Courtesy of Catholicculture.com:
Pope Benedict XVI met on April 23 with members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, which had recently concluded a meeting devoted to discussion of "Inspiration and truth in the Bible." In his address to the group the Holy Father mentioned the three criteria for proper interpretation of the Scriptures, as identified by the teaching of Vatican II: the unity of the Bible; the living tradition of the Church; and "the cohesion of the individual truths of faith, both with one another and with the overall plan of Revelation and the fullness of the divine economy enclosed in that plan." A detached, academic approach is not adequate for understanding the Bible, he stressed; exegetes must read the Scriptures "within the faith of the Church."
When I lead a Bible study, I always spend the first meeting talking about the relationship between the Bible and the Church. The best, and most concise, document that I have found which deals with this is found in the section on Sacred Scripture of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Lately, I have also referred to the foreword of Benedict XVI's Jesus of Nazareth. Here, the Pope emphasizes the importance of the historical-critical method, which he describes as an indispensable tool. Yet, the historical-critical method can never be used alone, but rather must be used in "the unity of the Bible; the living tradition of the Church; and the cohesion of the individual truths of faith, both with one another and with the overall plan of Revelation and the fullness of the divine economy enclosed in that plan."
Pope Benedict XVI met on April 23 with members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, which had recently concluded a meeting devoted to discussion of "Inspiration and truth in the Bible." In his address to the group the Holy Father mentioned the three criteria for proper interpretation of the Scriptures, as identified by the teaching of Vatican II: the unity of the Bible; the living tradition of the Church; and "the cohesion of the individual truths of faith, both with one another and with the overall plan of Revelation and the fullness of the divine economy enclosed in that plan." A detached, academic approach is not adequate for understanding the Bible, he stressed; exegetes must read the Scriptures "within the faith of the Church."
When I lead a Bible study, I always spend the first meeting talking about the relationship between the Bible and the Church. The best, and most concise, document that I have found which deals with this is found in the section on Sacred Scripture of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Lately, I have also referred to the foreword of Benedict XVI's Jesus of Nazareth. Here, the Pope emphasizes the importance of the historical-critical method, which he describes as an indispensable tool. Yet, the historical-critical method can never be used alone, but rather must be used in "the unity of the Bible; the living tradition of the Church; and the cohesion of the individual truths of faith, both with one another and with the overall plan of Revelation and the fullness of the divine economy enclosed in that plan."
From the posted photograph of Pope Benedict, it appears that (if you are the Pope) you can get a large-page, large-print, wide-margin Bible!
ReplyDelete[Yes, I know that picture is not displaying a Bible, but I couldn't resist the temptation to comment hypothetically.]
Tim,
ReplyDeleteI really like that new Bible commentary series; 'Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture' that you mentioned in an earlier post. I bought the two volumes that have been released so far (Gospel of Mark, First and Second Timothy, Titus). I think this series is what Pope Benedict is talking about; mixing in a portion of historical criticism scholarship with a good dose of Catholic Church tradition. I used it for a Bible study on the Passion narrative in the Gospel of Mark, and it worked out real well. I am looking forward to the other volumes being released.
Edward,
ReplyDeleteActually it is a Bible. Someone from Liturgical Press was presenting him with a St. John's Bible edition. You can read more about it here: http://www.sjbible.org/
But your point is well taken!
Rolf,
ReplyDeleteI am glad you picked up the new commentary series. One of the editors, Dr. Peter Williamson, was my professor at the Seminary. He is a really wonderful scripture scholar who also is very prayerful. I think the series, overall, has a pretty top-notch editorial team...a nice diversity of scholars. Plus, it is also nice that it is keyed to the NAB.