Posted on 05/05/2011 9:38:04 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While Catholics believe the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit and that it is true, one cannot take individual biblical quotes or passages and say each one is literally true, Pope Benedict XVI said.
“It is possible to perceive the sacred Scriptures as the word of God” only by looking at the Bible as a whole, “a totality in which the individual elements enlighten each other and open the way to understanding,” the Pope wrote in a message to the Pontifical Biblical Commission.
“It is not possible to apply the criterion of inspiration or of absolute truth in a mechanical way, extrapolating a single phrase or expression,” the Pope wrote in the message released May 5 at the Vatican.
The commission of biblical scholars, an advisory body to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, met at the Vatican May 2-6 to continue discussions about “Inspiration and Truth in the Bible.”
In his message, the Pope said clearer explanations about the Catholic position on the divine inspiration and truth of the Bible were important because some people seem to treat the Scriptures simply as literature, while others believe that each line was dictated by the Holy Spirit and is literally true.
Neither position is Catholic, the Pope said.
(Excerpt) Read more at ncregister.com ...
....The commission of biblical scholars, an advisory body to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, met at the Vatican May 2-6 to continue discussions about “Inspiration and Truth in the Bible”....
....In his message, the Pope said clearer explanations about the Catholic position on the divine inspiration and truth of the Bible were important because some people seem to treat the Scriptures simply as literature, while others believe that each line was dictated by the Holy Spirit and is literally true. Neither position is Catholic, the Pope said.
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Yesterday saw...a forceful plea from a key papal advisor [Bishop Salvatore Fisichella, the rector of the Lateran University and President of the Pontifical Academy for Life] to reject the idea of Christianity as a “Religion of the Book”....
-- from the thread Synod: Christianity not a 'Religion of the Book'
"As we begin the work of this synodal assembly, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, let us turn our gaze to Christ, the light of the world and our only teacher," Cardinal Levada encouraged. The prelate's point was further developed when Cardinal Marc Ouellet, archbishop of Quebec, took the floor to affirm that the Word is much more than the Bible. He clarified that Christianity is not a religion of the Book.
-- from the thread Cardinal Says Scripture Inseparably United to Tradition
...while fewer believers know much about the Bible, one-third of Americans continue to believe that it is literally true, something organizers of the Synod on the Word of God called a dangerous form of fundamentalism that is “winning more and more adherents…even among Catholics.” Such literalism, the synod’s preparatory document said, “demands an unshakable adherence to rigid doctrinal points of view and imposes, as the only source of teaching for Christian life and salvation, a reading of the Bible which rejects all questioning and any kind of critical research”....
-- from the thread A Literate Church: The state of Catholic Bible study today
Well, we might as well be reading Harry Potter in church.
Some parts are literally true. Others are not. It’s important to be able to discern the difference. And it takes study of the entire scriptures in order to get to that point.
2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
All that “rigid adherence to a doctrinal point and “uncritical acceptance” as literally true is reserved for pronouncements by Rome.
“It is not possible to apply the criterion of inspiration or of absolute truth in a mechanical way, extrapolating a single phrase or expression,” the Pope wrote in the message released May 5 at the Vatican.
The first assertion of the article by the author is wrong according to the comments out of the Holy Father's own mouth.
“It is not possible to apply the criterion of inspiration or of absolute truth in a mechanical way, extrapolating a single phrase or expression,” the Pope wrote in the message released May 5 at the Vatican.
The first assertion of the article by the author is wrong according to the comments out of the Holy Father's own mouth.
How to read the Bible as a Catholic??!
How about, how to read the Bible as a child of God, a Christian, a human seeking the will of the Creator?
Answer: with an open and honest heart and mind, without concern for man’s opinion.
Once again the Catholic Church finds itself at odds with St. Paul who made significant theological points based whether a word was singular or plural.
each line was dictated by the Holy Spirit
The Church has always rejected the "dictation model" of inspiration. That's what the Pope was referring to.
Obviously not every part of Scripture is "literally true," either; that would mean that there were no allegories or parables, and Scripture itself says that there are.
What rubbish.
Does this guy even read the book he is supposedly talking about?
“Through his word, God wants to communicate to us the whole truth about himself and his plan of salvation for humanity,” the Pope wrote. “A commitment to discovering ever more the truth of the sacred books, therefore, is a commitment to seeking to better know God and the mystery of his saving will.”
Oh? And how are they supposed to better know God and His will? By reading His Word. Oh, no no no no no no no no no no! You have to use us! The Catholic Middle Man. If you don't, then we are out of job.
I am so grateful that many years ago, spirit filled Christians who loved and knew Jesus Christ confronted me with God's truth in scripture. I had been indoctrinated into the Catholic mindset, and I didn't know Christ at all.
Here is some advice for the Pope. Read the Bible, and encourage Catholics to read it!
I predict may will make fools of them selves because of their inability to differentiate fact from truth, almost all of these will believe that Christianity is a “religion of the book”.
I would guess he means verses like, “The fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God”...and then quoting the Bible as admitting that
“There is no God”...or the phrase, “spare the rod, and
spoil the child” as a command to spoil your child.
The main problem is knowing which are literal and which
ain’t. The description of Christs bodily resurrection and
the disciples reaction to that event was obviously meant to
be literal. If the resurrection means a spiritual only
event...it can be no different from a memory...so it does
matter to take some verses literally, and others as they
were most likely intended.
I had sort of the same awakening as you. The Bible was where I discovered the errors of the catholic church. No wonder the pope discredits it.
While I understand what is being said I think it is poorly put. Maybe a better way of putting it is that no single verse or point has it’s true/fullest understanding without a knowlege of the Bible as a whole. BTW all scripture is inspired of the Holy Spirit whether an allegory or parable or whatever!
Mel
Did those Spirit Filled Christians give you a SCRIPTURAL explaination for why you don’t win the lottery by “agreeing” with another Christian in Jesus’ name?
Wait till you get to the point where you figure out the Bible isn’t sufficient, and go back....
Inspired by God doesn’t mean DICTATED by God. The early books of the Old Testament weren’t even written down until several thousand years after the events occurred, so they couldn’t be truly accurate accounts. The Pope is simply saying that individual passages can be mis-interpreted, or twisted into something contrary to what they truly mean, when taken out of context.
Yeah....right.
By the way, do you have trouble with these phrases as well?
- 'Up' means up, not down
- 'Right' means right, not left
- 'Black' means black, not white
Mmmmmmm........OK.......good........then what happens next?
Will we all rush outside and wait for the Rapture? That's in the Bible, right?
Or will we all suddenly become Baptists? Or is it Seventh Day Adventists?
I can never remember.
Erm........no thanks.
Because we already read the Bible, we want the authentic truth communicated to the Apostles and handed down in continuity.
As for your interpretation of Scripture........er......not so much.
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