Schrift, Tradition und Bekenntnis

In the second part of his The History of Christian Ideas, Jan Rohls studies »Writings, Tradition and Denomination,« all of which are very closely associated with the idea of revelation. Christianity refers to certain texts which are endowed with special authority, specifically the Old and New Testament, which attained a canonical standing, as well as the confessions and dogmas which can also be seen as canonical. It is debatable whether or not there is in addition an oral tradition which originated with the apostles and which must also be seen as an authoritative factor. However with the advent of historical criticism during the Enlightenment, the Bible as well as the confessions and dogmas began to falter and due to this lost their original authority.