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Bible can only be understood with the Church, Pope tells scholars (CATHOLIC CAUCUS)
CNA ^ | 4/23/2009

Posted on 04/23/2009 3:35:50 PM PDT by markomalley

On Thursday morning, Pope Benedict addressed representatives of the Pontifical Biblical Commission following their plenary assembly and said that a correct understanding of Scripture does not come from "the individualistic illusion that biblical texts can be better understood outside the community of believers" but rather rises from the Tradition of the Church.

"Inspiration and truth in the Bible," the theme of the Pontifical Biblical Commission’s plenary assembly, is one that touches on a topic that biblical scholars have vigorously debated during the last century. Much of biblical scholarship, Catholic and non-Catholic, has developed into an academic study separated from the living memory of the Church.

This morning the Pope received thirty representatives of the Pontifical Biblical Commission who just held their full assembly, under the leadership of Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Benedict XVI began by underlining the importance of the chosen theme, which "concerns not only believers, but the Church herself, because the Church's life and mission necessarily rest upon the Word of God … ."

Recalling that the Constitution 'Dei Verbum' (The Word of God) affirmed that God is the author of the Bible, and that in Sacred Scripture God speaks to mankind in a human manner, the Holy Father laid out the three criteria that the Second Vatican Council prescribed for correctly interpreting Scripture.

"For a correct interpretation of Scripture we must, then, carefully examine what the hagiographers really sought to say and what God was pleased to reveal with their words," he explained.

First, "Sacred Scripture is one by virtue of the unity of God's plan, of which Jesus Christ is the center and the heart."

Second, "Scripture must be read in the context of the living Tradition of the entire Church. ... In her Tradition the Church carries the living memory of the Word of God, and it is the Holy Spirit Who provides her with the interpretation thereof in accordance with its spiritual meaning.

"The third criterion concerns the need to pay attention to the analogy of the faith; that is, to 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."

The task of scholars, the Holy Father said, "is to contribute, following the above-mentioned principles, to a more profound interpretation and exposition of the meaning of Sacred Scripture."

Pope Benedict, himself an academic, also warned Catholic biblical scholars that the study of Sacred Scripture cannot be reduced to a purely academic exercise but must involve a perception of "the Word of God in these texts."

"The interpretation of Sacred Scriptures cannot be a merely an individual academic undertaking, but must always be compared with, inserted into, and authenticated by the living Tradition of the Church.

"This norm is essential in order to ensure a correct and reciprocal exchange between exegesis and Church Magisterium," the Pope stated.

But the Holy Father went further, offering a corrective reminder to biblical scholars, saying, "Catholic exegetes do not nourish the individualistic illusion that biblical texts can be better understood outside the community of believers. The opposite is true, because these texts were not given to individual scholars 'to satisfy their curiosity or to provide them with material for study and research'. The texts inspired by God were entrusted to the community of believers, to the Church of Christ, to nourish the faith and to guide the life of charity."

The Pontiff also summarized the Church's understanding of Scripture and Tradition.

"Sacred Scripture is the Word of God in that it is written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Tradition, on the other hand, integrally transmits the Word of God as entrusted by Christ the Lord and by the Holy Spirit to the Apostles and their successors so that they, illuminated by the Spirit of truth, could faithfully conserve, explain and spread it through their preaching."

Benedict XVI closed his address to the commission by emphasizing the need to harmonize the Magisterium and academic scholarship. "Only within the ecclesial context can Sacred Scripture be understood as the authentic Word of God which is guide, norm and rule for the life of the Church and the spiritual development of believers. This means rejecting all interpretations that are subjective or limited to mere analysis [and hence] incapable of accepting the global meaning which, over the course of the centuries, has guided the Tradition of the entire people of God."


TOPICS: Apologetics; Catholic; Theology
KEYWORDS: bible; bxvi; catholic
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Please note: this is a Catholic Caucus thread (per RM rules of engagement)
1 posted on 04/23/2009 3:35:50 PM PDT by markomalley
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To: markomalley

Some non-Catholics are going to be foaming at the mouth to post after reading the title. Caucus thread, too bad.


2 posted on 04/23/2009 3:42:59 PM PDT by steve86 (Acerbic by nature, not nurture)
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To: steve86

What prevents anyone from posting the same article in a non-caucus thread and saying what they want about it?


3 posted on 04/23/2009 3:44:59 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (I'd like to tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.)
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To: Secret Agent Man

Probably nothing, just as nothing prevents us from NOT reading THAT thread.


4 posted on 04/23/2009 3:47:28 PM PDT by steve86 (Acerbic by nature, not nurture)
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Comment #5 Removed by Moderator

Comment #6 Removed by Moderator

To: JudgemAll

7 posted on 04/23/2009 5:22:31 PM PDT by Tax-chick (O hai. Do I need you for something right now?)
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To: markomalley

**Benedict XVI began by underlining the importance of the chosen theme, which “concerns not only believers, but the Church herself, because the Church’s life and mission necessarily rest upon the Word of God … .” **

Shocker to some! But not to us!


8 posted on 04/23/2009 5:26:07 PM PDT by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Secret Agent Man
What prevents anyone from posting the same article in a non-caucus thread and saying what they want about it?

It would be locked as a duplicate post.

9 posted on 04/23/2009 7:19:30 PM PDT by Jeff Chandler ("Mr. President, I support you but not your mission. I'm showing my patriotism through dissent.")
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To: All; Secret Agent Man
This Religion Forum thread is tagged "Catholic Caucus."

If you are not Catholic, do not post on this thread.

Also, because this is a caucus - do not compare beliefs or speak in behalf of any other belief. If you do, the caucus may be broken, because the other believers would then have an interest in speaking for themselves.

Finally, if you are not Catholic and wish to discuss the subject on an "open" thread - then find a similar article and post it as "open" in the Religion Forum. But do not post the same article.

10 posted on 04/23/2009 8:29:09 PM PDT by Religion Moderator
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Comment #11 Removed by Moderator

To: delacoert; Religion Moderator
By all of that you merely affirm that the magistrate is capable of being affected both from within and without.

My comment makes no sense now that prior post has been deleted. Please feel free to delete my posts from this thread. :(

12 posted on 04/23/2009 8:35:28 PM PDT by delacoert (imperat animus corpori, et paretur statim; imperat animus sibi, et resistitur -- Augustini)
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To: Salvation
Shocker to some! But not to us!
13 posted on 04/23/2009 9:02:14 PM PDT by delacoert (imperat animus corpori, et paretur statim; imperat animus sibi, et resistitur -- Augustini)
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To: markomalley

I think this does not exclude a more personal meaning, additional meaning, as for example in Lectio Divina. However, this would not be, and certainly not be taught as, the Church’s interpretation.


14 posted on 04/23/2009 11:36:46 PM PDT by D-fendr (Deus non alligatur sacramentis sed nos alligamur.)
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To: markomalley
I am going to respectfully, but vehemently disagree with the Pope on this one.

I have a Bible, a brain and prayer. NO ONE aside from Jesus Christ himself needs to come between me and God.

15 posted on 04/23/2009 11:50:20 PM PDT by Centurion2000 (We either Free America ourselves, or it is midnight for humanity for a thousand years.)
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To: Centurion2000
I am going to respectfully, but vehemently disagree with the Pope on this one.

I have a Bible, a brain and prayer. NO ONE aside from Jesus Christ himself needs to come between me and God.

I don't think that this is what the article is saying.

16 posted on 04/24/2009 2:41:58 AM PDT by markomalley (Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus)
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To: markomalley
I love this Pope -- I was there for Holy Week this year and in the crowd on Wednesday and for the grande masses. It was fantastic being in the crowd shouting out Pere Beneditto!

About this matter, he is absolutely right -- the scriptures were given by God and we as an individual can only understand a small part of the hugeness that is God, but we can, as a group, as a community, understand a larger part of the vastness that is the divinity.
17 posted on 04/24/2009 4:10:45 AM PDT by Cronos (Ceterum censeo, Mecca et Medina delenda est)
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To: Centurion2000

No one mortal will come between you and God. The article says that WE (not “I”) have the Bible, a collective brain and collective prayer. To come together as a family and understand the vastness of the divinity together is what the article says we need to do — to understand it IN the Church, not to listen to some priest without bothering to understand it on our own. Even the priest is just a mortal and would welcome our joy in learning together.


18 posted on 04/24/2009 4:25:04 AM PDT by Cronos (Ceterum censeo, Mecca et Medina delenda est)
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To: Centurion2000
I have a Bible, a brain and prayer. NO ONE aside from Jesus Christ himself needs to come between me and God.

Nobody is trying to come between you and God.

This idea holds water only if you view the Church as an obstacle on the road to heaven, rather than an assistance. The Church exists, not to deprive of us of the truth or to hide it from us, but rather to safeguard it and transmit it untainted to our children.

The Church is not the government which wants to take your money and curtail your freedoms. The Church is a father.......a mother........someone wiser than you who wants to preserve you from danger and guide you along the safe path rather than allow you to wander down blind alleys which unguided and left to our own devices, we often do.

19 posted on 04/24/2009 6:43:37 AM PDT by marshmallow ("A country which kills its own children has no future" -Mother Teresa of Calcutta)
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To: marshmallow
Nobody is trying to come between you and God.

This idea holds water only if you view the Church as an obstacle on the road to heaven, rather than an assistance. The Church exists, not to deprive of us of the truth or to hide it from us, but rather to safeguard it and transmit it untainted to our children.

The Church is not the government which wants to take your money and curtail your freedoms. The Church is a father.......a mother........someone wiser than you who wants to preserve you from danger and guide you along the safe path rather than allow you to wander down blind alleys which unguided and left to our own devices, we often do.

*********************

Beautifully said.

20 posted on 04/24/2009 7:01:46 AM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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