Day 17: The Canon of Scripture

It was by the apostolic Tradition that the Church discerned which writings are to be included in the list of the sacred books. This complete list is called the canon of Scripture. It includes 46 books for the Old Testament (45 if we count Jeremiah and Lamentations as one) and 27 for the New... The fourfold Gospel holds a unique place in the Church, as is evident both in the veneration which the liturgy accords it and in the surpassing attraction it has exercised on the saints at all times. CCC 120 & 127

Today's reading is about the recognized, divinely inspired books comprising the Canon of Scripture. The Church proclaims that the books of the Old Testament are an "indispensable part of Sacred Scripture" contra Marcion, who wrongly sought "under the pretext that the New has rendered it void" to cast them out of the Canon. We see the New in the Old Testament, which "prepare[d] for and declare[d] in prophecy the coming of Christ, redeemer of all men". Chief of all these books are the Gospels, which "are the heart of all the Scriptures 'because they are our principal source for the life and teaching of the Incarnate Word, our Saviour'". The Catechism in CCC 120 also gives us a list of all the books of the Canon.

I could spend hours talking about the Canon of Scripture, especially its complex formation history. For whatever reason, this has fascinated me for years. I would totally geek out discussing this ad nauseum with modern folks like Gary Michuta, William Albrecht, Fr. Kappes, Lee Martin McDonald, David A. DeSilva, John Bergsma, Brant Pitre, and many, many others whose works I've enjoyed over the years. Alas, such is not really possible. So instead, I'll point interested readers to some of the sources I've found most helpful in exploring this complex but fascinating topic: Holy Scripture & Sacred Tradition.

It would have been nice to have more in today's reading, but of course, I'd say that given my odd obsession with the Canon. Besides, there is only so much one could put in the Catechism on all the topics so it would fit into one book. That's what additional books are for! That's Day 17.

Day 16: Senses of Scripture

According to an ancient tradition, one can distinguish between two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, the latter being subdivided into the allegorical, moral and anagogical senses. the profound concordance of the four senses guarantees all its richness to the living reading of Scripture in the Church. CCC 115-119

Today's reading is about the senses of Scripture exegetes use in helping give the Church "a better understanding and explanation of the meaning" (CCC 119) of the written Word. It also provides an explanation of these senses. Pretty cursory, but I do remember a helpful book I read years ago by Mark Shea on this topic, Making Senses Out of Scripture. From what I recall, Shea does a good job in explaining all about these senses in terms your average layperson can follow. It's been a while since I've read this though, so perhaps I should add it to the list to read once more.

So the basics on interpreting Scripture have been laid out, next up is, for whatever odd reason, perhaps one of my favorites: the Canon of Scripture!

Day 15: Interpreting Scripture

In Sacred Scripture, God speaks to man in a human way. To interpret Scripture correctly, the reader must be attentive to what the human authors truly wanted to affirm, and to what God wanted to reveal to us by their words. In order to discover the sacred authors' intention, the reader must take into account the conditions of their time and culture, the literary genres in use at that time, and the modes of feeling, speaking and narrating then current. "For the fact is that truth is differently presented and expressed in the various types of historical writing, in prophetical and poetical texts, and in other forms of literary expression." CCC 109-110

Today's reading is on the interpretation of Scripture within the Church. We find the basic principles by which this is done: 

• Interpret with "the content and unity of the whole Scripture" (Christ being the "center and heart") in mind; 
• do so with "the living Tradition of the whole Church"; 
• and "be attentive to the analogy of faith." 

These are all good principles to keep in mind. We know from Scripture in places like Matthew 4:1-11 & James 2:19 that even the fallen angels know and quote the Bible, perverted to their own selfish needs of course. I like how the Catechism lays out these principles as guideposts for approaching the written Word of God in our walk with His Logos. I know from my study of history and learning Spanish, for example, that caution is always warranted. For the former, history can be an alien world to us at times. There are customs, behaviors, manners of speech, etc. that are not as familiar today. The Scriptures, Old & New Testaments, were written over a 1,200 year period incorporating all the changes within that time, which in itself was nearly 2,000 years ago for us. When you consider language differences too (Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic), there is much to give us caution in interpreting them correctly, always keeping the Logos in mind.  I know that Spanish idioms differ from English for instance. How much greater do they differ in the case of Scripture, especially as interpreted into English? It's a challenge I'm sure for those gifted to do so.

All in all an interesting reading to ponder today. Tomorrow this will be expanded with the senses of Scripture!

Day 14: The Eternal Word of God

Through all the words of Sacred Scripture, God speaks only one single Word, his one Utterance in whom he expresses himself completely... For this reason, the Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord's Body. She never ceases to present to the faithful the bread of life, taken from the one table of God's Word and Christ's Body. In Sacred Scripture, the Church constantly finds her nourishment and her strength, for she welcomes it not as a human word, "but as what it really is, the word of God". "In the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to meet his children, and talks with them." CCC 102-104

Today's reading is about the divine inspiration and sanctity of Sacred Scripture. Catholics and other Christians would affirm how much we receive in the Faith from the Scriptures given to us by God. We don't necessarily agree on what texts belong in Scripture, but do cherish what we've been given. It does reflect a humanness of sorts in the mix of types in Scripture: poetry, narratives, letters, etc. but the overall truth these texts contain nourishes us in our walk with Christ. Yet, not a nourishment in isolation from our brothers and sisters in Christ within the Church. Not a "just me, Jesus, and the Bible" approach, for this almost makes an idol of the Scriptures. We need the Church to help us with Scripture and to know that these texts alone are insufficient without Christ. I rather like how the Catechism puts it:

[T]he Christian faith is not a "religion of the book". Christianity is the religion of the "Word" of God, "not a written and mute word, but incarnate and living". If the Scriptures are not to remain a dead letter, Christ, the eternal Word of the living God, must, through the Holy Spirit, "open (our) minds to understand the Scriptures." CCC 108

A nice summation of what Christianity has taught about the Scriptures in today's reading. Everyone has their favorite parts of Scripture and one of mine is an amazing prophecy of Christ's Passion found in Wisdom 2:12-20:

“Let us lie in wait for the righteous man,

because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions;

he reproaches us for sins against the law,

and accuses us of sins against our training. 

He professes to have knowledge of God,

and calls himself a child of the Lord.

He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;

the very sight of him is a burden to us,

because his manner of life is unlike that of others,

and his ways are strange.

We are considered by him as something base,

and he avoids our ways as unclean;

he calls the last end of the righteous happy,

and boasts that God is his father.

Let us see if his words are true,

and let us test what will happen at the end of his life;

for if the righteous man is God’s child, he will help him,

and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.

Let us test him with insult and torture,

so that we may find out how gentle he is,

and make trial of his forbearance.

Let us condemn him to a shameful death,

for, according to what he says, he will be protected.”

Day 13: The Single Deposit of Faith

The Catholic Church was founded by Christ, who endowed his apostles with authority to teach in his name. The Church, then, is the defender of the Gospel of Christ, and his infallible witness to the world. That said, the Church is made up of sinful human beings, with popes and bishops in its history who lived sinful lives. Even today, the Church's leaders are not perfect, so how can we trust what they say? Quite simply, we can trust the Magisterium because Jesus assures us that we can. (Catechism in a Year Companion I, p. 31)

Today's reading in CCC 96-100 was an "In Brief" one, which is something that summed up the section in about 5 sentences. Not a bad summary. I liked how the Companion book puts it above, especially when considering the Church's history. Yes, we've had saints and men of mostly goodwill, but we've also had some real stinkers too. Non-Catholics usually like to focus on Medieval bad boy popes, which I'm very familiar with. I'll give perhaps one of the most despicable, dishonorable, and scandalous episodes in Church history: the Cadaver Synod. I believe I can safely surmise that God was not pleased with that one. So given the sin of popes, bishops, priests, nuns & monks, as well as the laity down through the centuries, how can I still believe in the Church? Simple. I see the story of humanity in all it's glory, wickedness, and mediocrity. You name it, humans have done it and will do it again if given the chance. I see it in the Apostles, all of whom the Gospels record as abandoning Him in his hour of need, with scandalous episodes in their own lives. From Matthew being a tax collector (uber-scandalous back then) to Peter being called a devil by Christ and denying him three times. All of them He still loved and helped raise up to do great things in his name, which began the early Church. I'm not trying to preach or engage in apologetics here, this is just how I see it.

All in all, a good summation provided in the Catechism for this section. Tomorrow: Day 14!

Day 12: Receiving Dogmas

 

There is an organic connection between our spiritual life and the dogmas. Dogmas are lights along the path of faith; they illuminate it and make it secure. Conversely, if our life is upright, our intellect and heart will be open to welcome the light shed by the dogmas of faith... "It is clear therefore that, in the supremely wise arrangement of God, sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others. Working together, each in its own way, under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls." CCC 89 & 95

Today's section briefly covers dogmas and their relation to Scripture, Tradition, & the Magisterium. I like how the Catechism refers to them as "lights along the path" or as the Catechism in a Year Vol I companion book puts it, "dogmas are especially bright lights that keep us from stumbling along the journey of faith" (p. 29). For me, I'm thinking of the Christological dogmas that tore the early Church apart in several heresies, along with justification that made the Protestants bolt. With the former, we see a brilliant man like William Lane Craig fall into the ancient heresy of Monothelitism through his reading of Scripture and his own reasoning. I freely admit that my own far less brilliant thinking in this area isn't very deep and I accept much on faith where my reasoning fails to fully understand. I'm reminded of the story of St. Augustine and the boy (angel) on the beach. The boy when asked what he was doing, said that he was trying to fit the ocean into a tiny hole on the beach. An absurdity of course, which the good saint essentially told the boy. His reply is pretty much how I view many of the Christological & Trinitarian dogmas: “And you could never possibly understand the Holy Trinity.” These are things I should look into more to develop a deeper understanding, but their mystery isn't a barrier to my faith. Indeed, they help me appreciate the truth found in the Church.

Day 11: Sources of Divine Revelation

 "Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together, and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing, and move towards the same goal." Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ, who promised to remain with his own "always, to the close of the age". CCC 80

Both Scripture & Tradition come from the same One Source. For me, this makes perfect sense, especially when you look at the history of the early Church and the Canon of Scripture. I've enjoyed studying about both of these over the years. As I have had sola Scriptura explained to me in various ways, even when I was a Lutheran, it makes no sense that Jesus intended to leave us a manual of sorts and that's it. It took centuries to work out the Canon, especially the Old Testament given the Septuagint and what came to be known as the Hebrew Canon. All that aside, it's clear that from the earliest days, there was a Magisterium in the Church, with bishops given authority by Christ to safeguard and pass on the Deposit of Faith. I like how the Catechism puts it, that the Magisterium is "not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant" (CCC 86). It reminds me of how Pope St. John Paul II, I believe, revived the use of "Servant of the Servants of God" as a papal title. Both were unfortunately forgotten at times, much to the detriment of the faithful, but it's good to see them back. 

I've been away for a while due to health reasons and the end of Summer vacation, but it's nice to get back with this. That is Day 11 in a nutshell you could say.