OTHCC Chapter 14: items 261

The Old Testament in the Heart of the Catholic Church < > All Chapters

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Often, there is more meaning in a particular passage in the Bible, even beyond the meaning the human author intended to convey, particularly as seen in the light of the reality of the sacraments and the truth of the New Testament. For example, look at Gen 1:1 and compare it to Jn 1:1, as you did in a previous question. (Yes, you do have to go back and do that now). But all meaning starts with the truth of the literal sense of the passage. <<

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Who gets to have an opinion about the meaning of a particular passage in the Bible?

a.   Anybody.
b.   Only people who study the Bible for a living.
c.   Only the Pope and bishops in union with him.

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Sometimes a certain passage in the Bible may be particularly moving to you when you read or hear it. That is the opposite of a bad idea. In fact, that's great! Just try to make sure that the meaning you find there does not contradict a meaning already known to the Church. The meaning you found in that passage could add something personal to you, etc., but it must not contradict the meanings which the Church knows are revealed in the passage, or you will be moving farther from Christ, however ''sincere'' your feeling about the passage is.

For example, if you read Gen 3, and its special meaning for you depended on it being just a metaphor, a story, and nothing more, then, obviously, you would be on the wrong track. <<

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Who decides whether a particular opinion about the meaning of a particular passage in the Bible may lead us farther from Christ?

a.   Anybody.
b.   Only people who study the Bible for a living.
c.   Only the Pope and bishops in union with him.

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What happens if the Church has made no firm judgment about the meaning of a particular passage in the Bible? As long as it does not contradict a truth known to the Church,

a.   anybody can have an opinion.
b.   only people who study the Bible for a living can have an opinion.
c.   only the Pope and bishops in union with him can have an opinion.

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Read Gen 5:26-27 (chapter 5, verses 26-27). Is the literal sense of that passage that Methuselah actually lived nine hundred sixty-nine years?

a.   Maybe.
b.   No.
c.   Yes.

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Have the pope and bishops united with him firmly decided that anyone who thinks that Methuselah actually lived nine hundred sixty-nine years is by that fact alone moving farther from Christ?

a.   Maybe.
b.   No.
c.   Yes.

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Have the pope and bishops united with him firmly decided that anyone who thinks that Methuselah did not actually live nine hundred sixty-nine years is by that fact alone moving farther from Christ?

a.   Maybe.
b.   No.
c.   Yes.

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It is likely that millions of Catholics, for century upon century, thought that Methuselah actually lived nine hundred sixty-nine years. This judgment

a.   by itself moved them farther from Christ.
b.   did not by itself move them farther from Christ.
c.   may by itself have moved them farther from Christ.

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It is likely that millions of Catholics today think that Methuselah did not actually live nine hundred sixty-nine years. This judgment

a.   by itself moves them farther from Christ.
b.   does not by itself move them farther from Christ.
c.   may by itself move them farther from Christ.

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A Catholic priest who is a Bible scholar teaches a class on the Old Testament and informs you that the Fall is ''perhaps best understood not as a personal sin committed by a historical first man and first woman (Adam and Eve). Rather, the point of the Adam and Eve narrative in Genesis - and the concept of 'original sin' - is to acknowledge and explain the mystery of evil in human existence and in the world and its impact on us.''

After having this statement translated into English, you realize that he's just told you that Adam and Eve were not real, and that the Fall was not a real event. If you moved toward that judgment expressed by that Catholic priest and scholar,

a.   by itself that would move you farther from Christ.
b.   by itself that might not move you farther from Christ.
c.   by itself that would not move you farther from Christ.

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A Catholic priest who is a Bible scholar teaches a class on the Old Testament and informs you that the age given for Methuselah in Gen 5:26-27 ''should be interpreted in the light of the saga/genealogy-form in which the passage occurs.''

After having this statement translated into English, you realize that he's just told you that Methuselah's age should be interpreted as part of a story told about the history of a long line of great heroes descended from one another, doing great deeds in the ancient past. If you moved toward that judgment expressed by that Catholic priest and scholar,

a.   by itself that would move you farther from Christ.
b.   by itself that might not move you farther from Christ.
c.   by itself that would not move you farther from Christ.

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A modern biblical scholar, who is an expert in languages and a Bible translator, notes that the English language is severely ''limited'' in that it does not possess a word for ''generic human being.'' From this you conclude that

a.   absolutely everything a modern biblical scholar says is correct.
b.   modern biblical scholars can sometimes say amazingly silly things.
c.   modern biblical scholars know more than you about everything.

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According to the Holy Father and bishops in communion with him [CCC 129], the full meaning of the Old Testament

a.   has already been determined.
b.   is inexhaustible.
c.   will never be known.

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If man wants to know the full meaning of the Old Testament, then he

a.   can look it up in a special chapter at the end of the Bible.
b.   had better pray very faithfully and work very hard.
c.   should be very quiet and let the bishops tell him what it is.

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Scholars who study the Bible for a living sometimes make mistakes, and scholars today, even Catholic ones, do not always operate as if the sacraments were real and the New Testament were true. Your own opinions about what the Bible means are

a.   still usually much worse than those of the experts.
b.   usually as good as those of the experts.
c.   usually much better than those of the experts.

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What are the chances that you yourself could find part of the true meaning of the Old Testament that no one had ever found before?

a.   It's possible.
b.   That's impossible.
c.   Zero percent.

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The Old Testament and the New Testament

a.   are completely separate books.
b.   cancel each other out.
c.   reveal the full unity of God's plan.

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The word ''typology'' has a special meaning within the Catholic Church. Typology is

a.   hegemonic privileging of meaning by an oppressor religious culture.
b.   seeing in God's works in the Old Testament a pre-echo of the works of his Son.
c.   the art of trivializing the literal sense of the Old Testament until it vanishes.

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You may not have known what ''hegemonic privileging of meaning by an oppressor religious culture'' means. Actually, including that answer was a kind of inside joke. Some segments of current academic culture actually string together words something like those on a daily basis. The basic charge in those words is that one culture is taking over another culture's words or ideas and giving them a new meaning at the expense of the original meaning, something like one country taking over another country.

Typology is one expression of what the Catholic Church has always done, which is to read the Old Testament in the light of the New, as if the sacraments were real and the New Testament is true. The Church was taught to do this by Jesus Christ himself, since he himself used the Old Testament to refer to himself, and also showed the disciples how the Old Testament referred to himself on the road to Emmaus.

On the other hand, the Holy Father and bishops in communion with him teach plainly that the Old Covenant is not revoked and remains in force. [CCC 121] <<

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