BUILDING YOUR THEOLOGY
PREPARATION FOR LESSON 4
AUTHORITY IN THEOLOGY

Those of us who live in the United States know that we are basically subject to at least three governments: a county government, a state government, and the federal government (many of us are also subject to a city government). Many other nations also have multiple layers of government. In the United States, each of these levels of government has its own courts, and most levels of government have multiple levels of courts within their court systems.

Now, all governments pass laws, but as we know, not all laws are good laws. In the United States, a law is expected to conform to the dictates of the Constitution, which was written back in 1787 (and amended many times since). The problem is that not everyone agrees as to what the Constitution actually means; different courts have different understandings of what is “constitutional.” Court cases challenging the Constitution can go on for many years, working their way up through the various levels of government and the various levels of courts within those governments. Sometimes cases are settled in low-level courts. Other cases are appealed to higher courts. Some cases eventually find their way to the Supreme Court of the United States. Once this court has spoken on the “constitutionality” of a law, the decision is final. The only way this can change is if the Court reverses itself. The court is called “Supreme” because it is the final, ultimate authority.

Theology is much like this. There are many different Christian theologies that one may encounter. And as we’ve seen, Christians may disagree as to whether a particular belief can be considered “Christian.” Disputes like these have continued for many years, even centuries; some continue today. But it is also true that many issues have been “settled” (such as the statements in the Apostles’ Creed).

Dr. Richard L. Pratt, Jr.

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In this lesson we are going to examine the way the Church has dealt with the issue of authority in three periods of its history. There are three sections to the lesson:

Medieval Catholicism
Early Protestantism
Contemporary Protestantism

In preparation for this lesson, read Acts 15:1-35. Write down what this has to teach us about ecclesiastical authority. What was the issue they were debating? Who participated in the meeting? What was their decision? What importance was given to their decision?

Goals and Objectives of Lesson 4

GOALS

In this lesson, we would like to accomplish the following:

1. We hope you will gain confidence in your own position regarding authority in theology.

2. We hope you will make use of all the resources and activities of the lesson to understand key historical positions regarding ecclesiastical authority in the task of theology.

3. We hope you make some changes in your life as a response to the teachings of this lesson.

OBJECTIVES

When you have done the following, it will show that the goals are met:

1. Use all the resources and complete all the written assignments of the lesson, expressing your own position regarding authority in theology, but at the same showing respect for different views.

2. Obtain satisfactory grades on the automatically graded activities of the lesson, demonstrating that you can identify and distinguish key concepts regarding authority in theology during three periods: medieval Roman Catholicism, early Protestantism, and contemporary Protestantism.

3. Answer the application questions in the study guides, in which you demonstrate how you have applied the teachings of the lesson to your own life.

"Instructions for Lesson 4"

Carefully read the "Instructions for Lesson 4." You may want to print them out so that you can refer to them as you proceed through the assignments.

If you need a little reminder of how to do the assignments, go back to the instructions of lesson one and read the "General Instructions for Assignments" again.