Against Harmonization in Biblical Interpretation

Careful readers of Scripture committed to its truth as an article of faith often face challenges when its details stand in tension and even contradiction. Examples are easy to produce: Was the Passover celebrated on Thursday evening prior to our Lord’s crucifixion (as asserted by the Synoptic Gospels) or on Good Friday (as asserted in John; cf. John 18:28)? Were land animals and birds created prior to humans (Gen 1:20–27) or after (Gen 2:19)? Did Judas return the price of his betrayal (Matt 27:3–10), or did he use it to buy the field in which he died (Acts 1:18–19)?

For readers who understand Scripture to be without error (cf. Dei Verbum § 11), these kinds of questions produce anxiety and cry out for some kind of answer. Some scholars and apologists are eager to provide answers in the form of harmonizing readings that seek to eliminate or downplay the apparent contradictions. This instinct for harmonization generally arises from a pious and laudable commitment to the truth of Scripture. Nevertheless, as a general reading strategy, harmonization can result in seriously impoverished readings that fail to do justice to Scripture’s true richness.

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