Catholic dismissal of Exodus events?

[ksdindy]

I just purchased The New American Catholic Study Bible, Second Edition from Oxford Press which is prefaced by several reading guides and essays on biblical history. One of the guides is a lengthy piece on Biblical Archaeology written by Ronald Simkins in which he all but dismisses the Exodus events as mythical and entirely historically implausible.

I was surprised to see this article included with the Study Bible. Is this in line with Catholic dogma?

 

[JurisPrudens]

I remember the Catechism (someone should provide exact citation) teaching that the Old Testament for Catholics is to be interpreted only as a tool to understand the New Testament properly. Historical data and creation narrative from OT is relevant for us only in so far as it is a background for the Incarnation and Resurrection, with the latter being the only true Creation.

 

[Wesrock]

That said, I think the consensus of the Church is largely that it Exodus is historical (whether in full or part) and that there is not sufficient evidence to discount it. However, they do not insist that interpretation must be believed by individual Catholics.

 

[Eric_Hyom]

If God can create the universe and life, then all the Exodus miracles were very minor by comparison. I have no problem believing God parted the sea, the plagues, etc.

To doubt God has the power to do these things would be highly problematic for me, I would just loose my faith.

 

[St_Francis]

The NAB is notorious for its bad notes and footnotes. I was shocked that the NAB footnote for the verses about the firing off of the chaff said that this did not refer to Purgatory… sheesh. I stopped using it at that point.

 

[CRM_Brother]

I remember the Catechism (someone should provide exact citation) teaching that the Old Testament for Catholics is to be interpreted only as a tool to understand the New Testament properly. Historical data and creation narrative from OT is relevant for us only in so far as it is a background for the Incarnation and Resurrection, with the latter being the only true Creation.

**CCC 129 ***Christians therefore read the Old Testament in the light of Christ crucified and risen. Such typological reading discloses the inexhaustible content of the Old Testament; but it must not make us forget that the Old Testament retains its own intrinsic value as Revelation reaffirmed by our Lord himself. Besides, the New Testament has to be read in the light of the Old. Early Christian catechesis made constant use of the Old Testament. As an old saying put it, the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New.
*
Yes we must use to the Old Testament to interpret the New, but we also must use the New Testament to view the meaning of the Old. We cannot simply dismiss the OT as background information because it holds the same Divine Revelation that the NT does and its message must be given its due.

As for the OT being mythical and being grossly historically inaccurate, this view (I believe) mainly comes from scholarly pride and does not coincide with Catholic Dogma. Generally, I have found, when someone purports this theory, they do so based upon the assumption that everything we currently view as historical fact is true.

I will give you an example where the scholars were proven wrong and the OT proven correct. Before 1822, scholars of “Biblical Archaeology” were certain that there was never a Philistine people that the Israelites came into conflict with as depicted in the OT. They thought this because the actual word ‘Philistine’ was never used during the time there were depicted in the OT. In 1822, however, by examining inscriptions discovered in Egypt they found that they actually did exist, but it was just under a different name, known in Egyptian as the Peleset. It seemed that over the course of history, the Israelite scribes had translated the original Peleset name into Philistine because that was the contemporary Israeli name for the Peleset people.

The modern dismissal of Exodus can be ultimately summed up as “We currently have no evidence that affirms that Exodus happened, so, therefore, the account is simply a fictitious account.”

Personally, I trust the Holy Spirit enough not to let such horrendous falsehoods exist within Scripture that is intended to he historical.

 

[Stephen_says]

If God can create the universe and life, then all the Exodus miracles were very minor by comparison. I have no problem believing God parted the sea, the plagues, etc.

To doubt God has the power to do these things would be highly problematic for me, I would just loose my faith.

Hi! I don’t think they are talking about the miracles necessarily. I have heard and read many explanations that there is no solid proof that there was ever a large population of Israelites to leave Egypt for Canaan like is described in the book of Exodus.

Let it be known that I am not an expert on the subject, and I really have no opinion, this is just what I’ve heard

 

[edwest2]

I just purchased The New American Catholic Study Bible, Second Edition from Oxford Press which is prefaced by several reading guides and essays on biblical history. One of the guides is a lengthy piece on Biblical Archaeology written by Ronald Simkins in which he all but dismisses the Exodus events as mythical and entirely historically implausible.

I was surprised to see this article included with the Study Bible. Is this in line with Catholic dogma?

As far as Catholic dogma, I don’t know. Trusting Scripture is to be regarded as primary in importance. But the idea that Exodus is not historical is a recent invention. This coupled with the fact that our Jewish neighbors have been celebrating Passover for a very long time.

Ed

 

[hadulzo]

All commentary is just that, made by people who have flaws like us. Being raised as a Catholic you were taught it was true since its easier to understand, just as those stories in the bible were written for people to understand who had little education.

Unfortunately most of our religious education unded at grammar school. Here is some guidelines to reading the bible.

usccb.org/bible/understanding-the-bible/index.cfm

Also concider reading some of the enciclicals on the topic.  Best source for me has been pope Benedicts 47 books.

Also

 

[JerryZ]

As far as Catholic dogma, I don’t know. Trusting Scripture is to be regarded as primary in importance. But the idea that Exodus is not historical is a recent invention. This coupled with the fact that our Jewish neighbors have been celebrating Passover for a very long time.

Ed

I absolutely concur with your opinion, it is unfathomable to me that the Jewish people would carry on a tradition through the thick and thin to which they have been subjected to.
A tradition that we know now was recorded a long time ago passed from generation to generation that would be based in falsehood.

Falsehood cannot endure nobody is willing to suffer for a lie. It makes no sense. Except people who think they are better off not believing in miracles and the extraordinary intervention of GOD in the daily affairs of humanity.
Except that miracles do happen and continue to happen even now. Only we need to be willing to accept those miracles. You can have sight and be blind you can hear but are unwilling to listen.

 

[ksdindy]

I thank you all for your comments, but I question why would this be allowed in a product marketed as a 'Catholic Study Bible"?

Is there a better study bible out there that doesn’t conflict with our faith?

I found another review of the same Bible I purchased. It describes other problems with the Book.

It reads:

*"I was most interested in the Reading Guides so I dove right into a few of interest; the introduction, Isaiah, and Daniel. By the end of these three, I had enough. The reading guides are an apostasy! For example, it is stated that Isaiah was written by three different people, none of whom were really named Isaiah. While I am not a biblical scholar, I have been studying the Bible for years and this idea is NOT a mainstream concept accepted across Christianity. In fact J. Vernon McGee makes it abundantly clear that there is only one Isaiah. The Reading Guide for Daniel is even worse as the author intimates that Daniel probably never existed and the stories detailed in this book (the fiery furnace, lion’s den, etc.) are just nice stories more or less like fairy tales. It is stated that God does not interact in people’s lives like this [they say] and in fact, Angels and Demons are not part of our universe. This is also not the mainstream interpretation of Daniel and readers should know this.

Furthermore, the editor notes on page 9 “the bible is the Church’s book…only in the context of the Church’s faith…can the full meaning of the Bible be discovered…Christians who isolate themselves from common sense [suggesting this book’s Reading Guides are common sense] … can interpret the Scriptures in a bizarre and even destructive manner”, i.e., one should accept these guides without question, not use your own mind, and probably not even read the Bible itself.

I truly wonder why a study bible would, in essence, say the events detailed in the Bible are fiction and not the inspired Word of God. Do these authors not have any faith that God is actually capable of miracles like those described in Daniel? I can only think these authors seek to marginalize the importance of the Bible and supplant it with their own bizarre and even destructive interpretations.

Worst of all is the fact this volume was authorized by the American Council of Catholic Bishops. I would not recommend this book to any Catholic, any Christian, or anyone for that matter. I am still a Catholic but will not use this book as a guide to better understand the Bible."*

 

[Bookcat]

Catechism:\

1081 The divine blessings were made manifest in astonishing and saving events: the birth of Isaac, the escape from Egypt (Passover and Exodus), the gift of the promised land, the election of David, the presence of God in the Temple, the purifying exile, and return of a “small remnant.” The Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, interwoven in the liturgy of the Chosen People, recall these divine blessings and at the same time respond to them with blessings of praise and thanksgiving.

2580 The Temple of Jerusalem, the house of prayer that David wanted to build, will be the work of his son, Solomon. The prayer at the dedication of the Temple relies on God’s promise and covenant, on the active presence of his name among his People, recalling his mighty deeds at the Exodus. The king lifts his hands toward heaven and begs the Lord, on his own behalf, on behalf of the entire people, and of the generations yet to come, for the forgiveness of their sins and for their daily needs, so that the nations may know that He is the only God and that the heart of his people may belong wholly and entirely to him.

scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1081.htm

 

[CRM_Brother]

Worst of all is the fact this volume was authorized by the American Council of Catholic Bishops. I would not recommend this book to any Catholic, any Christian, or anyone for that matter. I am still a Catholic but will not use this book as a guide to better understand the Bible."

I wouldn’t necessarily place blame on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The “authorization” is contained within the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur. For all we know, the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur could have been given solely on the translation of the bible, not the footnotes or articles surrounding the primary text. It is also possible that the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur were given to a previous edition which didn’t contain those specific articles.

 

[Valentinus]

Our problem with the OT, especially the Pentateuch, is that we cannot really understand the mentality of ancient Jewish tribes that wrote it down. They weren’t really attempting to write a scholarly report of the Exodus events. Their goal was to describe a multi-generational experience of interaction between the Jewish people and God. They intended some parts of it to be a historical narrative, but it differed from the European standards (which did not exist back then) - it relied on oral tradition, legends, folk tales, etymologies (anecdotal stories that described the origin of place names) etc.

God bless, V.

 

[Wesrock]

I thank you all for your comments, but I question why would this be allowed in a product marketed as a 'Catholic Study Bible"?

Is there a better study bible out there that doesn’t conflict with our faith?

I’ve had the Didache Bible comes highly recommended. The NABRE version includes the official NABRE notes, which have some of the problems described, but the Didache Bible’s own notes are apparently orthodox. It also comes in the RSV-2CE version. I don’t own one yet, but I plan to. I recommend it because it’s complete, affordable, and compact. The Ignatius Study Bible is also highly recommended. The Old Testament is still a work in progress, but the NT is done. Then there’s the Navarre Bible, a massive ten volume set, but the whole thing will cost you a few hundred dollars.

I’m sure there are more. I think the Oxford Study Bible you have has some great features, but you kind of have to sift between modern secular scholarship for actual Catholic positions, where they are…

 

[Richca]

I just purchased The New American Catholic Study Bible, Second Edition from Oxford Press which is prefaced by several reading guides and essays on biblical history. One of the guides is a lengthy piece on Biblical Archaeology written by Ronald Simkins in which he all but dismisses the Exodus events as mythical and entirely historically implausible.

I was surprised to see this article included with the Study Bible. Is this in line with Catholic dogma?

This is not in line with anything but somebody’s personal erroneous opinion. There is no indication that the inspired author of exodus does not think he is recording historical fact and the inspired author is more trustworthy obviously than Ronald Simkins who maybe does not believe in divine revelation at all and who is some 3000 years plus removed from the actual historical events. The Exodus events are divine revelation and they are simply an historical fact of the history of the chosen people, that is, the Israelites whom God was preparing for the coming of the Messiah, namely, Jesus Christ. And these historical events of the Exodus find there fulfillment in Jesus Christ as St Paul says “Now all these things happened to them by way of example” (1 Cor. 10:11), that is, in figure, for the purpose in the events of Israel intended by God was to prefigure in the history of Israel the spiritual realities of the messianic age ( cf. The New Jerusalem Bible).