What is faith? We have already seen that there are two senses of the word “faith”: a set of beliefs and an act of believing. This opening chapter considers some basic issues that lie behind any attempt to reflect on the contents of faith, including some reflections on the nature of faith, and the sources and methods that might be used to establish and explore basic Christian beliefs.
One of the central questions that will be considered in this opening chapter is how theology develops its ideas. Where do they come from? Traditionally, three main sources of Christian theology are recognized: the collection of texts usually known as “the Bible,” tradition, and reason. There is widespread agreement within the Christian tradition that the most fundamental source is the Bible. One of the most important questions in Christian theology therefore relates to the authority and interpretation of Scripture. (Note that many theological writings tend to use the term “Scripture” or “Holy Scripture” in preference to “the Bible,” even though these terms refer to exactly the same collection of writings.) Some of the readings assembled in this chapter deal directly with this issue.
However, from the earliest of times, it was realized that Scripture was open to a series of interpretations of varying degrees of reliability, some of which were not even remotely Christian. This insight is especially associated with the Gnostic controversies of the second century, during which Gnostic writers put forward some intensely speculative interpretations of Scripture. In response to this, writers such as Irenaeus emphasized the need to interpret Scripture within the bounds of the living tradition of the church. This led to growing interest in the way in which tradition was to be understood as a source for theology.
The role of reason has also featured prominently in Christian theological reflection. The early church witnessed an important discussion of the extent to which theology should interact with secular philosophy. This later developed into debates about whether the existence of God could be proved by an appeal to reason. The debate over the relation of faith and reason continues in contemporary theology, reflecting the church's ongoing dialogue with secular culture over the rationality of faith.
In this chapter, we shall consider a number of issues concerning the nature and sources of theology. We begin by looking at a classic discussion of the relation between Christian theology and secular philosophy, found in the writings of Augustine of Hippo.
1.1 Augustine of Hippo on the theological use of secular philosophy
One of the most divisive debates within early Christianity concerned the extent to which the church should make use of secular cultural ideas or values. It was a debate of immense significance, as it raised the question of whether Christianity would turn its back on the classical heritage, or appropriate it, even if in a modified form. As the Roman imperial authorities distrusted Christianity, often subjecting it to repressive controls, many early theologians saw little point in exploring this question. The third-century theologian Tertullian, for example, saw it as a waste of time. It is important to appreciate that Christianity had a decidedly ambiguous legal status in the Roman empire at this time. On the one hand, it was not legally recognized, and so did not enjoy any special rights; on the other, it was not forbidden. However, its growing numerical strength led to periodic attempts to suppress it by force. Sometimes these persecutions were local, restricted to regions such as North Africa; sometimes, they were sanctioned throughout the Roman empire as a whole.
Things changed with the conversion of the Roman emperor Constantine in 313, which opened the way to a much more positive evaluation of the relation of every aspect of Christian life and thought to classical culture. Rome was now the servant of the gospel; might not the same be true of its culture? If the Roman state could be viewed positively by Christians, why not also its cultural heritage? It seemed as if a door had opened upon some very interesting possibilities. Prior to 313, this situation could only have been dreamed of. After 313, its exploration became a matter of urgency for leading Christian thinkers – supreme among whom was Augustine of Hippo (354–430).
Widely regarded as the most influential Latin patristic writer, Augustine was converted to Christianity in the northern Italian city of Milan in the summer of 386. He returned to North Africa, and was made bishop of Hippo in 395. He was involved in two major controversies: the Donatist controversy, focusing on the church and sacraments; and the Pelagian controversy, focusing on grace and sin. He also made substantial contributions to the development of the doctrine of the Trinity, the Christian understanding of history, and – as in this passage – the theological appropriation of secular philosophy.
In his work On Christian Doctrine, Augustine argued for the “critical appropriation of classical culture.” For Augustine, the situation is comparable to Israel fleeing from captivity in Egypt at the time of the Exodus. Although they left the idols of Egypt behind them, they carried the gold and silver of Egypt with them, in order to make better and proper use of such riches, which were thus liberated in order to serve a higher purpose than before. In much the same way, the philosophy and culture of the ancient world could be appropriated by Christians, where this seemed right, and thus allowed to serve the cause of the Christian faith. Augustine clinched his argument by pointing out how several recent distinguished Christians had made use of classical wisdom in advancing the gospel.
Read the text slowly. Note how Augustine adopts a critical yet positive attitude to philosophy. It asserts some things which are true, and others which are false. It cannot be totally rejected on the one hand; on the other, neither can it be uncritically accepted.
Augustine affirms that Christians are free to make use of philosophical ideas, which can be detached from their pagan associations. Augustine's argument is that philosophical ideas can be extricated from their historical associations with the pagan culture which persecuted earlier generations of Christians. Although this persecution had ended nearly a century before Augustine's time, it was still an important theme in Christian thinking. Augustine's approach allowed a more positive attitude to the ideas and values of secular culture to be adopted.
Finally, notice how Augustine appeals to a series of distinguished Christians who were converted to Christianity from paganism, yet were able to make good use of their pagan upbringing in serving the church. Cyprian is of especial importance for Augustine, in that Cyprian had been martyred by the Romans in the third century. The fact he had made use of philosophy in this way is seen by Augustine as an important confirmation of his basic approach.
1.2 Vincent of Lérins on tradition and theology
The word “tradition” comes from the Latin term traditio which bears such senses as “handing over,” “handing down,” or “handing on.” At one level, it is a thoroughly biblical idea. Paul reminded his readers that he was handing on to them core teachings of the Christian faith which he had received from others (1 Corinthians 15:1–4). The term can refer both to the action of passing teachings on to others – something which Paul insists must be done within the church – and to the body of teachings which are passed on in this manner. Tradition can thus be understood as a process as well as a body of teaching. The Pastoral Epistles in particular stress the importance of “guarding the good deposit which was entrusted to you” (2 Timothy 1:14).
If any controversy served to emphasize the importance of tradition, it was the Gnostic debates of the second century. Faced with repeated assertions from his Gnostic critics that he had misrepresented the Bible, Irenaeus of Lyons (ca. 130–ca. 200) argued that they had simply chosen to interpret the Bible according to their own taste. What had been handed down, he insisted, was not merely the biblical texts, but a certain way of reading and understanding those texts.
Irenaeus’ point is that a continuous stream of Christian teaching, life, and interpretation can be traced from the time of the apostles to his own period. The church is able to point to those who have maintained the teaching of the church, and to certain public standard creeds which set out the main lines of Christian belief. This, he argues, contrasts with the secret and mystical teaching of the Gnostics, which is not available for public inspection, and which cannot be traced back to the apostles themselves. Tradition is thus the guarantor of faithfulness to the original apostolic teaching, a safeguard against the innovations and misrepresentations of biblical texts on the part of the Gnostics.
This point was further developed in the early fifth century by Vincent of Lérins, who was concerned that certain doctrinal innovations were being introduced without adequate reason. Writing in the year 434, Vincent (who died at an unknown date before 450) expressed his belief that the controversies of his age had given rise to dangerous theological innovations. But how could such doctrinal innovations be identified as such? There was a need to have public standards by which such doctrines could be judged. So what standard was available, by which the church could be safeguarded from such errors? For Vincent, the answer was clear – tradition.
Developing this point, Vincent set out a triple criterion by which authentic Christian teaching may be established: universality (being believed everywhere), antiquity (being believed always), and consensus (being believed by all people).
