Session 1 - Class Introduction and Authority

Whom do we trust for authority? Should we trust an institutionalized Church? Is there any validity in the tradition? Or should we rely upon the Scriptures alone as the Reformers insisted? This lesson should provide the student with a better understanding of the various views of Christian authority that have been held throughout history. The student should have a basic overview of the beliefs concerning authority of the three major traditions (Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholicism). The student should also have a better understanding of the significance of Martin Luther’s famous (infamous) “Here I stand” speech at the Diet of Worms. As well, the student should understand the extremes that some modern Protestant denomination have gone in neglecting the authority of tradition all together, misunderstanding and misrepresenting the Reformation doctrine of sola Scriptura.