Tag: Interpretation

A Little thought: Dangers of being literalistic…

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For the last few weeks, for one reason or another, I haven’t been able to attend the Divine Liturgy at my parish, meaning that I’ve had to go to a Roman Mass instead. The Readings for the last couple of weeks in the Roman Lectionary have been rather interesting. Over the next couple of days I wanted to share a few extremely brief thoughts…

The First Reading on 27th July caught my attention. We heard of Solomon’s encounter with the Lord, and God’s gift to him of divine wisdom. At the end of the passage, God says to Solomon the following:

“I give you a heart so wise and understanding that there has never been anyone like you up to now, and after you there will come no one to equal you.” – 1 Kings 3:12

It struck me that this is a perfect example as to why we have to be careful when we interpret the Bible. If we were to take this passage literalistically*, we would have to conclude that Solomon is absolutely, categorically, the wisest man ever. However, from the Christian point of view, that’s not true, is it? What about Jesus? Wasn’t Jesus wiser than Solomon?

“Well, obviously, Jesus is the exception!” some might say. Now, that’s true, but it does at least demonstrate the point that words like “never” and phrases like “no one” aren’t always quite as absolute as they may first appear.

Prophet-Solomon1

* This is in contrast to interpreting a passage literally, which is where we look to the meaning intended by the Author. The phrase “It’s raining cats and dogs”, when literally interpreted, means that it’s raining heavily. To interpret “It’s raining cats and dogs” literalistically means that family pets are falling form the sky.

Catholic Biblical Interpretation

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The Catechism of the Catholic Church offers three main guidelines for the interpretation of Scripture.

#112 (1) Be especially attentive “to the content and unity of the whole Scripture”. Different as the books which compose it may be, Scripture is a unity by reason of the unity of God’s plan, of which Christ Jesus is the center and heart, open since his Passover.

#113 (2) Read the Scripture within “the living Tradition of the whole Church”. According to a saying of the Fathers, Sacred Scripture is written principally in the Church’s heart rather than in documents and records, for the Church carries in her Tradition the living memorial of God’s Word, and it is the Holy Spirit who gives her the spiritual interpretation of the Scripture (“. . . according to the spiritual meaning which the Spirit grants to the Church”81).

#114 (3). Be attentive to the analogy of faith.82 By “analogy of faith” we mean the coherence of the truths of faith among themselves and within the whole plan of Revelation.

But what do each of these mean? Here’s my paraphrase:

1. Be especially attentive “to the content and unity of the whole Scripture”
Does my interpretation fit within the overall context of the passage, that particular book of Scripture and all the books of the Bible? How does it fit in within God’s fatherly plan (oikonomia)

2. Read the Scripture within “the living Tradition of the whole Church”
Is my interpretation in line with the consensus of the Early Church Fathers, the Saints, the councils and popes and the Liturgy of the Church throughout the centuries?

3. Be “attentive to the analogy of faith”.
The “analogy of faith” is sometimes called the “rule of faith” and refers to the standard for belief. For the Catholic this means: does my interpretation logically and coherently fit into the Catholic Faith, which is the complete revelation of Jesus Christ as revealed in Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and taught by the Magisterium, the teaching authority of the Church? If it conflicts with other parts of the faith, the interpretation is probably wrong.

The article Catholic Biblical Interpretation first appeared on RestlessPilgrim.net