REFLECTIONS ON THE INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE IN THE CHURCH (1993)
Keywords:
INTERPRETATION, THE BIBLE, THE CHURCHAbstract
After the epoch making and cutting-edge Encyclical
Providentissimus Deus, Leo XIII erected “The Pontifical Biblical
Commission” through the Apostolic Letter Vigilante on 30 October
1902 to promote the study of Sacred Scripture.1 Its stated purpose was
“to have effective care that the sacred texts get the sort of research our
times demand; that they are studied everywhere by Catholics; and
are kept safe not only from any breath of error but also from every
hasty opinion.”2 However, as time passed the commission focused
more on the second role of vigilance “to take pains to stem the
growth of the deplorable attitude of thinking and acting which gives
excessive value to the opinions of those who differ from us
doctrinally, as though the true understanding of Scripture is to be
sought mainly from outside methods of learning.”3 As Fitzmyer
notes, the responsa of the Biblical Commission “created fear and
suspicion about everything connected with the Bible so that the clergy and faithful alike suspected anyone who tried to interpret it as
dangerous and unorthodox.”
References
Dennis J. Murphy, ed., The Church and the Bible. Bangalore: Theological
Publications of India, 2007, 86.
Joseph A Fitzmyer, The Biblical Commission’s Document “The Interpretation of the
Bible in the Church”: Text and Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2008, 20.
Thomas M. Bolin, “The Biblical Commission’s Instruction, On the Historical Truth of
the Gospels (Sancta Mater Ecclesia) And Present Magisterial Attitudes Towards Biblical
Exegesis,” Gregorianum 93, 4 ( 2012) 768.
Joseph A. Fitzmyer, Scripture, the Soul of Theology. New York: Paulist Press, 1994, 19.
Hermann Gunkel and
Joachim Begrich, Introduction to Psalms: The Genres of the Religious Lyrics of Israel,
Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1998.
Thomas M. Bolin, “The Biblical Commission’s Instruction, On the Historical Truth of
the Gospels (Sancta Mater Ecclesia) And Present Magisterial Attitudes Towards Biblical
Exegesis,” Gregorianum 93, 4 ( 2012) 765-785.
J.L. Ska, “Our Fathers Have Told Us: Introduction to the Analysis of
Hebrew Narratives. Rome: Editrice pontificio istituto, 1990.
