Catholic Interpretation of Scripture

[Departed_Light]

I have noticed on these forums that when non-Catholics use various Scriptures to back up their ideologies that it is a common rebuttal by Catholics that the Catholic Church has the correct interpretation of Scripture because of the Teaching Office of the Church is believed to be infallible with regard to morals and doctrine. These same rebutters will then toss out a verse or two of their own with no back up sources from this Teaching Office to show that they are using the Scriptures correctly.

I know the Catholic Church does an outstanding job of documentation. Where can one see the Catholic Interpretation of Scriptures from the official Church stand point?

If I am reading Romans and come upon a verse that I wonder about its meaning – where do I go to see the official Catholic teaching on that verse (or in the context of the surrounding verses)?

 

[judechild]

Well, there is no play-by-play, if fact the Church does not usually declare the meaning of certain things, often she merely says what they are not. For example, the Church has never declared the meaning of the “Millenium” in Revelation, but she has declared pre and post millinialism to be false. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a good source, but on matters that are not docrinal even canonized saints have disagreed on meanings.

I don’t have any Church documents in front of me right now, but I can post a few later, if you like.

 

[tobinatorstark]

I have noticed on these forums that when non-Catholics use various Scriptures to back up their ideologies that it is a common rebuttal by Catholics that the Catholic Church has the correct interpretation of Scripture because of the Teaching Office of the Church is believed to be infallible with regard to morals and doctrine. These same rebutters will then toss out a verse or two of their own with no back up sources from this Teaching Office to show that they are using the Scriptures correctly.

I know the Catholic Church does an outstanding job of documentation. Where can one see the Catholic Interpretation of Scriptures from the official Church stand point?

If I am reading Romans and come upon a verse that I wonder about its meaning – where do I go to see the official Catholic teaching on that verse (or in the context of the surrounding verses)?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is probably what you want to know about. Not only does it contain scripture, but backs it up with sacred tradition 2 Thessalonians 2:14 and Magisterial teaching via power of the Holy Spirit. The Catechism explains Catholic teaching on subjects such as the commandments, abortion, etc. If you are looking for a commentary. The Haydock Bible Commentary is definit source.

haydock1859.tripod.com/

 

[fhansen]

I have noticed on these forums that when non-Catholics use various Scriptures to back up their ideologies that it is a common rebuttal by Catholics that the Catholic Church has the correct interpretation of Scripture because of the Teaching Office of the Church is believed to be infallible with regard to morals and doctrine. These same rebutters will then toss out a verse or two of their own with no back up sources from this Teaching Office to show that they are using the Scriptures correctly.

I know the Catholic Church does an outstanding job of documentation. Where can one see the Catholic Interpretation of Scriptures from the official Church stand point?

If I am reading Romans and come upon a verse that I wonder about its meaning – where do I go to see the official Catholic teaching on that verse (or in the context of the surrounding verses)?

The CC received her doctrine directly from Jesus Christ-before N.T. scripture was written. Therefore, she’s the authority rather than the other way around. This is why the Church utilizes scripture and tradition to teach as well as to defend, back up or support those teachings without needing to get into endless rounds of debate over their meaning. And this is why very few verses have had their meanings defined- scripture can only confirm the good news the Church already professes.

 

[Joe_5859]

I know the Catholic Church does an outstanding job of documentation. Where can one see the Catholic Interpretation of Scriptures from the official Church stand point?

If I am reading Romans and come upon a verse that I wonder about its meaning – where do I go to see the official Catholic teaching on that verse (or in the context of the surrounding verses)?

From a non-Catholic Christian perspective, your request makes perfect sense. Unfortunately for you o), there is no authoritative, Church-commissioned, verse-by-verse commentary on Scripture.

There are only a handful of passages that the Church has deliberately singled out and said “This passage means _____.” John 6 is one such passage.

In many ways, the Church really does allow us to interpret Scripture for ourselves. However, this is not a free-for-all, but is always guided by the Magisterium (AKA “teaching office”) of the Church.

The obvious reason for this is, of course, that Scripture is so profound that one passage can have many different meanings. As Scripture is inspired by God, there is no limit to its depths. If the Church were to put out a verse-by-verse commentary, it would convey the false notion that we have somehow learned all that there is to learn about Scripture, and that there are no other possible interpretations. Quite simply, this will never happen.

So the Church really extends a good deal of latitude in the realm of scriptural exegesis. As I said, it’s not a free-for-all. We must always look at our interpretations in light of Church teaching. In other words, as long as our personal interpretation doesn’t contradict Church teaching, it’s usually fine, even if it contradicts someone else’s acceptable interpretation of Scripture.

I have seen your request before from non-Catholics. A lot of times, the ensuing discussion tends to go nowhere. I think the reason lies in the different approach that we have to Scripture. For many non-Catholic Christians, Scripture is the starting point. That’s not exactly the case for Catholics. Catholics take the “Word of God” as the starting point (which includes both Scripture and Tradition) with the understanding that the Church is the infallible guardian of that single deposit of faith.

Now, all this doesn’t mean that the Church has nothing to say about Scripture. If you look at the footnotes for the Catechism of the Catholic Church, you see tons of Scripture citations. Every part of the CCC is saturated with them. Every teaching of the Church is rooted in Scripture.

Does any of this make sense? I feel like my response is a bit piecemeal. I’m trying my best.

 

[Departed_Light]

Thanks to all who have replied. Even if there isn’t an explanation on every verse, is there a list of the few verses that have been dogmatically explained? John 6 was mentioned (“This is my body …”); what are the others, even if they are only a few? It would be neat to read and know what they are; and what the Church’s official teaching is on those particular verses.

I am a weird guy; I read the Catechism of the Catholic Church from cover to cover about 2 years ago (the big green book). There were sections of it that were so beautiful I remarked to my wife that it was like reading a love letter. Even though I have read it, I didn’t retain a quarter of what I read and trying to go back and find specific stuff is a little hard.

The more I look at this the more I can see a parallel between Protestantism and the Enlightenment brought on near the time of the industrial revolution. In the social evolution of that time period empirical evidence was introduced to the metaphysical that seems to have combined with the faith element of society. I think the “show it to me in scripture” shows this social religious development in the Christian community.

Whereas the faithful Catholic not only has to have and show faith in Christ’s redemptive work on the cross they must also have faith in the Church, and not in themselves, to provide spiritual food at the appropriate times. Of course Protestants would say that this self reliance is really a reliance on the Holy Spirit, and I see that point too.

This has been a very interesting revelation. It seems to me that a person who is a hard core faithful Catholic has to have more faith than the hard core faithful non-Catholic who believes that spiritual authority from God is derived through Scripture. I think I am beginning to see a little mysticism still alive today. Maybe?

 

[Texan77]

I have noticed on these forums that when non-Catholics use various Scriptures to back up their ideologies that it is a common rebuttal by Catholics that the Catholic Church has the correct interpretation of Scripture because of the Teaching Office of the Church is believed to be infallible with regard to morals and doctrine. These same rebutters will then toss out a verse or two of their own with no back up sources from this Teaching Office to show that they are using the Scriptures correctly.

I know the Catholic Church does an outstanding job of documentation. Where can one see the Catholic Interpretation of Scriptures from the official Church stand point?

If I am reading Romans and come upon a verse that I wonder about its meaning – where do I go to see the official Catholic teaching on that verse (or in the context of the surrounding verses)?

I would go to any Catholic student/study bible and see what they have to say on the matter of the verse - each of these have been approved by the church…

Likewise you can go to a priest or lay minister and get interpretation if needed - if doesn’t seem correct ask another - keep good notes - someone even catholic answers will have the correct interpretation for you…