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3.1 Authority in Interpretation A Survey of the History of Christianity JOHN LANGAN In one of his Oxford University sermons, preached in 1843 at the church of St. Mary the Virgin, John Henry Newman spoke as follows: Thus St. Mary is our pattern of Faith, both in the reception and in the study of Divine Truth. She does not think it enough to accept, she dwells upon it; not enough to possess, she uses it; not enough to assent, she develops it; not enough to submit the Reason, she reasons upon it; not indeed reasoning first, and believing afterwards, with Zacharias, yet first believing without reasoning, next from love and reverence, reasoning after believing. And thus she symbolizes to us, not only the faith of the unlearned, but of the doctors of the Church also, who have to investigate, and weigh, and define, as well as to profess the Gospel; to draw the line between truth and heresy; to anticipate or remedy the various aberrations of wrong reason; to combat pride and recklessness with their own arms; and thus to triumph over the sophist and the innovator.1 This passage is a very interesting reminder of the human need for interpretation and of the need of religious communities for authoritative resolution of the conflicting interpretations that arise within them. In what follows I offer a brief overview of these themes in the history of Christianity. First, however, we begin with some general observations about authority. Authority is a notion intrinsic to religion. It points us to a special weight, so to speak, that determines decisions, a weight in the depths of my life, deriving ultimately from God. Acknowledging this weight is, I suggest, one way to make sense of the attitude often expressed in contemporary Western culture that declares ‘‘I am spiritual but not religious.’’ I suggest that this is an attitude that will admit to spiritual interests and preferences, but that is not happy to be called religious in the sense of being bound or weighed down by a commitment to accept or obey a particular authority.2 This is a condition typical of many of our contemporaries. 107 108 Methods and Authority in Interpretation Authority is that to which I bow or bend the knee; it is that which guides my action and my thought. Authority is also a notion that crosses the boundaries between different disciplines, as well as boundaries between different ways of life. It features in law and politics; it applies to organizations, corporations, and governments; it is a prominent theme in different areas of study and policy. Authority is a capability that is discriminatory; it is used to guide choice among alternatives. It is also discretionary; it is not fully captured in a formula or rule. It is also socially recognized and as such can be powerful. Authority is a practical , juridical notion, giving its holder the ability to act, to decide, to constitute things; but at the same time, it is also an epistemic notion; we very often rely on authority in making our judgments. It gives us sources and models for our thinking. It gives us assurance; it is a capability that can provide guidance to self and to others. It can be contrasted with power on the one hand and with anarchy on the other. Authority often conflicts with conscience. It evokes various reactions of obedience or disobedience, acceptance or rejection, critical scrutiny or evasion, rebellion or conformity. We often think of authority as a power to command and to forbid. And it has, if we scrutinize it, a rather ambiguous relationship to persuasion and argument. We encounter exercises of authority that do not appear to be supported by argument; we can also encounter exercises of authority that disdain to stoop to persuasion. Authority can be located in a person, an office, a body or assembly of persons, an institution, a document, a book, a tradition. It is a notion that has strong normative content to it, and it forms part of any comprehensive moral and social order. We turn now from these general reflections on authority from the standpoint of moral and political philosophy to the more specific and very challenging question of the relationship between authority and Christianity. Here we have to start with the authority of God, Creator and Lord, source of law and ultimate judge, a being both transcendent and omniscient, one who prevails over the forces of evil and...

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