Analysis of Epistemological Sources and Tools of Orthodoxy in Walter Bauer’s Theory and Its Implications

Subject Areas : Epistemological researches

aydin ziyaee ^{1 *} , behrooz haddadi ² , Ahmad Reza Meftah ³

1 - PhD Student in Comparative Religious Studies – Christian Theology, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom
2 - Assistant Professor, Department of Abrahamic Religions,University of Religions and Denominations, Qom
3 - Associate Professor, Department of Abrahamic Religions, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom

Received: 2025-08-04 Accepted : 2025-09-03 Published : 2025-11-22

Keywords: Bauer, Christianity, Orthodoxy, Heresy, Epistemic Sources,

Abstract :

Within the tradition of Christian theology four primary sources of religious knowledge have been identified: divine revelation, including sacred texts believed by faithful Christians to be inspired by God; church tradition, encompassing the interpretative, doctrinal,and practical heritage handed down by church leaders; reason; and experience.This paper,by examining Walter Bauer’s theory on the nature of “orthodoxy” and “heresy” in early Christianity, explores the sources and tools used to apprehend religious truth and their epistemological implications.Findings indicate that, according to Bauer, these four sources are insufficient for a comprehensive understanding of religious truth.Bauer employs additional epistemic tools and resources—such as historical-critical analysis, the role of political-religious powers, canonical and apocryphal texts, local narratives, and oral traditions—to argue that in the earliest centuries of Christianity,multiple diverse forms of faith coexisted.What later came to be labeled “orthodoxy,” Bauer contends, was the result of historical and political processes rather than the original, timeless essence of Christian faith.Thus, for Bauer,the distinction between orthodoxy and heresy reflects a historically constructed discourse rather than an absolute divine truth.This perspective emphasizes the need for a critical rereading of religious history and a reconsideration of the authority of institutional theology, fostering epistemological pluralism in the understanding of religion and challenging claims of exclusivity and absoluteness in religious truth.In effect,the epistemic tools and sources Bauer employs to investigate orthodoxy reveal a dynamic,multilayered view of religious truth,paving the way for broader religious pluralism and inter-narrative as well as interfaith dialogu

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