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Thursday, August 28, 2008 |
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The Bible Corner
By St Mary Administrator @ 9:01 AM :: 108 Views ::  :: Church News
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Only seven passages of the Bible have ever been officially interpreted by the Church:
1. John 3:5 - natural water must be used for valid Baptism
2. John 20:23 - priestly power was given to forgive sins
3. Luke 22:19- the conferring of priestly ordination
4. ICor. 11:24 - priestly ordination
5. John 20:20 - apostles and their successors have the power to forgive sins
6. Rom. 5:12 - death is the result of sin
7. James 5:14 - the origin of the sacrament of the sick
The church has never said that the rest of the Bible is to be interpreted absolutely word for word (literally). This way of interpretation is called fundamentalism. The church does not subscribe to this in general. Certainly there are certain obvious parts of scripture that really mean what they say word for word.
But that many places in the Bible, especially the Old Testament, are called literary forms. Fundamentalists will say that the Genesis account of creation is years before Christ.
Biblical scholars, both Protestant and Catholic say that Genesis is not a chronological table but a literary form (like an allegory) that shows God’s goodness and His creation of all things. Fundamentalists insist that the Bible means what each word literally means. For example, Jesus said “Do not call anyone on earth your Father. Only One is your Father, the One in heaven” (Mt. 23:9). But then, children ought to come up with a new title for male parents. In this passage, Jesus was opposing the formalism of the Pharisees. He wasn’t talking about the addressing of clergy or parents. He was insisting that everyone do what Gods wants us to do. So you can see that the context of a passage is important.
Fr. George Gibbons
St. Joseph Parish
Fond du Lac
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