Sixteenth of Year B - The Bible
July 2009
Like any science or discipline our understanding of the subject grows through investigation and study. This is true also of Bible study and theology.
During my talks on Heaven and Hell I mentioned how Biblical descriptions which at one time were taken as factual were later discovered to be symbols or signs which conveyed truths or messages.
For example take the accounts of creation as we read in The Book of Genesis; the six days, Adam and Eve, the garden of Eden, the forbidden fruit, the serpent, the fall of man etc. Not so long ago these were taken as factual accounts and if one doubted them one was regarded as being a heretic. Now we understand that these are not factual accounts but stories which carry a message.
This new understanding of the Bible developed over the last 150 years or so, starting with Protestant biblical scholars. This new approach is now approved and encouraged by the Catholic Church and is bringing, new insights into our understanding of the Bible.
It is now understood that many of the wondrous events which are described not only in the Old Testament but also in the New Testament are not necessarily to be understood as factual accounts but biblical word pictures which convey a true message. Therefore we look for the underlying message rather than at the events as described.
We are all now aware that the Creation stories in Genesis are not factual accounts but stories which convey a message. We may also have to consider that the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus and the sending of the Holy Spirit, which are facts, did not necessarily happen exactly as described or within the time frame indicated in the New Testament accounts. Again, the infancy stories about Jesus, as we read in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, may not necessarily have happened exactly as described.
In our understanding of the Bible it is essential to distinguish between the truths which the authors wished to convey ( and which are immutable) and the vehicle or story or teaching method they used to convey these truths.
The Bible tells us a lot about what God is like but it tells us far more about what God is not like. For example it describes on very many occasions how human beings convinced themselves that wars and the destruction of their enemies was the will of God when in fact it was only what they themselves wanted to do. God cannot will some of his children to destroy others of his children.
By picking and choosing bits and pieces from the Bible you can prove or disprove anything you wish.
The Bible must be understood as a whole. From the very beginning to the very end, one must understand what the overall message of the Bible is, and every other part of the Bible must dovetail into this overall message.
A fair example is a jigsaw puzzle. Every individual piece must fit into the overall picture and if one piece fails to fit now, one just lays it aside for the time being until its proper place is found. So when reading the Bible one must be aware of the overall message of the Bible. Anything which does not fit into this message must be studied further or put aside until an interpretation is found which dovetails into the overall message.
This is why our church, while encouraging the reading of the Bible, advises caution, and insists on the role of the official church as the final authority on the interpretation of the Bible.
This is a necessary and wise stand to take.