![]() Quote biblical passages or explain them in their context in the Bible.This includes the historical critical methods and the history of interpretation (from the patristic and medieval period up to contemporary studies) and sociological studies or interpretations from the developing world. Be open to multiple methods of biblical studies and a judicious application of them.Be in conformity with Catholic doctrine concerning the Bible, its origin and its interpretation, as well as major Catholic documents on scripture, especially “Dei Verbum,” the “Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation” (1965), the Catechism of the Catholic Church and “Verbum Domini,” the postsynodal apostolic exhortation of Pope Benedict XVI (2010).In general terms, a good Catholic Bible study program will do at least the following: There can be big differences in the styles and quality of bible study programs on the market, but there are some basic guidelines for Catholic programs that conform to the church’s expectations. This means that though we may not comprehend every detail of God’s plan of salvation, there is an internal coherence to it embedded in the Scriptures. The New is hidden in the Old, and the Old is fulfilled and made fully understood in the New, all as part of God’s mysterious plan of salvation.Ģ) Catholics should interpret the Bible within “the living Tradition of the whole Church.” This is an acknowledgement of the role of the Holy Spirit in guiding the process of interpretation throughout church history, and the ultimate authority the magisterium retains to interpret Scripture definitively in cases of doubt.ģ) Catholics must pay attention to the “analogy of faith,” that is, “the coherence of truths” contained in God’s revelation. 112-14) outlines three essential characteristics of Catholic exegesis.ġ) Catholics must pay attention “to the content and unity of the whole of Scripture.” This means especially how we view the unity of the Old and New Testaments. Spiritual or theological meanings can never go against the literal meaning of the text.Īlthough no one method can be said to be the Catholic method, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Nos. ![]() Catholic interpretation always begins with the literal sense of the text, that is, the most literal meaning of the words, and then proceeds from there. But caution is called for when using such resources, as sometimes pre-critical interpretation was very fanciful and went far beyond the text. Pope Benedict XVI himself has praised the achievements of the historical-critical method of Bible study that largely dominated the last century, but he has also called for a reapplication of spiritual or theological interpretation that goes beyond the level of mere historical questions, such as those practiced in the patristic or medieval periods.įortunately, resources from these earlier periods are increasingly available in English. Instead, Catholics remain open to a wide variety of approaches, ancient and modern. Since the Second Vatican Council, Catholic teaching has stressed that there is no one method for Catholic biblical study. Many are left to wonder: What, exactly, is the Catholic approach to the Bible? Some Essential Characteristics Some programs that make a strong claim to be Catholic actually are a slightly dressed up version of fundamentalism, leading inattentive Catholics down a road that distorts a Catholic approach to the Bible. In addition, those Catholics who have searched high and low for interesting programs of good quality have sometimes been enticed into Protestant Bible study groups where the approach has been more fundamentalist in orientation and sometimes even hostile to the teachings of the Catholic Church. ![]() ![]() Although Catholics have developed Bible study programs over the last 50 years, there has been no consistent, universal effort to promote biblical knowledge among Catholics, nor have the vast majority of Catholics ever participated in formal Bible study. There is a downside to this development, however. Another factor is that more Catholics have been exposed to or participated in Bible study programs, whether as adults or through catechetical efforts. This is due in part to the reforms of the liturgy, including Mass in the vernacular, more biblically oriented homilies by priests and exposure to more readings from the Bible because of the revised lectionary. Moreover, Catholics are more familiar with Sacred Scripture than ever before. Catholic scholars are equals with their Protestant, Jewish and Orthodox counterparts, participating in scholarly discussions together. Here is some good news regarding the Good News: Since the Second Vatican Council, Catholics have made enormous progress in our appreciation of the Bible.
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