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The Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture: The Word that Comes from God and Speaks of God for the Salvation of the World
In his 2009 post-synodal apostolic exhortation Verbum Domini , Pope Benedict XVI pointed out that “theological reflection has always considered inspiration and truth as two key concepts for an ecclesial hermeneutic of the sacred Scriptures” and that there is today the need “for a fuller and more adequate study of these realities, in order to better respond to the need of interpreting the sacred texts in accordance with their nature.”
The Inspiration and Truth of Sacred The Word That Comes from God and Speaks of God for the Salvation of the World is the contribution of the Pontifical Biblical Commission toward a more adequate understanding of the concepts of inspiration and truth that respects both the nature of the Bible and its significance for the life of the Church. Drawing on a close reading of the Scriptures themselves, the document focuses on three main The inspiration of Sacred Scripture and the exploration of its divine provenance2. The truth of the Word of God, emphasizing the message about God and his project of salvation3. Challenges that arise from the Bible itself, on account of certain aspects that seem inconsistent with its quality of being the Word of God
Reading this document, formally approved by Pope Francis, will strengthen the reader to receive the word of God—in the liturgical assembly and in every other place—in its theological, Christological, soteriological, and ecclesiological context in a way that corresponds ever more closely to this unique gift of God whereby God communicates his very self and invites us into communion with him.
The Inspiration and Truth of Sacred The Word That Comes from God and Speaks of God for the Salvation of the World is the contribution of the Pontifical Biblical Commission toward a more adequate understanding of the concepts of inspiration and truth that respects both the nature of the Bible and its significance for the life of the Church. Drawing on a close reading of the Scriptures themselves, the document focuses on three main The inspiration of Sacred Scripture and the exploration of its divine provenance2. The truth of the Word of God, emphasizing the message about God and his project of salvation3. Challenges that arise from the Bible itself, on account of certain aspects that seem inconsistent with its quality of being the Word of God
Reading this document, formally approved by Pope Francis, will strengthen the reader to receive the word of God—in the liturgical assembly and in every other place—in its theological, Christological, soteriological, and ecclesiological context in a way that corresponds ever more closely to this unique gift of God whereby God communicates his very self and invites us into communion with him.
208 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2014
About the author
Pontifical Biblical Commission
8 books3 followersThe Pontifical Biblical Commission (Latin: Pontificia Commissio Biblica) is an organism established within the Roman Curia to ensure the proper interpretation and defense of Sacred Scripture.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 3, 2021
Super useless book!
June 21, 2024
This publication by the Pontificial Bibiclial Commission (PBC) focuses on the twin issues of inspiration and truth, in the context of dealing with a specific problem. That problem is the ‘widespread discrediting of the sacred text and a veiled mistrust of its pastoral usefulness’ (p167). The problem arises because the biblical text includes violence, criminality and inappropriate attitudes towards women.
The PBC thinks it can solve the problem by avoiding a fundamentalist reading of Scripture (p.xxii) and by recognising that there are ‘literary genres’ and cultural forms of expression in the text. So, for example, the genocidal conquest of canaan can be viewed as just a metaphor or parable about good triumphing over evil (p.149). And we can know that God’s inspiration intended the story to be taken non-literally because city walls don’t fall down when trumpets are blown (Josh 6.20) (p.146)
But how can the PBC be so sure that the original writers of the bible didn’t think that God could (literally) bring down a wall with a trumpet blast? Similarly, how can the PBC be so sure that biblical writers didn’t think it was (literally) okay to massacre children and rape prisoners?
The PBC takes a different tack when it says that the Old Testament texts are ‘outdated by a better understanding of the procedures of justice’ (p145). But far from solving the problem, doesn’t that now raise a new problem? How can the inspired truths of an omniscient God become ‘outdated?’
When explaining the 1 Timothy 2: 11-15 text about women, the PBC describe it as ‘less defensible’ because it justifies the treatment of women by giving a specific interpretation of Eve in Genesis. And in any case that text is ‘incompatible with 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 and Romans 5:12-21’ (p153).
Wow! So is the PBC saying that the New Testament contains what is in effect an (inspired and true) misreading of Genesis, and that misreading can be seen to be wrong because it is contradictory with other New Testament texts?
The PBC recognises that there are texts in the bible which can ‘scandalize and disorient Christians’ (p.143) and it endorses the hierarchy’s decision to effectively censor sections of the bible when it is read in Churches. That censorship consists of ‘systematically omitting those verses which would be offensive to Christian sensibilities’ (p.143). The PBC notes that this raises a very serious question about the inspiration of the bible, as 2 Tim 3,16 states that inspired texts are ‘useful for teaching…’ If the Church has suddenly decided that some texts need to be censored because they are no longer ‘useful for teaching’ isn’t that an effective denial of their inspiration? This is a good question which is well posed by the PBC. But the PBC does not provide an answer.
Similarly the PBC notes that the text 2 Peter is pseudepigraphical (p.60). Another word for pseudepigraphical is ‘forgery.’ The PBC notes that being pseudepigraphical has no implications for whether the text is inspired (p.60). But the text asserts that the author is an eyewitness of gospel events. If the author was not an eyewitness then isn’t the text lying, and doesn’t that mean that God’s inspiration has included inspiring the author to lie? That is a serious theological question, but the PBC does not provide a solution.
Overall, this was a disappointing book. Its 200 pages felt ‘long’ and repetitive in places, especially in the first two thirds of the book which was just showing the reader multiple examples of how the bible claims to be inspired and true. The ‘meat’ of the book was its attempt to deal with difficult passages, to show that they can still be accepted as inspired and true by Christians. But the PBC’s analysis of those passages raised questions which the book did not answer, and so it needed a lot more explanation than was given.
The PBC thinks it can solve the problem by avoiding a fundamentalist reading of Scripture (p.xxii) and by recognising that there are ‘literary genres’ and cultural forms of expression in the text. So, for example, the genocidal conquest of canaan can be viewed as just a metaphor or parable about good triumphing over evil (p.149). And we can know that God’s inspiration intended the story to be taken non-literally because city walls don’t fall down when trumpets are blown (Josh 6.20) (p.146)
But how can the PBC be so sure that the original writers of the bible didn’t think that God could (literally) bring down a wall with a trumpet blast? Similarly, how can the PBC be so sure that biblical writers didn’t think it was (literally) okay to massacre children and rape prisoners?
The PBC takes a different tack when it says that the Old Testament texts are ‘outdated by a better understanding of the procedures of justice’ (p145). But far from solving the problem, doesn’t that now raise a new problem? How can the inspired truths of an omniscient God become ‘outdated?’
When explaining the 1 Timothy 2: 11-15 text about women, the PBC describe it as ‘less defensible’ because it justifies the treatment of women by giving a specific interpretation of Eve in Genesis. And in any case that text is ‘incompatible with 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 and Romans 5:12-21’ (p153).
Wow! So is the PBC saying that the New Testament contains what is in effect an (inspired and true) misreading of Genesis, and that misreading can be seen to be wrong because it is contradictory with other New Testament texts?
The PBC recognises that there are texts in the bible which can ‘scandalize and disorient Christians’ (p.143) and it endorses the hierarchy’s decision to effectively censor sections of the bible when it is read in Churches. That censorship consists of ‘systematically omitting those verses which would be offensive to Christian sensibilities’ (p.143). The PBC notes that this raises a very serious question about the inspiration of the bible, as 2 Tim 3,16 states that inspired texts are ‘useful for teaching…’ If the Church has suddenly decided that some texts need to be censored because they are no longer ‘useful for teaching’ isn’t that an effective denial of their inspiration? This is a good question which is well posed by the PBC. But the PBC does not provide an answer.
Similarly the PBC notes that the text 2 Peter is pseudepigraphical (p.60). Another word for pseudepigraphical is ‘forgery.’ The PBC notes that being pseudepigraphical has no implications for whether the text is inspired (p.60). But the text asserts that the author is an eyewitness of gospel events. If the author was not an eyewitness then isn’t the text lying, and doesn’t that mean that God’s inspiration has included inspiring the author to lie? That is a serious theological question, but the PBC does not provide a solution.
Overall, this was a disappointing book. Its 200 pages felt ‘long’ and repetitive in places, especially in the first two thirds of the book which was just showing the reader multiple examples of how the bible claims to be inspired and true. The ‘meat’ of the book was its attempt to deal with difficult passages, to show that they can still be accepted as inspired and true by Christians. But the PBC’s analysis of those passages raised questions which the book did not answer, and so it needed a lot more explanation than was given.
August 8, 2021
The Pontifical Biblical Commission's latest document seeks to provide needed clarity in light of some of the problematic questions contemporary readers have regarding the Church's claim of "inspiration" and "truth" of the Bible. The document, divided into three sections, begins with its treatment on "inspiration." The second section deals with "truth" claims. The third section deals specifically with historical and ethical problems. The document gets increasingly more compelling as it goes along. The first section on "inspiration" while solid is the least inspirational. Its basic function is to demonstrate how certain parts of the Bible attest to its "inspirational" character. The second on "truth" offers a much needed discussion on what is meant by Dei Verbum's "for the sake of our salvation." It also demonstrates how various parts of the sacred text demonstrate biblical truth. The final section, the most compelling, goes right to the heart of the questions that concern many readers of the Bible today: how do we reconcile the God of Jesus Christ with a God who commands genocide?; how do we handle passages in the Bible which contradict one another?; in what sense are these problematic passages "inspired" and "true"? While the PBC's latest document may not answer all our questions in this regard, it provides a very valuable articulation that can help serious and critical readers of the Bible read their sacred text more sensitively and with greater reward.
May 5, 2015
A very RC document.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews