The Authority of the Sources of Christian Theology: the Basis and Scope

One of the questions which have been the special of Christian as well as the followers of the other religions is what reference source should be used to understand the idea of faith and formulate theological teachings? An investigation into Christian's works shows that they use four sources to expound and establish their doctrines and teachings, the Bible, tradition, intellect and experience. But theses reference sources do not have the same status among the different groups, and the degree of the credibility and authority of each source is different. A study of Christian theology shows that the position of each in theological system is determined by the relationship of that source with divine illumination. For instance, Christian's belief that there is a special relationship between the Bible and divine illumination has led them to have this holy book as the main source of theology. But, in modern time the Bible is open to criticism and its authority is questioned and so some people consider intellect or experience as the main source of Christian theology. Presenting an account of the position and role of these sources in Christian theology, this paper seeks to explain the basis and scope the authority of these sources.