BY WHAT AUTHORITY?

Sub-titled 'The Vital Questions of Religious Authority in Christianity', the essays in this book address the central issue of authority in the Christian life. After the apostles Peter and John had healed the lame man at the Gate Beautiful, the two disciples were arrested and later brought before the Sanhedrin to account for their deed, one that continued to stir the already anxious leaders of the Jews: 'And when they had set them in their midst, they asked, 'By what power or by what name have ye done this?' (Acts 4:7). Indeed, what was the source of their miracle and by what power or authority did they perform it? Those queries ring through the centuries because people in our day still pose the questions. Most Christians want to be a part of a denomination or organisation that is true, faithful to what existed in the first century, authorised and therefore approved of God. In other words, they want to know that God is governing among his people, and that he is empowering the body of Christ of which they are a part. Jesus of Nazareth went about doing good - lifting and consoling the weary, enlarging the circle of the accepted and acceptable, demonstrating a willingness to be inconvenienced, and teaching the importance of loving God and loving one's fellow mortals. Jesus had authority to be sure, and the scriptures appear to attest to the fact that his representatives were given a similar authorisation and officiated in his name. They were given 'keys of the kingdom of heaven', but were they delivered to Peter alone, or to all of the Twelve? By what authority could Luther and other Reformers make the claim that the Roman Catholic apostolic authority was no longer needed? Is a 'priesthood of all believers' a scripturally sound concept? How does one derive authority from the Bible? What is the relationship of authority to scriptural interpretation? These are only some of the questions addressed in this book, itself an informative exploration and a rewarding exercise. 200 page large softback.