I have no problem with the Pope agreeing with me
you do jump to conclusions when speaking of the actions of God.
One of the issues for me is some Catholics I’ve spoken with believe the events of the Bible are real. They then have to provide an explanation of the actions of God that would be viewed with suspicion.
It generally comes down to God can do what He wants because He is God and can’t do anything bad so if it looks bad to us, then we’re just to dumb to know God’s ways. Or some greater moral good was accomplished by the wiping out of a tribe - an argument the Catholic Church itself would condemn today since an evil can not be justified by claiming it was for a greater good. Or who are you to quesiton God?
Those who say it’s not literal but stories, I can understand a little better. But the jumping to conclusions is just indicitive of where my understanding is at, at the time - but it is difficult trying to get your head around the events of the OT when so many conflicting and contradictory views exist.
Sarah x
Most Catholics, including myself, are not experts on interpreting the meaning of the Scriptures, so don’t expect a valid explanation on troublesome points from us/them. For us the Scriptures are ultimately understood only through the teaching of the Church, that is through the Magisterium of the Church. The best, immediate source for this is the Catichism of the Catholic Church.
vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM The Catechism is not however centered on Biblical interpretation, it is centered on the truths and knowledge necessary for salvation. One can come to an understanding of some passages from
bibliaclerus.org/.
On the point you mentioned, the Catechism discusses " structures of sin " which may help you understand God’s actions in some circumstances. In O.T. times, God especially called a people to be a holy people and to carry his teachings to all other people. When these people failed in manifest ways, ways where in the whole population had become infected with sin and error ( a " structure " of sin passed from one to the other - father to son, mother to daughter, etc so that the whole community more or less was infected) he punished them. He had also instructed his people to act in his name when other tribes had become so infected with " structures of sin." In modern times it is difficult to know when God is acting in this way because he has not let us know speciffically why something bad is happening. I personally think he expects us to use our noodles. Though there seems to be little doubt that the wars we have had in the last century and before up to the present day are examples of this type. Of course in wars, the innocent will suffer too but the innocent have always suffer and we know that God has made provision in their behalf. Now there is no question that some suffer horribly, that is a sign that God is calling them to a high degree of holiness, to be be a sign of contrdiction, to be a living sign of the Cross his Son bore for us all. I know that may be getting a bit smaltzy for you but it is the truth. All of us suffer, we are to carry our crosses in union with the cross of his Son and offer it as a sacrefice for the conversion of others.
