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The Allegorical Sense of Scripture
A good beginners' introduction to reading the "spiritual sense" of Scripture. From our friend Mark Shea's book, Making Senses Out of Scripture.
Catholic Principles for Interpreting Scripture
A detailed summary by Peter Williamson of his comprehensive study Catholic Principles for Interpreting Scripture: A Study of the Pontifical Biblical Commission's "The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church," published in 2001. An indispensable aid to understanding the IBC document.
Biblical Interpretation in Crisis: On the Question of the Foundations and Approaches of Exegesis Today
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's famous Erasmus Lecture of Jan. 27, 1988. His conclusions remain as important today as ever: "Finally, the exegete must realize that he, does not stand in some neutral area, above or outside history and the Church. Such a presumed immediacy regarding the purely historical can only lead to dead ends. The first presupposition of all exegesis is that it accepts the Bible as a book. In so doing, it has already chosen a place for itself which does not simply follow from the study of literature. It has identified this particular literature as the product of a coherent history, and this history as the proper space for coming to understanding. If it wishes to be theology, it must take a further step. It must recognize that the faith of the Church is that form of "sympathia" without which the Bible remains a closed book. It must come to acknowledge this faith as a hermeneutic, the space for understanding, which does not do dogmatic violence to the Bible, but precisely allows the solitary possibility for the Bible to be itself."
The Relationship Between the Magisterium and Exegetes
By Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission. A talk delivered to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the commision's establishment.
Catholicism and the Bible
A key interview with Father Albert Vanhoye, former head of the Pontifical Biblical Commission on key issues in Catholic interpretation of Scripture. Originally published in the journal First Things.
Pope Paul VI and the Truth of Sacred Scripture
A good look at the approach of Pope Paul, whose teachings on Scripture are often neglected. An adaptation of a doctoral dissertation defended by Father Brian Harrison at the Pontifical Atheneum of the Holy Cross in Rome.
The New Catechism and Scripture
Good review of the Catechism's treatment of the Bible, by Father Thomas McGovern. See too his examination of Vatican II's (and the Catechism's) directive that Scripture should be "the soul of theology":
- Magisterium, Scripture and Catholic Exegetes
Current Doctrinal Relevance of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
An important reflection by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. See especially the long section on the Catechism's treatment of Scripture. This is must-reading.
Crisis in Scripture Studies
A critique of the excesses of "historical-criticism" that along the way provides a neat overview of the history of biblical interpretation. By Father William Most. See also, by the Roman Theological Forum:
- Catholic Bishops of the 1980s: Attitudes to Scripture and Theology
Two Views of Historical Criticism
A good consideration by Msgr. John F. McCarthy of the Roman Theological Forum. Includes:
- Historical Criticism as a Critical Method
- Historical Criticism as an Historical Method
Historical-Critical Scripture Studies and the Catholic Faith
A good appraisal by St. Paul Center fellow, Michael Waldstein of the International Theological Institute.
Knowing One's Place: On Venues in Biblical Interpretation
St. Paul Center fellow Father Michael Hull examines the "crisis in contemporary biblical interpretation." He roots the crisis in a question of "venue" - the context or setting in which the Bible is read and understood. A quote: "The Catholic venue, which holds for the interrelationship among Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterium, is a matter of revelation, a matter of faith....That being the case, Catholics need make no apologies for their understanding of revelation, wherein God has vouchsafed to reveal Jesus Christ, the Word, simultaneously in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, and wherewith God has pledged the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the Magisterium. In the Catholic venue, the Catholic faith does not merely have something to say about biblical interpretation: it has everything to say about it." (.pdf file, requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader).
See also by Father Hull:
- Hermeneutics Begins at Home: On Retrieving the Reader in Biblical Interpretation (.pdf file, requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Bible Gap
By Father Benedict Ashley, O.P. A quote: "Thus the abyss today opening between the Bible and theology, must be overcome by a type of exegesis that does not stop with historical and literary criticism but interprets the biblical text precisely as the Word of God redeeming our theological systems, not as re-written to conform to them. We must be instructed by God not instruct him."
Jean Levie and the Biblical Movement
A good critical look at the development and directions of Catholic biblical scholarship in the years before Vatican II. By Msgr. John McCarthy of the Roman Theological Forum. Also instructive is his series on the "incomplete" Catholic response to the "de-mythologizing" movement started by the liberal Protestant exegete, Rudolph Bultmann in the 1940s and 1950s:
- Part 1: Leopold Malevez and Heinrich Fries
- Part 2: Rene Marle and Joseph Cahill
- Part 3: Xavier Leon-Dufour and John McKenzie
- Part 4: Anton Vogtle and Ugo Lattanzi
Neo-Patristic Exegesis
An ambitious effort to sketch a new synthesis between historical and theological methods in the interpretation of Scripture. By Msgr. John McCarthy of the Roman Theological Forum. Includes:
- The State of the Question
- A Neo-Patristic Reply to the Historical-Critical Question
The Use of the Old Testament in the New
Thorough discussion by Barry Smith of Atlanta Baptist University. See also Smith's:
- Interpretation of Scripture
Mapping Biblical Literature and Theology with Kevin Vanhoozer
An overview of the work of a fine Protestant biblical theologian. For a sample of Vanhoozer' writing:
- Body-Piercing, the Natural Sense, and the Task of Theological Interpretation: a Hermeneutical Homily on John 19:34
"He Interpreted to Them in All the Scriptures the Things Concerning Himself"
A good study of exegesis by Dr. Arthur Just, Jr., a Lutheran. A quote: "At the center of our hermeneutical task is the understanding that exegesis is always kerygmatic and therefore homiletical, and that to interpret Scriptures rightly requires a proper hermeneutical method that reflects a Biblical theology of preaching. As a result, to confess our preaching as Viva vox Jesu is to also speak of the Christocentricity of the Holy Scripture." (.pdf files, requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
Can We Reproduce the Exegesis of the New Testament?
An interesting meditation by an evangelical student.
Interpreting Texts in the Context of the Whole Bible
A thoughtful piece by a Protestant scholar. A quote: "It is not coincidence that the Old and New Testaments are bound in one volume. The God who reveals himself in the Old Testament is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The New Testament recounts the fulfilment of promises made centuries beforehand. So the two Testaments form one historical and theological work, in which each event and word can only be understood fully when interpreted in the context of the whole; and the whole can only be rightly interpreted in the light of its central event and Word, Jesus Christ."
An Attempt to Establish an Historically Accurate Definition of "Typology"
An interesting overview of the history of the term and its use in the Bible and the writings of the Fathers.
Typology: A Summary of the Present Evangelical Discussion
A useful overview of the various wings of Protestant thought on this key issue of biblical interpretation.
The Divine Meaning of Human Scripture
A good study from Westminster Theological Journal.
Hermeneutics and Biblical Theology
Protestant scholar Steven Baugh says: "We must realize that there is one theme running throughout all of the books of the Bible, tying the subplots, characters, and sub-themes into one grand redemptive drama."
Hermeneutics and Biblical Authority
A good study of the inspiration and authority of Scripture from an evangelical perspective. By James Packer, a leading evangelical scholar. Another good piece from a Protestant perspective is:
- Origins of Modern Attacks on Biblical Authority
How Can the Bible Be Authoritative?
A good defense of Scripture and its authority and inspiration by N.T. Wright, top Scripture scholar and Anglican bishop of Durham, England. See also Bishop Wright's:
- The Bible for the Post-Modern World
- A New World
- Resurrection Faith, History and Belief
- The Resurrection (Luke 20:27-38)
Lectio Divina and Paul Ricoeur's Hermeneutic Philosophy
A good introduction to Ricoeur's thought and its promise - and limitations - for Christian study of the Bible. By a Reformed pastor, Rev. Michael J. Pahls. (pdf files, requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
The Influence of German Biblical Criticism on Muslim Apologetics in the 19th Century
A very interesting study by Dr. Christine Schirrmacher. A quote: "The aim of this paper is to trace the development of a new Muslim view of Christianity in the 19th century, which still has an enormous impact on today's Muslim apologetical works. The composition of anti-Christian books has changed in character due to the achievement of a different view of Christian dogmas and Christianity itself in the 19th century."
