REVELATION, SACRED SCRIPTURE AND THE CHURCH AS TRADITION

A Dynamic Understanding of Tradition in Dei Verbum

Abstract

The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation is one of the most
important documents of Vatican II, precisely because of its
significance for the life of the Church insofar as all its sixteen
documents depend on the faith commitment of the Church to the
word of God to the humankind, and it is this truth which the Council
has clearly spelled out in this Constitution. At the same time, it is to
be remembered that this is the one document which had a dramatic
history behind it from the time it was introduced in the Council in
1962 till it was finally voted on in November 1965. The original
schema was largely rewritten. The original first chapter, “Two
Sources of Revelation,” meaning thereby Scripture and Tradition,
was replaced by two chapters, on revelation itself and on its
transmission, through which Scripture and Tradition were not
understood as separate sources. The entire approach to the subject
was from a biblical and historical perspective. The first two chaptersdeal with the reality of revelation in which a personal God enters into
a dialogue with the humankind, which is transmitted to the following
generations through a historical process. The response to this
dialogue is known as faith which is much more than an intellectual
assent to some divine propositions. It is a commitment to a personal
God who in manifold ways reveals himself and his plans to the
humankind. The following chapters are devoted to the understanding
of divine inspiration and interpretation of the Bible as well as the
analysis of the Old and New Testaments and the role of the Sacred
Scripture in the life of the Church.