HOW DO WE INTERPRET THE BIBLE AS CATHOLICS TODAY?
The
following article is based on the section entitled The Interpretation of Sacred Scripture in the Church from VERBUM
DOMINI, the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Benedict XVI on THE WORD OF GOD IN THE LIFE AND MISSION OF
THE CHURCH and is offered for your reflection, prayer and action for BIBLE SUNDAY 2015 by the Regional
Biblical Commission of the Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia- Singapore-Brunei.
As we seek to read and understand the Bible,
we may ask if there is a distinctive Catholic way of doing so. How should we
approach God’s Word as we try to understand and live it out in our daily lives?
THE BIBLE - THE BOOK OF THE LIVING COMMUNITY
OF THE CHURCH
When attempting to understand the Bible and interpreting
it, we need to remember that “The Bible
was written by the People of God for the People of God, under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit.” From this, we must remember that only in communion
with the People of God can we truly enter into the heart of the truth that God
himself wishes to convey to us. Yes, we might read the Bible individually for
our own personal growth, but we must always remember that the Bible grew out of
the lived experience of the People of God and we must thus see its message
through the eyes of the community guided by the Spirit that gave rise to it and
which continues to see it as God’s Word to humanity.
The Church interpreted the Jewish Scriptures that we know
today as the Old Testament in the light of the Incarnation, Life and Ministry
(particularly, the Passion, Death and Resurrection) of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Likewise the Church’s experience of Jesus in his earthly lifetime and later
after the Ascension as it grew from its beginnings at Pentecost gave rise to
the books of the New Testament. If the Bible is understood as having come from
the Church, then surely, it is with the Church and in harmony with its
teachings and under the guidance of the Magisterium (teaching office) that we
must interpret its contents and message which God has chosen to communicate.
INTERPRETATION
METHODS
Various methods have been employed in order to obtain a richer understanding of biblical texts. Recent work in interpreting the Bible has relied much on the indispensible ‘historico-critical’ method as well as other recently-developed methods of textual analysis which have brought about much benefit. The historico-critical method considers the different types and styles (genres) of writing and also attempts to look at the context of the event at that time itself before attempting to see its message for our own time. Indeed serious methods of historical research are essential to a proper understanding of any text.
METHODS
Various methods have been employed in order to obtain a richer understanding of biblical texts. Recent work in interpreting the Bible has relied much on the indispensible ‘historico-critical’ method as well as other recently-developed methods of textual analysis which have brought about much benefit. The historico-critical method considers the different types and styles (genres) of writing and also attempts to look at the context of the event at that time itself before attempting to see its message for our own time. Indeed serious methods of historical research are essential to a proper understanding of any text.
CRITERIA
The Dogmatic Constitution from the Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum indicates three fundamental criteria for an appreciation of the divine dimension of the Bible:
The Dogmatic Constitution from the Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum indicates three fundamental criteria for an appreciation of the divine dimension of the Bible:
1)
The text must be interpreted with attention to the
unity of the whole of Scripture -Thus we should not attempt to look at a passage in
isolation from what the rest of Scripture is saying.
2)
Account is to be taken of the living
Tradition of the whole Church - Again we look at the passage not in isolation in terms of
time but how it has been seen through the ages from the early church onwards.
3)
Respect must be shown for the
analogy of faith – A passage
cannot be seen in opposition to the faith and teaching of the Church.
BIBLICAL EXEGESIS AND THEOLOGY
History is the arena in which God works. Therefore it
must be interpreted in the light of faith and reason. Biblical Exegesis or Interpretation
needs to go hand-in-hand with Theology. In this way, we are able to avoid
extreme subjective and arbitrary positions
such as fundamentalist positions, wherein reason is ignored or the tendency can
be to spiritualize everything. While we always start looking at a text from the
literal sense, we must be open to the
message beyond it allowing the spiritual
sense to also emerge and not allow ourselves to be manipulated or led into
error. The spiritual sense is “the
meaning expressed by the biblical texts when read, under the influence of the
Holy Spirit, in the context of the paschal mystery of Christ and of the new
life which flows from it.” Hence, interpretation of Sacred Scripture must
involve our personal and living faith. Interpretation seeks saving truth for
the life of the individual Christian and for the Church. It recognizes the historical value of the
biblical tradition and seeks to discover the living meaning of the Sacred
Scriptures for the lives of believers today.
To this end, our interpretation must pass from letter to spirit.
The Word of God can never simply be equated with the letter of the text. An
authentic process of interpretation is never purely an intellectual process but
also a lived one, requiring full involvement
in the life of the Church, which is life “according to the Spirit” (Gal 5:16).
DANGERS
One danger that the Bible is seen only as a historical
book, dealing with the past without recognizing that it is just as valid today.
It has a message for our own time!
Another danger is looking at it with a secularized mentality
without the eyes of faith. For example, when a divine element is present, it is
explained away and reduced to the human element. In this way, it denies the historicity
of the divine element. This can be harmful to the life of the Church because it
casts doubt over fundamental mysteries of Christianity and their historicity.
However it is important that we remember that biblical
interpretation or exegesis “is truly
faithful to the proper intention of biblical texts when it goes not only to the
heart of their formulation to find the reality of faith there expressed, but
also seeks to link this reality to the experience of faith in our present
world”. (Verbum Domini 37) The Word of God is active and alive. It is addressed to
each of us in the here and now of our lives.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE OLD AND THE NEW
TESTAMENTS
We should also consider the relationship between the Old and the New
Testaments. The New Testament
itself acknowledges the Old Testament as the Word of God and thus accepts the authority of the Sacred
Scriptures of the Jewish people. The New Testament often uses the same language
and frequently refers to passages from the Old. It explicitly acknowledges them
by citing many parts of them as a basis for argument. The New Testament is seen
as fulfilling the Old Testament but this must be seen in the following terms:
§ a basic aspect of continuity , as seen in the New Testament use of
typology. Hebrews 11:17-19 which
concerns the sacrifice of Isaac leading to God receiving him back. In the light
of v. 19: "God was able to raise men from the dead", God raising
Isaac to life is a typology of Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection from the dead.
§ an aspect of discontinuity, with
regard to the institutions of the Old Testament. For instance, the High
Priesthood of Christ in the Letter to the Hebrews is seen as being radically
different from the Old Testament priesthood.
§ an aspect of fulfilment and transcendence. We see
this in Jesus quoting Isaiah as he sets out his mission in Luke 4:18-19.
DIFFICULT PASSAGES
There are “dark” or difficult passages of the Bible that we have to contend with
– some of these contain violence and immorality. What we have to
remember here is that biblical revelation is progressive; God’s plan is
manifested progressively and
it is accomplished slowly, in
successive stages. Despite their
weaknesses, God chose the people of Israel and patiently worked to guide and
educate them. We must understand the cultural and moral level of a very
different period from our own where instances of violence and massacre were not
denounced. Here we need to allow qualified experts to help us understand the
different contexts and look beyond to see the underlying message of God.
ECUMENISM
Interpreting the Bible also involves our relations with other
Christians. The unity of God's people, which the ecumenical movement seeks to
restore, is profoundly based in Scripture. By listening, sharing and meditating
together on the Scriptures, we experience a real, albeit incomplete communion.
This spurs us on towards the dialogue of charity and enables growth in the
dialogue of truth.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the
saints stand out as the best examples to us today as persons who have truly lived the word of God. They let
themselves be shaped by the Word of God through listening, reading and meditation,
allowing themselves to be “good soil” in which the divine sower planted the
Word.
May the Word bear within us fruits of holiness, “thirtyfold, sixtyfold,
a hundredfold”(Mk 4:20).
The full text of Verbum Domini may be seen at
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:
1 How does being a Catholic affect the way I
interpret the Bible?
2 Look at the readings this Sunday. What is
the connection between the First Reading and the Gospel? Can you see a)
continuity, b) discontinuity, c) fulfillment ?
3 How do I approach difficult passages in the
Bible?
