The evaluation of the four sources that influence Christian theology seems to be directly connected to Christian spirituality. When elevating the four sources it is difficult to say which is most important because each source will affect the individual believer differently. In saying that, scripture is the primary source of Christian theology while the other sources assist in the believers understanding of God’s intent and will. Through scripture, God has revealed His word to believers in order teaches, rebuke, and correct our behavior until we have taken His image.
McGrath (2011) also notes that like most disciplines, Christian theology draws upon a number of sources including scripture, tradition, reason, and religious experiences. In order to show the importance of these sources in regards to Christian theology, an analysis evaluating scripture, tradition, reason, and religious experiences will be discussed. This evaluation will speak on the limitation of these sources and their importance to Christian theology and the individual believer. Lastly, the relationship between philosophy and Christianity will be discussed noting some of the positive and negative aspects of this relationship.
Scripture
McGrath (2011) begins the discussion concerning scripture showing the relationship or the interchangeability between the terms Bible, Biblical, scripture, and scriptural. McGrath understanding of these terms are consistent with John 1:1 that the Word and God are synonymous is both meaning and authority. Scripture influences theology within its different genres, poetry, prophecy, narratives and epistles, and languages, parallelism, similes, metaphors and imagery. These genres comprise the Old and New testament, which is a vital source of Christian theology because it explains the nature of the religion and the life of a Christian. The limitations scriptures have as a source deals with the language barrier between author and interpreters and the canonization...