The last sentence quoted may seem to imply a progressivist, evolutionary notion of ecclesiastical history, in accordance with modern futurism. This strong stance on Biblical inerrancy, however much it may be derided as “fundamentalism” (a shibboleth of elastic meaning), is in fact merely the consistent position of the Magisterium, and indeed of all the Fathers of the Church. For there is a growth in the understanding of the realities and the words which have been handed down” (8). The ancient Hebrews commonly used physical images or figures of speech to represent more abstract ideas, and the interpreter would do well to reveal the intended meaning behind the proper literal sense. Likewise, in accord with Christ’s own teaching (Matt. With advances in archaeology and the knowledge of ancient history and literature, it might likewise become possible for at least some parts of “higher criticism” to become less arbitrary and subjective than the speculations of the nineteenth-century German theorists. 15:4), The Council holds a distinctively Christian understanding of the Old Covenant:[1]. Sacred Tradition is presented as temporally prior to Scripture and as equal to Scripture in authority. Summary of Dei Verbum – Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation By: Deacon Ed Sheffer The difficult issue for the Vatican Two fathers, with laying out this document, rested in resolving the relationship of Scripture and Sacred Tradition, and reconciling that there was no error of God’s self-revelation to the world. It is only logically consistent for the Church to uphold the inerrancy of Scripture if she is to maintain the infallibility of authentic magisterial teaching. Central to the commentary’s approach are the theological principles taught by Vatican II for interpreting Scripture “in accord with the same Spirit by which it was written”—that is, interpreting Scripture in its canonical context and in the light of Catholic tradition and the analogy of faith (Dei Verbum, 12). The Jews regard Holy Scripture as composed of the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. en The word of God reveals the final destiny of men and women and provides a unifying explanation of all that they do in the world. Matt. 5:17), the New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old. As a result, “fundamentalism” has come to be identified with strict Biblical literalism, and it is wrongly perceived that defenders of Biblical inerrancy are necessarily naive literalists or young-earth creationists. Further, no Catholic can deny that our understanding of Scripture has improved greatly on many points, due to the divinely guided activities of the Fathers and other successors of the Apostles, and by other clergy and religious. 1. Nonetheless, since in his entire writing he is guided by the Spirit of Truth, there will be no falsehood in anything he asserts. What, exactly, is meant by the divine inspiration of Scripture? So Dei Verbum is careful not to speak about Scripture and Tradition in lifeless, un-historical terms, or to view them as two completely separate sources of revelation. The third chapter (“Sacred Scripture, its Inspiration and Divine Interpretation”) explains that the books of the Old and New Testaments are sacred and canonical because, “written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author and have been handed on as such to the Church herself” (11). The Church does not allow the use of literary forms as a means of admitting falsehood in Scripture. It could be that Scripture and Tradition cover the same doctrines, while helping to clarify each other. What is the purpose and nature of Divine Revelation? 1. The first sentence parallels a similar statement by the Council of Trent, which includes: “...having been written under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, they have God for their author.” The second sentence clarifies that the Catholic notion of Biblical inspiration does not involve the suppression of human agency. Even when following an authentic edition, an uneducated Catholic might be easily misled by the superficial or apparent meaning of text, if he does not have a comprehensive knowledge of Scripture and Tradition as interpreted by the Church. These dependencies are not utter dependencies, for each of the three has its own direct connection to the Holy Spirit of truth, albeit by different modes. "The living Tradition of the whole Church" obviously derives from the pneumatological principle. It is one thing to deny or compromise Scriptural inerrancy on rationalistic grounds, but quite another to claim that the universal Magisterium has abandoned it. In the early Tridentine era, Scriptural studies by Catholic laity were positively discouraged, as these often relied on faulty editions informed by heretical theologies. The remainder of the document deals with the inspiration and interpretation of Holy Scripture. The outline is straightforward. This agrees with the perennial faith of the Church, for we say without contradiction that St. Paul was the author of the letter to the Romans, and so was the Holy Spirit. Tradition depends on Scripture, since the Fathers themselves frequently appealed to Scripture to defend their teachings. The present Council prefers the term “living tradition,” indicating that Sacred Tradition did not end with the Fathers (though they are reliable witnesses to Tradition), but continues even today. Historical Background Sacred Scripture is the basis of much (possibly all, as discussed above) of the Church’s … The transmission of the full revelation of Christ was commissioned in the first place to the Apostles (“sent ones”), who were ordered to preach the Gospel to all men. God is its Author insofar as he inspired it, but human beings are its “true authors” (DV 11). vatican.va. In a Catholic context, the “analogy of faith” requires us to interpret each part of Scripture in harmony with the whole of Scripture and Sacred Tradition as taught by the Church. [Introduction] The Council insists that “all the clergy must hold fast to the Sacred Scriptures through diligent sacred reading and careful study... so that none of them will become ‘an empty preacher of the word of God outwardly, who is not a listener to it inwardly’”. This broad notion of Tradition includes liturgical, devotional and canonical customs, not all of which are immutable, though all contribute to holiness of life in their time and place. DOGMATIC CONSTITUTION ON DIVINE REVELATION DEI VERBUM SOLEMNLY PROMULGATED BY HIS HOLINESS POPE PAUL VI ON NOVEMBER 18, 1965. Thus the present Council makes no suggestion that we should depart from the Fathers, while at the same time allowing that we may learn new things about the deposit of faith. This unity of word and deed is most prominent in Christ, “who is both the mediator and the fullness of all revelation.”. Revelation, Scripture, Tradition, Magisterium have the same unique source and the … In the second chapter (“Handing on Divine Revelation”), the Council teaches that God has chosen to convey His revelation through Scripture and Tradition under the authentic interpretive authority of the Magisterium of the Church. “This plan of revelation is realized by deeds and words having an inner unity: the deeds wrought by God in the history of salvation manifest and confirm the teaching and realities signified by the words, while the words proclaim the deeds and clarify the mystery contained in them.” (DV, 2) Clearly, the Church’s notion of revelation requires the reality of the deeds in salvation history; it is not merely a collection of moral teachings. None of this contravenes the integrity of the Gospels, as in all these activities they related the truth about Christ. This was the case with so-called “lower criticism,” which was praised by Pope Pius XII in Divino Afflante Spiritu: By the mid-twentieth century, textual (formerly “lower”) criticism had adopted rather firm, objective criteria for determining the more probable original reading among variants. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. By that standard, we could note that many Catholic theologians deny Church teaching about transubstantiation, contraception, abortion, etc. seems positively retrogressive. Mission. By Dr. Jeff Mirus ( By the time of the Second Vatican Council, near-universal literacy could be assumed in most nations, which was hardly the case at the time of the last Council in 1870. See full bio. This nomenclature is purely Christian, and has no Jewish antecedent. Dei Verbum and the Synoptic Gospels. bio - Thus the decrees of the Magisterium do not constitute a new body of revelation. Pope Leo had already acknowledged as much, citing St. Augustine and St. Thomas: Since the Holy Spirit was not concerned with teaching men the secrets of nature or other matters unessential to salvation, we should not expect such topics to be discussed with greater precision than the culture of the time permitted. In Romans 1:16, St. Paul describes the Gospel as “the power of God for the salvation of all who believe,” and the Council regards this phrase as applicable to the word of God more generally. Once it is accepted that everything asserted by the inspired authors in Scripture is also asserted by the Holy Spirit, it logically follows there can be no error in any of these assertions, since God can neither deceive nor be deceived. At the time of the Council, it issued the document De historica evangeliorum veritate (1964), which upheld the historical character of the Gospels, yet allowed that the Evangelists may have changed the order, specific wording, and context of the same deeds, for the benefit of their readers. This is not cause, however, to deny the divine character of Scriptural teaching, any more than the real humanity of Christ contradicts His divinity. Here is repeated the teaching of the First Vatican Council that the reality of God and His providence may be known through natural human reason, but revelation is an aid even to those matters accessible to reason, as it expounds things unambiguously and with authority. In other words, a Biblical statement about history or science might admit error if it is not related to the truths about salvation. There is nothing lacking in this revelation, which definitively shows and establishes what God wishes for the salvation of men. 7. Finally, the Council insists on the need for frequent reading of Scripture on the part of clergy, religious and “all the Christian faithful”, offering this exhortation: Previous in series: Vatican II on Non-Christian Religions 3) That is the question which the Second Vatican Council set out to answer in its eleventh document on November 18, 1965, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum). Vernacular translations of the Bible were already permitted by the Church for centuries, though these always used the Vulgate as a template. While these sources are themselves informed by Holy Scripture in many respects, this does not excuse preachers of the responsibility of learning Scripture directly insofar as they are able. Thus Dei Verbum is not granting anything that was not already permitted by Pope Pius XII. In other words, we should not read too much into every phrase as though it were a special revelation about some worldly truth, but instead regard expressions according to the common modes of speech used by the ancients. • The Council Fathers desired to lay out “authentic doctrine on divine revelation and how it is handed on” (DV 1) – The document’s intent is to define doctrine on revelation with the vision of a more coherent … Every age finds its own set of problems in Scripture, depending on its perspective. This emphasis on “literary forms” is an important advancement in the Church’s teaching, since it pertains to what was once called “higher criticism.” This does not entail a wholesale adoption of modern criticism, however. The Old Testament All this is consistent with St. Jerome’s teaching on Biblical inspiration, which according to Pope Benedict XV “in no wise differs the common teaching of the Catholic Church”: In Sacred Scripture, God speaks through men in human fashion, so it is licit, indeed necessary, to investigate the meaning intended by the sacred writers using sound literary principles. There is no question that the doctrine of Scriptural inerrancy is a “hard saying,” so it is always tempting for exegetes and apologists to make their work easier by softening the teaching. The responsa of the Pontifical Biblical Commission (the most important of these issued from 1905 to 1915) contradicted a number of widely held critical theses (notably the two-source hypothesis of the Synoptic Gospels), while allowing latitude in other areas (e.g., allowing non-Mosaic glosses in the Pentateuch, permitting denial of Davidic authorship of the Psalms). Our Father made an in-depth commentary in issue 51 of the CRC. Theology of Revelation: Including a Commentary on the Constitution Dei Verbum of Vatican II Paperback – October 31, 2009 by Rene Latourelle (Author) 5.0 out of 5 stars 2 ratings. It can also “be through the liturgy, rich in the divine word, or through devotional reading, or through instructions suitable for the purpose and other aids” approved by the Church. The Council then provides a succinct summary of Scriptural inspiration: But the Council fathers also stress that, because “God speaks in Sacred Scripture through men in human fashion”, care in interpretation is needed in order “to see clearly what God wanted to communicate”, and they mention especially the need for attention to literary forms and to “the content and unity of the whole of Scripture” if the meaning of the sacred texts it to be correctly worked out (12). The document Dei Verbum (Word of God) is one of only two dogmatic constitutions issued by the Second Vatican Council, the other being Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. Preface. John 20:22; St. Ambrose, De spiritu sancto, I, 4, 55). The document does not, however, explicitly confirm the traditional authorship of the Gospels. As higher criticism was much more interpretive, and less bound by objective criteria than lower criticism, it was much more likely to run afoul of orthodox doctrine. A poem is not “false” because the events it describes did not occur historically, for no such assertion is intended. Central to the commentary’s approach are the theological principles taught by Vatican II for interpreting Scripture “in accord with the same Spirit by which it was written”—that is, interpreting Scripture in its canonical context and in the light of Catholic tradition and the analogy of faith (Dei Verbum, 12). November 18, 1965. First He revealed Himself through created realities (3); second He undertook the formation of a special people to acknowledge Him as “the one living and true God, provident father and just judge” and to wait for “the Savior promised by Him”; third, He sent His Son: In consequence, “we now await no further new public revelation” and “the obedience of faith is to be given to God who reveals, an obedience by which man commits his whole self freely to God, offering the full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals” (5). Price New from Used from Hardcover "Please retry" $59.95 — … After the Council, Catholic critical editions of the Bible have frequently included commentary and footnotes that often seem to deny Scriptural inerrancy (even on matters of morals) or uncritically accept the hypotheses of German higher critics. The Fathers of the Church consistently taught that revealed truths complement each other, so that none can be fully understood except in light of the whole. As Pope Leo taught in Providentissimus Deus: Pope Leo’s teaching is grounded not only in perennial Christian teaching, but in basic logic. It also clarifies teaching about the authenticity and inerrancy of Holy Scripture, in light of modern developments in exegesis and criticism. Holy Scripture, together with Sacred Tradition, is the supreme rule of faith. This is a fundamental and important contribution to the ecclesiology of the Catholic Church made in the Constitution Dei Verbum. In the modern era, especially as contrasted with Protestants, it often seemed as though Catholics had relatively little regard for Sacred Scripture, due to the comparative neglect of Biblical study among Catholic laity. Other theses did not overtly contradict the faith, but at least seemed highly difficult to reconcile with it. Others boldly challenged the integrity of Scripture, arguing that certain books were harmonizations of contradictory traditions, or that primitive histories were distorted to serve later theological purposes. Reading the Bible in accord with Dei Verbum along the lines sketched above means “mystagogy,” the actualization of salvation history in the Church’s liturgical and sacramental present as … He will know no more than what God has revealed to him, and revelation is oriented toward faith and morals. It might be allowable for Catholics to attribute the authorship of some canonical writings to “apostolic men” (i.e., companions of the Apostles), though not as a pretext for impugning their authenticity as witnesses to apostolic teaching. … They relate what Christ really did and taught for eternal salvation. It retains the original preface and the chapter and numbering according to the actual ordered sections of the document.) Whatever the inspired authors assert is also asserted by the Holy Spirit. Such increase is accessible even to ordinary believers through contemplation, though only the teaching of the Magisterium has the guarantee of truth. Here, the Council reminds us that the appeal to Patristic authority itself presupposes that the Holy Spirit remains active even in the post-apostolic generations, enabling the faithful to obtain better understanding of some doctrines. Divine revelation, which is the word of God expressed in Scripture and Tradition, is the basis of all Christian doctrine. 21:42), and He repeatedly quoted Scripture to confirm His teaching and His divine authority. In the late nineteenth century, “critical texts” based on Greek and Hebrew manuscripts were likewise viewed with distrust. Pope Pius XII noted that the Council of Trent upheld the Vulgate edition as “authentic” only among the Latin versions then in circulation, not to “diminish the authority and value of the original texts.” (Divino Afflante Spiritu, 21). Even if we agree that Scripture and Tradition are equally binding in authority, it can hardly be disputed that appeals to Scripture have always been favored by theologians, especially the Fathers, for the firm establishment of doctrine. Ironically, Catholics began to adopt these errors around the same time that many mainstream Protestants became disenchanted with them, so that our endorsement of “modern” criticism (e.g. Still, this does not mean that there can be no development of doctrine, for we have seen that Tradition itself is a living source of revelation. Another aspect of the Council’s teaching is the unity of the plan of salvation across time. The Evangelists did not always present material in chronological order, and they used editorial discretion when compiling collections of Christ’s sayings, sometimes adding their own interpretive comments. The exegetical principles of Dei Verbum are in continuity with previous Catholic teaching, though using different language. (DV, 25) In earlier centuries, Scriptural studies had been limited to a minority, due to the difficulty and expense of copying texts. In 1907, Pope St. Pius X forcefully denounced the ideological underpinnings of critical impieties, under the rubric of “Modernism.” “Modernism” is not a cohesive ideology held by a self-identified group of “Modernists,” but an umbrella term for the heterodox combination of theology with various modern ideological trends, such as relativism, liberalism, and secularism. Yet it is not enough to read Scripture grammatically, for we must also know what the author intends. There must be sound reasons, grounded in comparative literature, for supposing that the author himself deliberately intended to relate something other than history. Yet not even the dissidents themselves pretend that the Magisterium has abandoned its teaching on these issues. Summary of Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum. This spoken and practiced Gospel actually precedes even the written Gospels. Christians make no such claim about their Scripture, and freely admit that its literary quality is frequently limited by the skill of its human authors. Dei Verbum: The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation . In the first chapter (“Revelation Itself”), the Council teaches that God “chose to reveal Himself and to make known to us the hidden purpose of His will by which through Christ, the Word made flesh, man might in the Holy Spirit have access to the Father and come to share in the divine nature” (2). The laity may engage Holy Scripture in different ways; it does not have to be always through direct reading. It is precisely because we accept living Tradition that we accept the teaching and practice of the Fathers and incorporate them into the life of the Church. The Magisterium alone is divinely commissioned to interpret the word of God—as revealed in Scripture and Tradition—definitively. The Council upholds the traditional conviction that the Four Gospels were all written either by Apostles or “apostolic men,” the latter term being customarily applied to St. Mark and St. Luke, who were trusted companions of the Apostles. It was only in the twentieth century that textual criticism possessed both a wealth of manuscript data and sound objective methods, making possible critical editions that might be accepted for public use among Catholics. Revelation Itself Yet it is by no means necessary to compromise the Church’s perennial teaching on the divine inspiration of Scripture in order to avoid the pitfalls of geocentrism, young-earth creationism, and the like. Still, it is inconsonant with the Council’s insistence on apostolic origin to attribute a Gospel to an author who was not a contemporary of the Apostles or had no close association with them. Post-conciliar liturgy has emphasized this unity of the Word revealed in Scripture and in the Eucharist by structuring the Mass as composed of the Liturgies of the Word and of the Eucharist. His New Testament text was reconstructed by Protestant scholars in what is known as the Stuttgart Vulgate (1969). Discover the facts and figures of Scripture and theology with the power of resources like the Catholic Encyclopedia and Sacramentum Mundi and the magisterial wisdom of the Church. Commentary on Dei Verbum. The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture aims to serve the ministry of the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church. While this restricted notion of inerrancy might make exegetes’ lives easier, it is incompatible with the basic logic expounded a couple lines earlier in Dei Verbum. The first clause establishes a reasonably clear rule for determining the scope of Biblical inspiration. 2. (DV, 25) Further, we are not to read Holy Scripture as we would a secular text, but should accompany this reading by prayer, to reciprocate God’s communication with us. Here the Council identifies the “word of God,” in the sense of the revealed word for our salvation (manifest in Scripture and Tradition), with the Word who is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, i.e., Christ. The Council emphasizes the dynamic aspect of Tradition: The notion of doctrinal development implied here is much too vague to serve as a useful definition. The authenticity of the accounts is guaranteed by their apostolic origin, as Christ Himself taught the Apostles and enlightened them by the Spirit, so it can hardly be maintained that they related a poor understanding of their Lord’s teaching. Yet the use of the term “Yahwist” by no means entails endorsement of a specific hypothesis about how, when, and by whom the Pentateuch was composed. Pope Pius did not thereby soften his predecessors’ positions on Scriptural inerrancy; on the contrary, he held that improved knowledge of ancient history and literary modes were necessary aids for the exegete in “explaining the Sacred Scripture and in demonstrating and proving its immunity from all error.”. Since Sacred Tradition includes liturgical and devotional practices, it most certainly is not coextensive in content with Sacred Scripture, though this still does not answer the question of whether all doctrine is at least implied in Scripture. 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