World Religions

Introduction to World Religions Study Guide

©2018 Achieve Page 65 of 96 Nontrinitarians Nontrinitarians refers to those who reject the doctrine of the Trinity. This is a small minority of Christians. There are various nontrinitarian views, such as adoptionism or modalism, which existed in early Christianity; this led to disputes about Christology. Nontrinitarianism appeared later in Gnosticism of the Cathars in the 11 th - 13 th centuries and in the Age of Enlightenment and in some groups during the Great Awakening of the 19 th century. 7.4 Scriptures Christianity has adherents whose beliefs and biblical interpretations vary. The Biblical canon is the Old and New Testament, and is the inspired word of God. The traditional view is that God worked through the human authors in order to produce what God wanted to communicate. Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox interpretations Two senses of scripture are distinguished in Catholicism: the literal and the spiritual. The literal sense of understanding is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture. The spiritual sense is further divided into: *The symbolic sense. For example, the parting of the Red Sea is a type of baptism *The moral sense. For example, the Scripture contains some ethical teachings *Eternity and the consummation of the world Regarding the following of the rules of sound interpretation, Catholic theology holds: *The injunction that all other sense of sacred scripture is based on the literal *That the historicity of the Gospels must be absolutely and constantly held *That Scripture must be read within the “living tradition of the whole Church” *That “the task of interpretation has bene entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome” Regarding the Following of the Rules of Protestantism Protestants believe the Bible is self-sufficient and is all that one needs to know – sola scriptura. Ordinary believers can understand the Bible and the scriptures because they are clear with the help of the Holy Spirit. Martin Luther believed that without the help from God, one would be “enveloped in darkness” when trying to understand the Bible. John Calvin stated that, “All who…follow the Holy Spirit as their guide find in the Scripture a clear light.” The Second Helvetic Confession, compiled by the pastor of the Reformed church in Zurich, was regarded as a declaration of doctrine by most European Reformed Churches.