Scripture: The Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to us in our life with Christ, containing all that

we need to be mature and complete believers. Scripture remained the source of the knowledge of God in

its oral stage and later in its written form, redacted by scholars from the collective God experience of the

faithful in their historical pilgrimage and revised in later years for clarity and relevance. The Scripture

contains all the teachings necessary for salvation and the Christian life.

Theology: Theology is the systematic study of the ideas of religion including their sources, historical

development, mutual relationship and life application. Theology is the progress of exploration and

thinking that leads to the interpretation of doctrines. Theology is progress rather than the result. The

result is doctrine.” Good theology draws upon several sources.

Tradition: The Wesleyan Quadrilateral does not use tradition to refer to our practices with the church.

Instead, it is referring to the teachings of the church. The Bible does not directly contain the teachings of

the Trinity that the church holds today. The doctrine of the Trinity was developed over a long period to

express truths that are contained within the Scriptures. The doctrine of the Trinity comes to us from

tradition. The dual nature of Christ, the fundamental role of the atonement, Calvinism, Arminianism,

3
various views of eschatology, and other doctrines that sometimes divide us are largely a product of

tradition.

Faith & Reason: Faith indicates an attitude of trust or confidence which indicates intellectual

acceptance of and personal commitment to truth (as it is perceived by reason). Reason indicates the

whole mind of a man operating using logical inference. Faith uses reason in apprehending and applying

truth, and reason employs faith in accepting the data upon which it works. Indeed, it is itself an act of

faith that leads us to assume that any truth “outside” us can be apprehended rationally. It is possible

therefore to say that science depends on acts of faith. Reason presupposes certain laws of thought, the

truth of which is self-evident while faith presupposes that its object or ground is self-evident.

Religious Experience: is the umbrella term used by theologians for the varied encounters with God, and

for the awareness of God that comes through faith to the people of Israel, New Testament Christians,

and us today. In this sense, experiences of God are indispensable resources for theology. J.G. Davies

says: “It is misleading to speak of religious experience as something distinct from ordinary experience”,

for the latter possesses a dimension of holiness. The inward life of a human being is touched and

transformed by an experience of God in all aspects of life, even the most mundane and ordinary.1

AUTHORITY

Authority is the right or power to require obedience. Church Fathers like Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen

and others often referred to the presence of a rule of faith in the Early Church that served as the ultimate

authority on Christian faith. This rule of faith contained the Scripture and Apostolic Tradition. In the

later Roman Catholic Church, there emerged a “sacred tradition” which included the Bible as well as the

dogmas of the Church, which were declared as binding by the magisterium (teaching authority) of the

Church. The Orthodox Church acknowledges a “living tradition” comprising the Bible, the doctrines of

1
J. Macquarrie, Principles of Christian Theology. 2nd Ed. New York: Scribners, 1977, pp5-7.
4
the Councils as well as the teachings of the saints. Christianity was made relevant for each generation by

the continuing or the progressive theological tradition which dealt with the questions of contemporary

culture. The Reformation, beginning with Martin Luther, advocated a move back to the Patristic

emphasis on Scripture as the substance of theology. For Luther, the only authority for saving knowledge

has been the Scripture, as his doctrine of sola scriptura attests. It is in the Scripture alone the revelation

of God takes place. For Luther, every book of Scripture is “gospel” so far as it points to Christ and is

interpreted accordingly as “who he is, what he did, said and suffered.”

SOURCES

Scripture:

Scripture (Old and New Testaments) is considered to be the primary authoritative source of Christian

Theology. The Church looks at Scripture as the record of God’s revelation and as the faith experience of

the Israelites and accepts it as the normative source of faith. According to a few doctrines and teachings,

Scripture is needed to nurture and reform the Church. For many Protestants, the Bible is “Norma

normalized non-normal”, the norm that judges every other norm but is not judged by others. Most

protestant theologians cling to the idea of “Sola Scriptura”, but some Roman Catholic theologians argue

that the written and vocal traditions of the church also have equal authority. It’s important to remember

that Christianity is a religion which is constructed and based on history and Scripture is the source that

speaks of that history. In this sense, scripture becomes a very important source for Christian theology.

“Scripture contains a unique origin – a deposit whose special qualities are due to its inspired origins, and

which is to be handed down through the ages by an authoritative teaching tradition.”2 Scripture is not a

single book.

2
P. C. Hodgson, R. H. King, Christian Theology; an introduction to its tradition and tasks,
Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985, p62.
5
The diversity in it enhances its value. This same diversity enhances the value of the bible to the Church.3

Scriptures are written in different cultures, languages, and social contexts. The more we know about the

text, context and the ancient world, the more we can interpret the text and it enhances our range of

understanding. There should always be a responsible interpretation of the Scripture. If we do not handle

the diversity of views in the Scripture, it leads to misguidance and misinterpretation. What is the role of

the scripture? Scripture shapes a person’s faith firmly so that s/he can be transformed. Scripture gives

the platform for any religion to stand and sustain. The value of scripture nowadays is deteriorating either

due to over or underestimating it. The meaning of the scripture is mistaken and people are failing to

apply it in the right way. Scripture is authoritative because it was considered the inspired word of God.

Philo of Alexandria regarded scripture as fully inspired writing and regarded that God used authors of

scriptural books as passive instruments for communicating the divine will.

Christian Community came to a consensus and gave some limits to the text deciding which of these

writings can be regarded as “Scriptural” and hence they became authoritative for Christian Theology.

Jerome and the 16th-century reformers argued that the only Old Testament writings that can be

considered part of the canon of Scripture are those which are in the Hebrew Bible.4 The authority of the

Scriptures is derived ultimately from the authority of Jesus Christ who is the definitive revelation of

God.”5 These scriptures are written by authors who are guided by the Holy Spirit and are also subject to

the influence of various things around them. So, we have to understand the fact that Scriptures cannot be

taken literally as the Word of God but should recognize the fact that Scripture contains the Word of

God.

Tradition:

3
D. H. Kelsey, The Uses of Scripture in recent Theology, London: SCM Press Ltd, 1975, p96.
4
A. E. McGrath, Christian Theology; An Introduction, Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers, 1994, p163.
5
K. Pathil, D. Veliath, An Introduction to Theology, Bangalore: India, 2007, p54.
6
Tradition means ‘Handing Over’ derived from the Latin word ‘Traditio’. It can either mean the action of

passing teaching to the other or the body of teachings passed. Tradition can be understood as a process

as well as a body of teaching. Tradition deals with the process of passing something from one age to the

other and also with something that is already passed on. An active Tradition passes the Good News to

the end of time. From a Christian perspective, Tradition is what the church has passed down over time.

Tradition has always been a synonym for the Church’s past. It is said that Protestants became Protestants

and Catholics became Catholics because of what was passed on to them.6 David Kelsey says that “it is a

process that embraces both the Church’s use of scripture and the presence of God which, in dialectical

inter-relationship, are together essential to the church’s self-identity”7

Tradition complements Scripture. To guard against false teachings of Scripture, for almost anything can

be read into Scripture, some guidelines are to be proposed. Sometimes some enthusiasts break with

tradition for the sake of being modern. Tradition cannot be accepted as it is. We have to “sift tradition

with care before use.” Words and actions may take new meaning over time while shedding facts of their

original significance. So, there should be a revised interpretation which can apply to the present context.

Sometimes, tradition can also become dead and mechanical. Interpretation, therefore, needs to be done

over and over again. Each generation has to appropriate the tradition. For this, it has to interpret the

ancient formula into its categories of thought. “Tradition is used to name, not something the Church

uses, but something the church is.” The Scripture itself is also considered a tradition since it has been the

activity of passing on the gospel to generations.

McGrath says “Tradition is not merely something that is handed down but an active process of reflection

by which theological or spiritual insights are valued, assured and transmitted from one generation to

6
H. W. Stone, J. O. Duke, How to Think Theologically, Minneapolis: Fortress press, 1996, p49.
7
D. H. Kelsey, The Uses of Scripture in recent Theology, London: SCM Press Ltd, 1975, p95
7
another.”8It refers to theological reflection and the process of handing on the church’s way of life and

beliefs from one generation to the other. It is an active process by which theological and spiritual

insights are valued, assessed and transmitted.

Experience:

Experience is an important authoritative source of Theology. Christian theology is concerned with

human experience which is common to humanity. Theological reflection makes use of resources derived

from experiences. According to Martin Luther’s “Theology of Cross”, experience is of vital importance

to theology; without experience, theology is impoverished and deficient, an empty shell waiting to be

filled. Yet experience cannot be regarded as a reliable theological resource; it must be interpreted and

corrected by theology.9 Experiences also contribute to the understanding of our faith. Schleiermacher

says that “the form of experience varies from individual to individual and from one community to

another. Theology aims to interpret the experience of the individuals.” Christian theology provides an

interpretive framework within which human experience may be interpreted. McGrath calls the

experience “An accumulated body of knowledge, arising through first–hand encounter with life.”

Experience often serves as a reality check against false and overblown theological assertions. When

theological moments fail to address issues regarding the experience of individuals, Experience becomes

the critique of Scripture and Tradition. It did not dominate other sources in history but now it has

achieved a unique kind of dominance.

Attention to the Christians’ experiences in various social locations is one of the ways to test the

theological understandings that we come to hold. Several Liberation theologies refer to and privilege a

specific content of experience where the focus is on the collective struggle of people against domination,

8
A. E. McGrath, Christian Theology; an Introduction, Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers, 1994, p188.
9
A. E. McGrath, Christian Theology; an Introduction, Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers, 1994,
pp192-195.
8
exclusion, etc. Experiences like these provide a fresh framework for theological interpretation and will

also expose the biases and vested interests behind the interpretation of texts and traditions.

Revelation:

Revelation is a basic concept of the Bible, Christian faith and instruction. Revelation (from Latin

revelatio) as a religious concept emphasizes the thought that a person can only learn to know God to the

extent that God reveals Himself. Revelation means an action of God in which God reveals His essence,

His plans and His will to people. On the other hand, it also means knowledge of God which is relayed to

a person through God’s actions. Humans belong to the realm of this life and are bound to time and place.

God, meanwhile, is beyond the boundaries of place and time (transcendental), omnipresent, existing in

and of himself (Exod. 3:14). The subject of revelation is God. Humans are the object, the recipients of

the revelation. God is the initiator even when people seek God. God has not left people in darkness, but

rather reveals Himself and draws people unto Him through His everlasting love (Jer. 31:3). Revelation is

effectively the unveiling of a hidden mystery, a truth inaccessible to reason beyond human intellect.

When something, which is hidden from us or unknown to us, is made known or shown. Revelation is

when God breaks into our lives, in a different order.

It is extremely difficult to describe this with language and when writers describe these experiences, it

often seems like fantastic talk, extremely extravagant language. Some examples of a revelation: (i)

Revelation through visions and, dreams (ii) Revelation through the Prophets (iii) Through Historical

Events (iv) Through Signs and Wonders e.g.: Moses (Exodus 4) (v) Through Nature (Job 38: 4) (vi)

Through Angels (Luke) (vii) Through God’s Word (viii) Through the Incarnation/through miracles

(Luke 5: 8). The revelation has traditionally been divided into the general and special revelations. The

concept of “general revelation” (revelatio generalis) indicates that this form of revelation is known by all

people. Special revelation (revelatio specialis) means God’s supernatural revelation which occurs

9
through Christ and God’s Word. Special revelation can be divided into direct and indirect revelation.

Direct revelation (inspiratio) means the revelation that the writers of the Bible had. The foundation of

indirect revelation is the written Word of God, the Bible. (1) General revelation: Shows more of God’s

person and character is revealed in nature, so that by contemplating nature; man can have a true

knowledge of God. (2) Special revelation: The Bible claims to be a direct revelation to a man from

God. Christian belief in the Bible requires us to find and systematize the teachings found there. Special

Revelation- the revelation since the Fall that God provides in addition to the general revelation that is

“saving knowledge” of God. What is special redemptive revelation? The history of God's redemptive,

revelatory activity: (1) this is a history that has reached its consummation in Christ. (2) This history has

received its revelatory explanation from the Scriptures.

ROLE OF REVELATION AS A SOURCE OF THEOLOGY

We must recognize the function scripture has in revelation. These facets are the leading function of

Biblical revelation: (1) more pointedly, redemptive character: it is a redemptive revelation and of crucial

significance in a world order corrupted by sin. Biblical revelation has a unique, crucial significance. (2)

The Bible Alone is Uniquely Linguistic and verbal in character. This is revealed in genuine human

language. In the concrete situation, we find ourselves in God’s revelation, Scripture performs its leading

function and stands out as the purist exemplification of theology, the purist instance of the speaking of

God: the divine speaking of God. The general revelation does not lead a person to true knowledge of

God or salvation. At its best, it can lead to superficial knowledge of God, but without the special

revelation of the gospel – a person always remains in unbelief and hopelessness. The person’s

conscience can be cleansed and freed only when God acts through the special revelation. Faith is born

from hearing the gospel, when God in His grace, renews a person’s innermost. Therein the essence of

God approaches a person and the person enters unity with God.

10
At the centre of God’s special revelation is the proclamation of His Holy, righteous and saving love and

its fulfilment. The revelation winds through the Holy Scriptures as a unified message and its centre is

Christ. That is why the Holy Scriptures must be examined through Christ. For a person, the purpose of

this revelation is that the person can become a partaker of God’s righteousness. This happens in the faith

of the heart in the fellowship of God’s kingdom. The special revelation is not open to human

understanding. The birth of faith is always the work of the Holy Spirit. “I believe that I cannot of my

reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me

through the Gospel, enlightened me by His gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in the true faith, even

as He calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and preserves it in

union with Jesus Christ in the true faith” (Luther’s Small Catechism, 3rd Article of Creed). A person

cannot become convinced of God and His grace using his or her rational mind. The birth of faith is a

miracle of new birth that surpasses understanding; it is caused by the Holy Spirit.

In terms of its contents, the revelation of God is perfect in Christ and His atonement work. Jesus was the

fulfilment of the revelation. Did the revelation end in Him or does it continue, and if so, how?

According to the Roman Catholic understanding, the revelation continues in the form of church

tradition. The Lutheran understanding, however, is that God’s Word contains within it the fulfilled

revelation. The revelation no longer continues. The idea of a continuing revelation leads to relativism, a

worldview in which all truths and values are relative. According to the Bible, the fullness of the

Godhead was in Christ (Col. 1:19). If one demands more than this, the person does not understand that

Christ is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15). He is God’s perfect revelation.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, a Christian theology out of Scripture and points to Jesus Christ, is generally consistent

with the consensual tradition of Christian thought, and is logically coherent with other Christian beliefs

11
 and illumines the shared experience of Christians.” Good theology is reasonable. It also speaks from a

biblical understanding of God, humans, and the Creation. Good theology is not fixed on a single

Christian belief. Good theology does not break a balance, it speaks effectively to all. In addition, good

theology tells every portion of human experience. It includes economics, science, philosophy, politics,

history, and so on. Most of all, Jesus is the main character and hero in good theology. This article does

not show us a good balance among these sources well, and also it is not easy to understand.

Nevertheless, this article is centred on Jesus Christ as the main character and hero. Hence, this article

holds enough qualifications to be called good theology.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adegbite, D.D. A Concise Theological & Philosophical Dictionary Bethel Institute publication,
Gbongan, Osun State. Nigeria, 2015.
Bruce, M. Know the Truth. A Handbook of Christian Belief. Forwarded Parker, J.I., Inter-Varsity Press,
1982
Demarest, B.A. General Revelation, Historical Views and Contemporary Issues. Grand Rapids, MI,
1982
Henry, C.F.H. God, Revelation and Authority, 1 & 2. Word Books, 1976

Hodgson, P. C. & King, R.H. Christian Theology: an introduction to its tradition and tasks,
Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985.
Kelsey, D. The Uses of Scripture in Recent Theology, London: SCM Press Ltd, 1975.

Macquarrie, J. Principles of Christian Theology, 2nd Ed. New York: Scribners, 1977.

McGrath, A.E. Christian Theology; An Introduction. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers, 1994.

Pathil, K. & Veliath, D. An Introduction to Theology Bangalore: Theological publications in India, 2007.

Stone, H.W. & Duke, J. O. How to Think Theologically, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996

12

View publication stats