Scriptural interpretations

[villaneweva]

can scriptural passages hold multiple meanings that are true? or is there only one correct interpretation for a particular passage?

Thanks

 

[tdandh26]

There can be more than one meaning, but that interpretaion is ultimately left up to the Church. If you find something that applies to your life and it does not contradict a teaching of the Church, then there is nothing wrong with that.

 

[NotWorthy]

A Scriptural Passage can have multiple meanings. The first, of course, is literal. Then there is the allegorical and spiritual, and I think one more.

The key is that these meanings can not conflict with one another. I’m trying to think of a good example, but I’ll have to do some researching.

Notworthy

 

[tdandh26]

If you really want to get a good understanding of Gospel passages then might I suggest “The Catena Aurea” By St. Thomas Aquinas. It is out of print but you can still get used copies. I did a lot for helping me to read and understand scripture.

 

[antonius]

villaneweva:

can scriptural passages hold multiple meanings that are true? or is there only one correct interpretation for a particular passage?

The beauty of sacred scripture is that it is “living water” – not a shallow puddle, but a deep wellspring that is constantly bubbling up new insights. In my childhood I tended to think that all of scripture had one single “correct” meaning. While in terms of doctrine this is certainly true, I have been delighted to discover the multiple layers of meaning that come bubbling up out of the Word of God during prayer and reflection.

For instance, scripture contains many examples “typology” – people and events that serve as “types” or models of other spiritual realities. Consider Abraham, willing to sacrifice his beloved and only son, as a foreshadowing of God’s plan to offer His beloved Son as a sacrifice. Or Moses, giving up his privileged place in the Egyptian royal household, and becoming a slave in order to lead the Israelites out of slavery. This is a “type” that foreshadows the mission of Jesus Christ. We also see Noah’s ark – in addition to being a historical event with its own meaning in Old Testament sacred history – as a foreshadowing of the Church, instituted by God, given to men, through which believers would be saved. In the Ark of the Covenant (the vessel in which the tablets of the Old Covenant were carried), we see a foreshadowing of the Virgin Mary, the “Ark of the New Covenant” who carried within her the fulfillment of the Law. And these are only a few examples.

 

[Stephen_T]

tdandh26:

If you really want to get a good understanding of Gospel passages then might I suggest “The Catena Aurea” By St. Thomas Aquinas. It is out of print but you can still get used copies. I did a lot for helping me to read and understand scripture.

Great resource–thanks! Also, check out this link–it discusses in detail the various forms of scripture interpretation:

rtforum.org/study/lesson2.html

Pax tecum

~Stephen

 

[AquinasXVI]

Villaneweva:

Truth is symphonic…therefore in many levels it remains true with different manifestations coming from the same core. The study of Catholicism becomes really fun when we start seeing the literal, figurative, historical, philosophical, phonomenological and escathological cohesiveness of its dogmas. It all comes together beautifully and what seemed a bunch of messy things all of a sudden become one beautiful reality.

in XT.

 

[Fidelis]

NotWorthy:

A Scriptural Passage can have multiple meanings. The first, of course, is literal. Then there is the allegorical and spiritual, and I think one more.

Exactly. For a good synopsis of this, here is yet another good article from Catholic Answers:

One Text, Four Senses
By Jimmy Akin
catholic.com/thisrock/2004/0405bt.asp

 

[Zooey]

This is yet another reason I love this place…I was looking for the information contained in the 2 articles…the 4 senses of Scripture–and behold, here it is!!
Thank you, one & all!