Peter Stravinskas - Catholic Church and the Bible

The Catholic Church and the Bible

Rev. Peter M. J. Stravinskas

Revised Edition

IGNATIUS PRESS SAN FRANCISCO

New Testament selections in this work are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament , 1986 by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C., and are used by permission; Old Testament selections are taken from the New American Bible , 1970 by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (Books 1 Samuel to 2 Maccabees 1969). All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible with Revised New Testament may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Excerpts from the Order of the Mass are taken from the English translation of the Roman Missal, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973 by the International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Washington, D.C., and are used by permission. The author is also grateful for permission to reprint brief excerpts from Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents , 1975 by Costello Publishing Company, Inc., and Rev. Austin Flannery, O.P., and from The Jerome Biblical Commentary , 1968 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Much of the material in Chapter II first appeared in The Church after the Council: A Primer for Adults , 1975 by Alba House. Substantial portions of Chapter III appeared in a 1986 series on the Mass in the National Catholic Register .

First edition 1987
Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division
Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.
All rights reserved
Reprinted with permission

Cover design by Riz Boncan Marsella

Second, revised edition
Printed in 1996 Ignatius Press
ISBN 978-0-89870-588-1
Library of Congress catalogue number: 96-83640
Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS

To the Most Reverend Paul A. Baltakis, O.F.M., Bishop for the Spiritual Assistance of Lithuanian Catholics of the Diaspora ,

On the Occasion of the 600th Anniversary of the Christianization of Lithuania :

The Lithuanian nation was the last in Europe to accept the Word of God; may she also be the last to relinquish it .

Acknowledgments

Sincere thanks to

Mrs. Sandra Lindstrand
Mr. Walter Petrovitz
Mrs. Loretta Stukas

for their assistance in the careful
preparation of the manuscript and,
more important, for their friendship
and support in so many other ways.

And, for the revised edition,
my deepest gratitude to
the soon-to-be cleric
for the Diocese of Fall River,
Thomas Kocik

I

The Word of the Lord

One of the most persistent and pernicious images of the Churchs relationship with the Scriptures is that of the Bible chained to a desk in a medieval library. The image is correct, but the interpretation is not. For critics of the Church, this picture says it all: The Church chains down the Word of God both literally and figuratively, placing herself above the Scriptures and at the same time restricting access to the Word.

In point of fact, the image admits of another interpretationthe correct one, I would say, and it is this: The Bible chained to a lectern shows forth the Churchs esteem for the Scriptures, as well as her guardianship of them, so that they might be available to the faithful from age to age. But available for what purpose and in what sense? Just how do Catholics regard the Scriptures?

A Catholic Understanding of the Bible

Liberal Protestants, Fundamentalists, and Catholics all speak of the Scriptures as the Word of God ( Catechism of the Catholic Church 105-8), but each community means something quite different both in theory and in practice. Perhaps the best guide for discovering the Catholic understanding of the Bible is the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Vatican II, Dei Verbum ).

The Constitution opens with a careful explanation of the basic notions undergirding the process of divine revelation, grounding it in the life and ministry of Jesus, Who completed and perfected revelation and confirmed it with divine guarantees (no. 4). Clearly teaching the divine inspiration of the sacred authors and, therefore, the inerrant quality of their writings, the Constitution affirms that the books of Scripture, firmly, faithfully and without error, teach that truth that God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to be confided to the sacred Scriptures (no. 11; CCC 107). This serves as a response to a rationalism that would deny the inerrancy of Scripture.

For Fundamentalists or biblical literalists, Dei Verbum notes that the interpreter must carefully search out the meaning that the sacred writers really had in mind, that meaning which God had thought well to manifest through the medium of words (no. 12; CCC 109). This determination of meaning will come about through an analysis of literary forms, for the fact is that truth is differently presented and expressed in the various types of historical writing, in prophetical and poetical texts and in other forms of literary expression (no. 12). In carefully nuanced language, the bishops remind exegetes that correct interpretation involves giving due attention to the historical and cultural milieu in which a particular passage was written (CCC 110). Scripture does not speak for itself, then, but needs both a scientific approach (the work of biblical scholars, along with experts in linguistics, history, archeology, and other allied fields) and a final and authoritative voice. For, of course, all that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgment of the Church, which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God (no. 12; CCC 85-87).

While few Catholics are ever tempted to fall into the trap of biblical literalism, not a few have fallen victim to a version of rationalism that would seek to deny the historical truth of the Gospels or the possibility of miracles (even the virginal conception and bodily Resurrection of Jesus). The correct response to such an approach is not a reactionary swing to Fundamentalism (which is equally incompatible with nineteen centuries of Catholic exegesis) but the middle road sketched out by Dei Verbum , giving appropriate weight to scientific examination of the Scriptures but done from the perspective of faith and from within the context of the Churchs Tradition (CCC 113).

If the Scriptures are inspired by Almighty God and free from error (CCC 105-7), then they should be read. Catholics have always been encouraged to do just that, especially in reference to the Gospels. At the same time, however, the Church has also been concerned that private reading can lead some people to erroneous conclusions. This problem is faced squarely in the Acts of the Apostles when Philip asks the Ethiopian eunuch if he understands the Scriptures he is reading. Unashamed, the man says, How can I, unless someone instructs me? (Acts 8:27-39). In other words, the Bible is not self-explanatory, and the concerns of the Church are not unfounded. The solution is not to avoid private reading but to engage in such reading with prudence and caution, making use of good commentaries and guides, including ones parish priest. Of course, the most beneficial reading of Scripture ideally occurs in the liturgical assembly (CCC 132) as the Church comes together to hear Gods Word proclaimed and explained.

But in all candor we must ask: How free are Catholics not only to read the Bible but to interpret it? At the risk of sounding flippant, I would say as free as any non-Catholic Christian. Martin Luther began as an advocate of private scriptural interpretation, reasoning that if the Pope can interpret the Bible, why not he or any other Christian? Luthers speeches and letters show that later in life he backed off from this position after seeing the disastrous results of having unprepared and unqualified people give personal reactions to the Bible, allegedly of equal value to the contributions of scholars. Furthermore, most Protestant denominations have very defined explanations of critical passages, not allowing much leeway for their members private judgment, whether the issues might be the significance of water baptism, faith and works, divorce and remarriage, or the Eucharist.