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| The Bible: A light in our lives |
How can we understand the Bible so
that it better nurtures our faith?
Catholics recognize that the biblical
writers, in the light of their culture, used various forms of
communication or literary forms (e.g., poetry, drama, historical
narrative, fiction) to communicate certain religious truths about
God, the universe and ourselves.
So we first must
know what kind of literary form or genre the writers were using. Then we will
be able to discover more clearly the truth that the literary form is trying to
communicate.
The writers
definitely were not communicating scientific truths. We say, e. g.,
the sun rises/sets. Actually the sun doesn’t rise or set. And the
Bible often speaks symbolically, e. g., the parables of Jesus; they are not to be interpreted literally.
The two creation stories communicate
certain truths: God is the absolute creator; everything God made is
good; evil comes from human sin; men and women are equal in dignity,
etc. The literary form the ancient writer chose derived from the
Babylonian culture with which he was familiar.
For mainstream
Catholics, the Bible is a privileged form of God’s communication to
us—a two-way communication between God and us. And that is why we
have to prayerfully search for God’s voice in the Bible.
Fundamentalists
and mainstream Catholics do agree about certain beliefs: Jesus is a
God-man (the mystery of the incarnation); he was born of the Virgin
Mary; he re-established our relationship with God through his horrific death and
glorious resurrection.
Yet
fundamentalists, who say that God dictated every word in the bible;
and every word is to be understood literally, will ask: Why don’t
Catholics see the Bible as simply the Word of God? Why do they
require the authority of the Church to know Biblical truths?
Why? Because the
Bible is not always easily understandable; in fact it’s sometimes
open to different interpretations. The authority of the Church
Universal authentically interprets the Bible. Yes, The Church is a biblical
Community, in the sense that it acknowledges and proclaims the bible
as the privileged Word of God in human form. The New Testament in
particular points to Jesus of Nazareth as the unique revelation of
God to us.
The Spirit guides
the Church Universal in interpreting Jesus Christ, our way, our truth and our
life in every generation and in every culture. Redemption or
salvation is a gift or grace from God by virtue of the death and
resurrection of Jesus and the outpouring of the Spirit.
Fundamentalists also ask: Why does the
Church repeat the sacrifice of the Mass? Didn’t Jesus die once and
for all? Yes! But at the Last Supper, Jesus said: “Do this in
memory of me.” We re-experience the one saving
sacrifice of Jesus at every Mass until Jesus Christ comes again in
glory at the end-time.
May the Bible, the Word of God in
human form, nurture our faith. May we all learn more deeply our love
for the scriptures; enthusiasm for proclaiming the Word of God; and
the need we all have for friendships with God and our fellow human
beings.
