Abstract
Twenty years ago, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote in his preface to the Pontifical Biblical Commissions' report, The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church: “The study of the Bible is, as it were, the soul of theology, as the Second Vatican Council says. … This study is never finished; each age must in its own way newly seek to understand the sacred books.” The Pontifical Biblical Commission (PBC) report went on to examine the various contemporary methods for biblical study in light of this challenge:
The interpretation of biblical texts continues in our own day to be a matter of lively interest and significant debate. In recent years the discussions involved have taken on some new dimensions. Granted the fundamental importance of the Bible for Christian faith, for the life of the church and for relations between Christians and the faithful of other religions, the Pontifical Biblical Commission has been asked to make a statement on this subject.
In the quest for greater awareness for both internal governance and external outreach, the PBC expanded the task:
Biblical studies have made great progress in the Catholic Church, and the academic value of these studies has been acknowledged more and more in the scholarly world and among the faithful. This has greatly smoothed the path of ecumenical dialogue. The deepening of the Bible's influence upon theology has contributed to theological renewal. Interest in the Bible has grown among Catholics, with resultant progress in the Christian life. All those who have acquired a solid formation in this area consider it quite impossible to return to a pre-critical level of interpretation, a level which they now rightly judge to be quite inadequate.
Present-day authors such as Garry Wills bring special focus to this challenge. If theology continues to be, as it always was, conditioned by local contexts, then Wills' statements have special poignancy as the Catholic church transitions to a new papacy following the resignation of an elderly man whose physical abilities are acknowledged not to meet the modern challenges of public office: “The claim of priests and popes to be the sole conduits of grace is a remnant of the era of papal monarchy. We are watching that era fade. But some refuse to recognize its senescence” (“New Pope? I've Given Up Hope,” New York Times, February 12, 2013). It can hardly be missed that the institution is opened to question itself as a symbol of Christ's presence in the world. How to redress this challenge short of re-examining the foundational principles and interpreting them in a truly modern context? The Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) made notable strides in this task fifty years ago. Four popes later, its advances may now be evaluated and future course corrections set.
BTB continues in its quest to bring to our readership cutting edge discussions that impinge on these challenges by utilizing resources now at hand in the social sciences. In the current issue,
Taken together, these studies expose interpretative variations that prevail over time and place. They reflect the dynamic flow of evidence that diversity remains the guiding principle of biblical interpretation within the various biblical communities.