Can only the Church interpet scripture?

[password]

Does it say in the Bible that we, the common people, are not to interpet the scriptures ourselves? Also, does it say in the Bible than only the Church can interpet scripture correctly? Where does the Holy Spirit come into all this and can He be relied on for help understanding the scriptures?

 

[justinmatter]

Does it say in the Bible that we, the common people, are not to interpet the scriptures ourselves?

no, it does not. neither does the church.
the church says that we must read the bible prayerfully and ask the holy spirit to give us understanding

Also, does it say in the Bible than only the Church can interpet scripture correctly?

no, it does not. anyone lead by the holy spirit can interpret correctly. the bible does say that the church (majesterial authority) will infallibly interpret scripture.
jesus said: whatever you bind on earth wil be bound in heaven and whatever you lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (mt,16:18; mt,18:18)
he also said: he who rejects, you rejects me; and he who rejects me, rejects the one who sent me
this power to infallibly interpret and guide the flock of christ has been passed on through ordination from the apostles to their successors all the way till today
is this necessary?
YES!!!
history has shown that a lot of people can believe that they are being led by the holy spirit in their understanding of the bible. yet, they often end up with totally contrasting views. that’s like saying the holy spirit teaches one man something and another the very opposite (and that is impossible).
so that there might be no confusion or disunity, a central authority set up by divine mandate is required; and that is what we have in the majesterial authority of the church

Where does the Holy Spirit come into all this

the holy spirit was jesus’ guarantee to the apostles. he would “lead them into all truth”
thus, the infallibilty of the majesterium (ex cathedra) is ensured by the holy spirit

can He be relied on for help understanding the scriptures?

he can certainly be relied on. what we can’t rely on is our own understanding (lean not on your understanding…).
unfortunately, we may easily be misled by our own heart into believing that we are hearing the voice of god (the heart is decietful above all things…)
thus, an external authority is required to ensure that the prayer of jesus may come true (that they may be one…)

hope this helps

 

[Contarini]

oes it say in the Bible that we, the common people, are not to interpet the scriptures ourselves? Also, does it say in the Bible than only the Church can interpet scripture correctly? :

But “we, the common people,” are part of the Church. Of course only the Church can interpret Scripture. That means that laypeople can’t interpret Scripture “themselves” if you mean apart from the teaching office of the Church. But all baptized Christians have a vital role to play in the enterprise of reading and interpreting Scripture. That’s the clear teaching of Vatican II.

In Christ,

Edwin

 

[RBushlow]

password:

Does it say in the Bible that we, the common people, are not to interpet the scriptures ourselves? Also, does it say in the Bible than only the Church can interpet scripture correctly? Where does the Holy Spirit come into all this and can He be relied on for help understanding the scriptures?

No it doesn’t. I think you may be misunderstanding the Churches roll here. When we get several devout Christians who have differing interpretations of Scripture, how do we determine what is the correct one? It is the job of the Church leadership, guided by the Holy Spirit to resolve the disagreement by providing correct interpretation. Without the authority of the Church, each one will willfuly ‘lean to their own understanding’. This is one of the main reasons why Christ founded His Church.

May the peace of Christ, love of God, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you always.

.

 

[Servant1]

password:

Does it say in the Bible that we, the common people, are not to interpet the scriptures ourselves? Also, does it say in the Bible than only the Church can interpet scripture correctly? Where does the Holy Spirit come into all this and can He be relied on for help understanding the scriptures?

You’ve received some excellent answers.

Perhaps I can add another dimension to it. Historically, the norm is that the scriptures are never interpreted outside the community of faith. And interpretation should be carried out in the way the the community of faith carried out its councils in determining the canon of scripture. It was done not in the context if some smart individual making interpretations or decisions. It was done in conciliar fashion, and the texts being considered were evaluated in light of the deposit of faith once received by the saints. As opposed to the other way around

As has been said, private individuals can approach Biblical reading and interpretation with an open mind - open to the prayed-for guidance of the Holy Spirit. But that - taken alone - has caused a tremendous percentage of the division that exists in Christendom today. The rub come when one wishes to compare one’s private interpretation - one which is believed - or HOPED - to have been guided by the Holy Spirit - to another interpretation. THAT is where the Church comes in.

See the example of the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem. They did NOT resort to scriptures to decide the issues, although they had access to the Septuagint and probably some very early NT era writings. They came together to resolve differences of opinion - many of which were reached by consultation with one scripture or another. But the Apostolic Council made the decision. That is the basis on which our own interpretations of scripture must be weighed, I think.

The Bible never, in its own test, claims itself to be the ultimate authority, and, contrary to what some will tell you, it does not always interpret itself. As an example of guidance that IS given in th ewords of the Bible, please see 1 Tim 3:15. It clearly states where the pillar and ground of truth is. And it doesn’t claim that position for the Bible

15but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Hope this helps!

 

[Scott_Waddell]

It is amusing to hear lay Catholics accused by non-Cats of not being able to interpret Scripture. Take for example the famous petros/petras passage in Mark 16. A few early church writers did interpret the rock to be Peter’s confession (my understanding is that these same fathers affirm petrine primacy elsewhere). But what do our non-Catholic nitpickers say?: They say it is categorically impossible that Peter himself is the rock. So who is really doing the forbidding of biblical interpretation?

Scott

 

[Shibboleth]

If you listen to Catholic Answers you will find out very quick that Apologists have some of their own opinions and interpretations of scriptures.

Not everything written in the Bible has been interpreted by the Church – this has allowed a certain amount of leeway as far as what a Catholic individually can believe in regards to certain scriptures.

Take for instance Revelations, many of us would hold that it refers to future events; however, Jimmy Aiken believes that most of Revelations refers to the early days of Christianity. This is acceptable because nothing by and from the Church prohibits that point of view. On many passages all that one has to go on as far as infallible interpretation from the Magisterium is a few guidelines on what one cannot believe.

 

[Authorkat]

I’ve read that there are only 12 passages which Catholics must interpret in a certain way. For example, John 6 about the Eucharist. We are free to interpret the rest of the Bible as we are lead by the Holy Spirit. Does anyone know exactly which 12 passages we have to interpret as the Church does?

 

[TNT]

A little analogy:

The sheep may graze the pasture for nourishment. But they may not crash through the fence nor trample the Shepherd.

The reformers did both.
And their authority came from…where does a sheep’s authority come from?

 

[Shibboleth]

TNT:

A little analogy:

The sheep may graze the pasture for nourishment. But they may not crash through the fence nor trample the Shepherd.

The reformers did both.
And their authority came from…where does a sheep’s authority come from?

Sheep do what they do, it is the responsibility of the Shepard to tend the flock not the flock to tend the Shepard. Who is to blame when the flock becomes scattered the Shepard or the sheep?