Biblical Exegesis and Church Doctrine

by Raymond E. Brown

In Roman Catholic circles the novelty of contemporary scripture interpretation has been grasped on a surface level. Clearly, to most scholars, the gospels were not written by eyewitnesses and are not necessarily literal accounts of Jesus' words. Scholars assert that the Bible is a diversified library and not necessarily all history, and that many of the dogmas of the church go beyond what the original biblical authors and audience would have thought. To some liberally minded Catholics these assertions lessen the authority of doctrine and free them to search out totally new positions while ignoring what has been traditionally taught. To some more conservatively minded Catholics, horrified by the possibility of doctrinal breakdown, the only answer is to reject contemporary biblical exegesis with its historical and critical components and to hold on stubbornly to past attitudes toward scripture as if such attitudes were themselves doctrine. This book argues that neither reaction has grasped the novelty of scripture interpretation at a depth level. Centrist Catholic New Testament interpretation, while firm in its historical approach to the scriptures, often detects lines of development that form an intelligible connective between the biblical period and the doctrines of the later church. Indeed the implications of such a centrist exegesis place the authority for doctrine where it has always been in genuine Catholic thought (as opposed to biblical fundamentalism): not in the book but in the church interpreting the book. As it faces new situations, the church under the guidance of the Spirit gains new insights into the revelation to which the Bible bears witness.

Genres: Theology

174 pages, Paperback

Published August 15, 2002

About the author

Roman Catholic priest, member of Society of Saint-Sulpice and a prominent biblical scholar, esteemed by not only his colleagues of the same confession. One of the first Roman Catholic scholars to apply historical-critical analysis to the Bible.

Reviews

[Robbie Deacon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raymond E Brown was a Catholic priest and biblical scholar who embraced the historical-critical method of exegesis. He was faithful to Catholic dogmatic teaching yet he challenged the biblical basis for many important doctrines; in “Biblical Exegesis and Church Doctrine” he shows how that isn’t a massive paradox. This book helped me to be less wary about critical biblical scholarship by showing some examples of how it can function in relation to doctrine.

Brown spends a lot of time defending himself and his method against conservative and liberal critics, but he avoids getting overly polemical.
Chapters 1, 2, and 8 are highlights (historical-critical exegesis in Roman-Catholicism, Critical exegesis and the development of doctrine, and The Preaching described in Acts and early Christian doctrinal priorities), and the appendix about the shroud of Turin is very interesting.

[Maria Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, I enjoy every page of Raymond Brown's writing. I also learn a lot from every book he wrote. Can't recommend this book enough to anyone interested in this topic.