Posted on 04/25/2007 4:41:04 PM PDT by NYer
Cites Example of Origen
VATICAN CITY, APRIL 25, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Prayerful reading of Scripture, and the consequent reform of life, is the secret to the constant renewal of the Church, Benedict XVI says.
The Pope affirmed that today when speaking of Origen of Alexandria at the general audience in St. Peter's Square. He continued with his series of catechesis on early Church Fathers.
Origen, "true teacher … brilliant theologian … exemplary witness of the doctrine he taught … the most prolific author of the first three Christian centuries," brought about an "irreversible turn in Christian thought," the Holy Father said.
"He grounded theology in the explanations of the Scriptures; or we could also say that his theology is the perfect symbiosis between theology and exegesis," the Pontiff explained.
He added: "The characterizing mark of Origen's doctrine seems to reside in his incessant invitation to pass from the letter to the spirit of the Scriptures, to progress in the knowledge of God.
"We can say, therefore, that the central nucleus of Origen's immense literary works consists in his 'three-pronged reading' of the Bible."
Three prongs
Benedict XVI explained Origen's methodology in studying sacred Scripture.
"To know what is actually written and to know what this text wanted to say intentionally and initially," was Origen's first step, the Pope said.
He explained how Origen used a system of columns to evaluate all the possible meanings of the original biblical language. For example, in the first column, he would put the Hebrew original. And in five parallel columns, Origen would do a transliteration and four different translations into Greek. He thus tried "to know exactly what is written," the Holy Father explained.
The second prong was reading Scripture along with its most famous commentaries. "He proceeds almost verse by verse, probing amply and deeply, with philological and doctrinal notes," the Pope added.
Finally, Benedict XVI continued: "Origen dedicated himself a great deal to the preaching of the Bible, adapting himself to varied audiences. In any case, as we see in his Homilies, the teacher, dedicated to systematic interpretation of verses, breaks them down into smaller verses.
"Origen takes every opportunity to mention the various senses of sacred Scripture that help or express a way of growth in faith: There is the 'literal' sense, but this hides depths that are not apparent upon a first reading; the second dimension is the 'moral' sense: what we must do as we live the Word; and in the end we have the 'spiritual' sense, the unity of Scripture in its diversity."
Multidimensional
Benedict XVI said that he followed a similar process in his recently released book.
"I tried somewhat, in my book 'Jesus of Nazareth,' to show the multiple dimensions of the Word in today's world, of sacred Scripture, that must first of all be respected in the historical sense," he said. "But this sense brings us toward Christ, in the light of the Holy Spirit, and shows us the way, how to live."
The Pope invited the faithful to follow Origen's example: "I invite you to welcome the teachings of this great teacher of the faith into your hearts.
"He reminds us that in the prayerful reading of Scripture and in a coherent way of life, the Church is renewed and rejuvenated."
All I know is that those are the most Catholic countries in the world, and they are not places where anyone who values secure political liberties or economic freedom will feel comfortable.
Tyndale was tried and executed in Belgium for heresy. The Belgians really didn't care whether he'd translated the Bible in English or Mandarin Chinese, because they didn't speak either language.
Tyndale was "fingered" to the Belgian Catholic church authorities by an English agent of the (by then) Protestant English King Henry VIII. Henry VIII objected to him (in part) because -- ironically enough -- Tyndale supported the Pope in rejecting Henry's divorce of Katharine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn.
The title page of the 1611 KJV admits that the Bible had been translated into English many times before, and it is far from true that all of those translaters were "hunted down". The earliest translator of any portion of the Bible into an English language (then Anglo-Saxon or "Old English") is a canonized Catholic saint, Bede the Venerable.
By what definition?
The country with the highest percentage of practicing Catholics is probably Malta.
Political freedom has a lot of antecedents. Some of them were Catholic, some were Protestant.
The people who wrote the Magna Carta were Catholics. So were the Swiss who founded the first modern republic in the Middle Ages. So were the English exiles in Maryland who founded the first town to practice religious toleration in the New World (a few months before Roger Williams in Rhode Island). Some aspects of the political thought of the American revolution can be traced back through John Locke (a Protestant) to Thomas More (a Catholic).
Tyndale was condemned by a Roman Catholic Cardinal - Wolsey - during the tenure of a Catholic chancellor who was known as an arch-heretic-hunter: (More). Tyndale fled England, but was hunted down.
Christianity in the Dark Ages was the Catholic Church. There was no other. Whether the monasteries operated independently of Rome does not mean that they were not Catholic. If you were a Christian, you were Catholic. The Church was one until 1054 when the Orthodox split.
See also Pyro7480’s post 73 which will remind you that rights and freedoms began in Catholic England with the Magna Carta in 1215.
This Catholic uptightness with other kinds of Christians is something that shines through the "Catholic radio" station in my home town. Rarely do the hosts or guests talk about converting non-Christians to christianity. Instead, they're focused on converting protestants to catholicism. I get the impression they're really bugged by the fact there are christians who aren't catholic - - but they're not that concerned about the "heathen" who don't believe in Christ to begin with. In contrast, protestant evangelicals put a lot more emphasis on reaching out to non-christians. Ironically, a lot of the converts to catholicism who are highlighted on this radio program, were first converted to christianity by protestant evangelicals. So the evangelicals seem to be a necessary "cog" in the Christian machine - but the Catholics on this radio station can't stop talking about how they're wrong and they must convert. It's that (soft) intolerance with other forms of Christianity that reminds me how things can be uncomfortable for Protestants in countries where Catholics are in charge.
I checked your post again to be sure... I found no Scripture.
Are these your thoughts or are they coming from an anti-CAtholic website. Believe me, I’ve seen several of these heretical sites in trying to figure out where protestants were coming from.
**There are over 33,000 different denominations today, usually started when a person or group disagrees with an interpretation of Scripture and leaves one church to start another. Jesus does not want this, as we can clearly see from these verses in the 17th Chapter of St. John where He prays 5 times “that they all may be one”:**
I think you have one of the secrets of sola scriptura and why it fails right here!
**There is no guarantee that man will not enter into error.**
So are you saying that the Scriptures are NOT divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit? Uh-oh! Watch out, folks.
**New Pope acting like a wannabee protestant. :-)**
You slander Pope Benedict in my opinion. The Catholic Church has always believed in the Bible.
What’s your trouble with Benedict XVI?
As I said, I’m not anti-catholic; I’m pro-Scripture.
I find it interesting how so many posters want to attribute thoughts and words to me that I have not penned.
**As I said, I’m not anti-catholic;**
Your posts in print seem to point another direction..................hmmmmm.
You did not answer my question in #91 about the Holy Spirit.
So is it better to have a small group of elites decide for everyone else what they must believe? It's about as inefficient, error-prone, and freedom limiting as Big Government.
The problem seems to be that many are incapable of understanding that the Church of Christ is spiritual, individual, and not composed of man-made organizations. We are instructed to assemble, and as such certain, limited organization must occur. However, these assemblies are not the Church; they are simply congregations where like-minded Believers can assemble.
**So is it better to have a small group of elites decide for everyone else what they must believe?**
You might want to check your numbers on the Catholic Church — largest denomination as far as I know.
I don’t know why you don’t think of Christ as an elite? Heck, he came from a small town, was the son of a carpenter; the men he called were not elites either: fishermen, tax collectors, etc.
These are the beginnings of the CAtholic Church in the Bible — don’t you agree?
Wow... there it goes again... someone attributing ideas and words to me that I did not produce.
I have no problem with him. I actually kind of like him. Its just not something we hear from Rome much. You'd have to admit.
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