In what does the Church have authority to interpret and provide a exegesis for Scripture

[pr_catholic]

Hello, I am a fellow Christian Catholic searching for an answer to a personal question. Just like the title of this thread says, For which matters does the Catholic Church have the divine authority from the Holy Spirit to explain or interpret from Sacred Scripture ? This question stems from the fact that the Church doesn’t outright settled everything from the Holy Bible in stone. Does the Catholic Church let it’s “children” provide their own exegesis from scripture based from it’s teachings; thus, relating the “Cathecism of the Catholic Church” has cemented guidelines and, is it the most authorative for it’s members ? Would like to see these questions answered because I am a habit reader of scripture and has had his life enlighted by it. I read for reliable sources for my personal bible studies on the internet from sites like this one, videos from fellow catholic christians and/or the ocasional jewish perspective on matters relating to the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible/TaNaKh. Any help on some other stuff that prove invaluable to the study of scripture would be very much appreciated.

Thank You:thumbsup:

 

[NotWorthy]

I think (but I’m not sure) that the Church does allow us to interpret Scripture for ourselves as long as it agrees with Catholic Doctrine.

Remember, one of the considerations for whether a work was considered Scriptural or not was whether it supported Catholic Doctrine or not. Hence, its ludicrous to think that Scripture refutes Catholic teaching.

 

[StCsDavid]

I would highly recommend a book by Scott Hahn called Letter and Spirit. It offers an outstanding clarification on the purpose of sacred scripture that might be a little surprising to some.

 

[Verbum]

Hi pr,

Although the Catholic Church claims the authority for interpreting the Bible, it has in fact officially interpreted very few passages of the Bible. I can think only one at the moment, the one in the meeting of Jesus with Nicodemus where Jesus says we have to be born of water and the Holy Spirit. This has been officially defined by the Coucil of Trent as commanding us to be baptized with water:

*CANON II.-If any one saith, that true and natural water is not of necessity for baptism, and, on that account, wrests, to some sort of metaphor, those words of our Lord Jesus Christ; Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost; let him be anathema. *

So it is quite all right for you to read the scriptures and interpret them for your own spiritual good, as long as your interpretation does not conflict with Church doctrine. In this respect, your mention of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is pertinent. If you read into scripture a meaning that is contrary to what is said in the Catechism, then your interpretation is wrong.

When it comes to using scripture for apologetic purposes however, one cannot run wild, using isolated passage of scripture that seem to support your point of view. Apologetics requires specific knowledge and training. If you don’t have that, content yourself with stating your belief and living a good Christian life in tolerance and charity.

Verbum

 

[thistle]

Hello, I am a fellow Christian Catholic searching for an answer to a personal question. Just like the title of this thread says, For which matters does the Catholic Church have the divine authority from the Holy Spirit to explain or interpret from Sacred Scripture ? This question stems from the fact that the Church doesn’t outright settled everything from the Holy Bible in stone. Does the Catholic Church let it’s “children” provide their own exegesis from scripture based from it’s teachings; thus, relating the “Cathecism of the Catholic Church” has cemented guidelines and, is it the most authorative for it’s members ? Would like to see these questions answered because I am a habit reader of scripture and has had his life enlighted by it. I read for reliable sources for my personal bible studies on the internet from sites like this one, videos from fellow catholic christians and/or the ocasional jewish perspective on matters relating to the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible/TaNaKh. Any help on some other stuff that prove invaluable to the study of scripture would be very much appreciated.

Thank You:thumbsup:

Here are the verses officially interpreted by the Church:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=68624