In the first volume of his trilogy, Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict XVI saluted the important contributions that historical-critical analysis of the literary forms and editorial “layers” of ancient texts had made to understanding the Bible.
The Pope also suggested that the essential fruits of that method had been harvested and that the time had come for a less dissecting approach to biblical interpretation: one that “read individual [biblical] texts within the totality of the one Scripture, which then sheds light on the individual texts;” one that that took into account “the living tradition of the whole Church;” and one that read the Bible within the context of the Church’s faith and the interlocking truths within that faith.
Read Full Article »