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A response to
Let the Reader Understand… |
Bishop
Glenn Davies chairs EFAC Australia |
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A statement
of interpretative principles by which we understand the Holy Scriptures |
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Introduction |
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At
the 1998 Lambeth Conference, a wide difference of opinion was evident among
the bishops of the Anglican Communion concerning the interpretation of Scripture.
The presenting problem was the teaching of Scripture on the vexed issue
of homosexuality. While some claimed that the debate was one of accepting
or rejecting the authority of Scripture, others argued that the differences
lay not in the authority of Scripture but in the interpretation of Scripture. |
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In
response to this division of opinion, the Bishop of New York appointed a
committee to outline as clearly as possible the principles of interpretation,
as understood by their particular part of the Anglican tradition. The committee
accordingly published in 2002 thirteen Principles of Interpretation, which
"provide an outline of a method for, and the limits to, our understanding
of God's Word written" (See http://www.dioceseny.org). The Principles are
supplemented by four commentaries, which seek to explain some of the thinking
behind the proposed method of interpretation. The document, according to
the Bishop of New York, is "a statement of classical and thoroughly Anglican
principles of scriptural interpretation". |
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The
Principles of Interpretation are a welcome contribution to the debate, for
our submission to the authority of Scripture must always be governed by
a proper understanding of the Bible. Indeed the title of the document (Let
the Reader Understand…) is an invitation to understand God's Word.
It presupposes that the reader can understand and that there is understanding
to be grasped. Accordingly the first five principles of interpretation proposed
by the document represent to a large degree the classical Anglican understanding
of Scripture. While the wording of these first five principles may be debated,
the basic thrust is not disputed. However, from the sixth principle onwards
there is a distinctive drift from the sure footing established by the first
five. The presupposition underlying the remaining principles is that the
doctrine of the Bible is not static but developing. Furthermore, this doctrinal
development, reflecting the changing circumstances of the people God, is
the basis for recognising an ongoing doctrinal evolution beyond the apostolic
age. |
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The
concept of such doctrinal development is a dangerous one. While it is recognised
that the Bible is a record of the history of redemption, the unfolding plan
of God for the salvation of his people through successive epochs of history,
it is the same God who relates with his people in every age. Although the
outward forms of that relationship might change, as identified in the various
covenantal dispensations of the Old and New Testament, the Lord God does
not change (Malachi 3:6). His moral standards do not change. The Articles
of Religion articulate this principle in Article vii, where a distinction
is drawn between commandments called moral and the ceremonies, rites and
civil precepts of the Mosaic Law. Rites and ceremonies change in accordance
with the history of redemption. For example, the distinction between clean
and unclean food was a known distinction prior to Noah's entering the ark.
Yet the distinction is abrogated in the new world which Noah enters after
the flood (Genesis 9:3), only to be restored under Mosaic Law and then abolished
under the new covenant (Mark 7:19). Yet alongside these ritual eating rules
stands the prohibition against murder, reinforced in Noah's day (Genesis
9:6), repeated under Mosaic Law (Exodus 20:13) and reaffirmed under the
new covenant (Matthew 5:21; Romans 14:9; 1 Timothy 1:10). While it may not
always be easy to discern what is moral and what is civil, or what pertains
to ceremonies and rites, the distinction is an Anglican distinction (shared
with other churches of the Reformation) and a sound principle of interpretation.
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However,
what seems to escape the authors of this document is that each of these
changes in redemptive history was sanctioned by God, through his appointed
prophets or apostles. To claim that "the Church engaged in …[the] process
of reinterpretation, setting aside one of the most solemnly delivered of
all laws, the covenant of circumcision" (p 8) is to overlook the fact that
it was the apostles, through revelation, that taught the end of circumcision
under the new covenant. The changes to the priesthood, as indicated by Hebrews
7:12, reflects a change in the law. Likewise, the change in covenantal administration,
wrought by the death and resurrection of Christ, brings about changes in
the Mosaic legislation. However, it is God who makes these changes, not
the Church. As the apostle Paul cryptically states it: "There is neither
circumcision nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God." (1
Corinthians 7:19). While recognising that circumcision was originally a
commandment of God, understood within the Anglican framework of Article
vii, the ceremony of circumcision is no longer binding, but the (moral)
commandments of God continue to be so. |
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That
the Church has made changes to its practices over time is not disputed.
However, such changes (for example in the doctrine of marriage and divorce)
have not purported to be a development beyond the teaching of Scripture,
but rather a better appreciation of the teaching of Scripture. Changes to
church custom and practice that are based upon the Scripture, rather than
upon human tradition, are at the heart of the reformation debates with Rome.
Despite the appeal of Commentary 4 to the eating of blood and the issue
of slavery as examples of the Church's overturning the commands of Scripture,
the examples given are not as transparent as the author suggests. The promulgation
of the apostolic council at Jerusalem was in order to avoid offence to those
Jews who were still steeped in the Mosaic covenant (Acts 15:21). As evidenced
by Paul's teaching on food offered to idols, it is clear that local circumstances
could change, though the overriding principle of expressing love to the
weaker brethren was still paramount (1 Corinthians 8:12). The Christian
Church has not continued with this prohibition, not because it knows better
than the Jerusalem apostles nor, as Commentary 4 falsely claims, that the
Jerusalem Council erred in this matter (citing Article xix in support),
but because the local circumstances of Acts 15 no longer pertain. |
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The
second issue concerns the matter of slavery. Suffice to say that both the
Old and New Testament are against slave trading (Exodus 21:16; 1 Timothy
1:10). While the Bible regulates a compassionate approach to slavery (as
it does to divorce), it does not thereby promote it. Slavery among the Israelites
(due to theft or debt) was for a maximum of six years and not a permanent
condition, unless the slave chose the security of lifelong slavery (Exodus
21:5-7). The New Testament endorses the opportunity of slaves to become
free (1 Corinthians 7:21). In similar fashion, our society condones a modern
form of slavery in the institution of incarceration, while still advocating
a compassionate approach to the treatment of prisoners with a view to their
return to society. Moreover, it is the biblical principles of justice and
compassion that have largely underpinned the establishment of prisons and
recognised their continuing relevance for modern societies. |
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The
question that these Principles of Interpretation addresses is whether or
not the Church has authority to abandon commands of Scripture or overturn
biblical prohibitions in the light of perceived changing circumstances.
While appeal is made to the "tenor or trajectory of the divine plan underlying
the whole of Scripture" (Principle 6), it is the contention of this response
that the apostolic revelation of the coming of Jesus Christ is the touchstone
for understanding how humans should respond to God throughout the era of
the new covenant. The Church is built upon the foundation of apostles and
prophets, the authentic and authenticated witnesses to Jesus Christ. The
apostle Paul warns his readers not to go beyond that which is written (1
Corinthians 4:6). There is no promise in Scripture that the Spirit of God
will lead the Church in such a way that is contrary to the commands of Scripture,
despite the misguided cries of some that innovations and novelties, contrary
to God's Word written, are of God. |
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Commentary
on Principles of Interpretation |
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1.
The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are "the Word of God and
contain all things necessary to salvation." They are called the Word of
God by the household of faith, not because God dictated the biblical text,
but because the Church believes that God inspired its human authors through
the Holy Spirit and because by means of the inspired text, read within the
sacramental communion of the Church, the Spirit of God continues the timely
enlightenment and instruction of the faithful. |
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This
opening principle seeks to establish the Anglican position of how Scripture
is to be understood as "the Word of God", citing Article vi of the Articles
of Religion. However, in the committee's attempt to avoid the perils of
a dictation theory of transmission (notwithstanding Exodus 31:18), they
have inadvertently bypassed the Scripture's testimony to itself, as God's
inspired Word to his people. The basis of the Bible's being God's Word is
presented not because God has spoken, but because the Church
believes that God inspired its human authors through the Holy Spirit. The
locus of authority thereby subtly shifts to the Church's assessment of Scripture
rather than to God's own assessment and self-testimony. |
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Nonetheless,
it is pleasing to see the assertion that the Bible is God's inspired Word,
and that it is by the means of the inspired text that the Spirit of God
continues to enlighten and instruct the faithful. That this normally takes
place within the community of the faithful, however, is not to be identified
as meaning that it is necessarily or exclusively in the community
of the faithful that enlightenment comes. The Scriptures frequently testify
to the inability of God's own people to read the God's Word correctly. Jesus'
assertions 'Have you not read…?' (Matthew 12:3; 19:4), addressed to
the leaders of Israel's community, bear eloquent testimony to the reality
that the sacramental community of the Church is not always the certain test
of true understanding. Our own reformation roots in the Church of England's
quarrel with Rome, let alone Article xxi, likewise makes this plain. |
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2. The Holy Scriptures are the primary constitutional text of the Church.
They provide the basis and guiding principles for our common life with God,
and they do so through narrative, law, prophecy, poetry, and other forms
of expression. Indeed, the Scriptures are themselves an instrument of the
Church's shared communion with Jesus Christ, the living Word of God, who
uses them to constitute the Church as a body of many diverse members, participating
together in his own word, wisdom, and life. |
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This
principle rightly acknowledges the Bible as the primary text for the church.
Presumably by "primary constitutional text" it is implied that the Bible
is the primary authority for the Church. Yet, it would have been more helpful
if the concept of authority had been made more explicit. However, while
recognising the Bible as providing "the basis and guiding principles for
our common life", it also rightly acknowledges the many and varied forms
that God has spoken through the prophets (Hebrews 1:1), each with their
own distinctive genre and literary style, yet each a part of the instrument
of the Church's shared communion with Jesus Christ. |
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3.
The Scriptures as 'God's Word Written,' bear witness to, and their proper
interpretation depends upon, the paschal mystery of God's Word incarnate,
crucified and risen. Although the Scriptures are a manifestly diverse collection
of documents representing a variety of authors, times, aims and forms, the
Church received and collected them, and from the beginning has interpreted
them for their witness to an underlying and unifying theme: the unfolding
economy of salvation, as brought to fulfillment in Jesus Christ. |
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This
principle helpfully lays out the importance of Christology and redemptive
history for our understanding of Scripture. The writing of Scripture has
its climax and fulfilment in the coming of Jesus Christ. He is the Yes and
Amen of the promises of God (2 Corinthians 1:20) and since he has ushered
in the end of the ages, it is in the light of his coming that we rightly
understand the Old Testament text. For the revelation of God to Israel was
also "written down for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has
come" (1 Corinthians 10:11). However, in the light of the use of the word
mystery, in common parlance, it may have been more prudent to avoid
the term "paschal mystery" as the basis of our interpretation of Scripture.
The "unknown" cannot be the basis of a true interpretation! On the contrary,
the mystery has now been revealed in the pages of the New Testament. This
is the point of Paul's explanation of the "mystery of Christ", formerly
unknown, but now revealed through his holy apostles and prophets (Ephesians
3:3-5). Of course, we cannot comprehend God completely. There is mystery
in the Godhead that will be forever beyond our grasp; the Creator-creature
distinction is a permanent one. Nonetheless, God has spoken clearly; the
mystery which had been kept secret has now been disclosed (Romans 16:25).
If the "paschal mystery" of Christ's incarnation, death and resurrection
were entirely beyond our grasp, it could not be a basis for the proper interpretation
of God's Word. In the words of the apostle, "We heard his voice from heaven,
for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word
made more sure. You do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining
in a dark place." (2 Peter 1:19-19). |
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4.
The Scriptures both document and narrate not only God's saving acts but
also the manifold human responses to them, revealing that God's unchanging
purpose to redeem is fulfilled, not by means of a coercive, deterministic
system, but through a divine plan compassionately respectful of human freedom,
adapted to changing historical circumstances, cultural situations, and individual
experience and need. In reading the diverse texts of Holy Scripture, the
Church seeks an ever-growing comprehension of this plan and of the precepts
and practices whereby believers may respond more faithfully to it, walking
in the way of Christ. |
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This
principle reflects upon the human responses to God's saving acts. However,
in so doing it seems to elevate the role of human responsibility so as to
suggest that God's main focus is to be "compassionately respectful of human
freedom". While it is recognised that God deals with humans in accordance
with their actions (John 5:29), it is also true that God, by His Spirit,
changes the hearts of humans so that they might respond to his Word (Acts
16:14). Indeed, without the agency of the Spirit of God, human beings would
have no ability to respond to the call of the gospel, being dead in their
trespasses and sins. God's compassion, moreover, is seen in the fact that
he gives people a heart to respond, changes their desires so that they act
in accordance with his will. |
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The
divine plan of redemption, while not made explicit in this principle, is
to sum up all things in Christ, "to unite all things in him, things in heaven
and on earth" (Ephesians 1:10). Such a plan will inevitably coerce submission
from the rebellious, whether in heaven or on earth, so that every knee shall
bow before the Lord Christ, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians
2:10). Since it is God's plan to unite all things in his Son, it is imperative
that we follow the path of Christ in this life. The precepts and practices
to be followed by the disciples of Christ are found in the texts of Holy
Scripture (which are both diverse and unified), and it is by faithfully
following such precepts that we walk in the way of Christ. |
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5. The New Testament itself interprets and applies the texts of the Old
Testament as pointing to and revealing the Christ. Thus, the revelation
of God in Christ is the key to the Church's understanding of the Scriptures
as a whole. |
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Agreed. |
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6. Individual texts must not, therefore, be isolated and made to mean something
at odds with the tenor or trajectory of the divine plan underlying the whole
of Scripture. |
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The
difficulty with the manner in which this principle is expressed is that
the "divine plan underlying the whole of Scripture" can only be discerned
through the text of Scripture. Individual texts certainly contribute to
this plan by way of reaffirmation or by providing new information not previously
revealed. It is true that such texts should not be isolated from their context,
nor should they be interpreted in such a way that would contradict other
parts of Scripture. However, it is more difficult to appeal to the "divine
plan" as a hermeneutical tool for evaluating individual texts of Scripture,
especially when the plan has not been specified in these interpretative
principles (see comments on Principle 4 above). Article xx ("it is not lawful
for the church…so expound one place of Scripture that it be repugnant
to another ") is a surer guide for our interpretation of Scripture in this
regard, than an appeal to an inferred underlying plan. |
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7.
It must be concluded that the words of a scriptural text or texts, however,
compelling, may not in every circumstance be received by the Church as authoritative.
Even if the Church has no authority to abrogate 'commandments which are
called Moral' – unlike its jurisdiction in 'ceremonies and rites' –
the true moral significance of any commandment is not simply given but must
be discerned. |
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The
conclusion that Principle 7 seeks to draw from Principles 5 and 6 is not
valid. The fact that one text is not to be interpreted in a way that is
contrary to "the tenor or trajectory of the divine plan" does not imply
that the text is not to be received as authoritative. All that it implies
is that the meaning of the text cannot be in opposition to the tenor of
the divine plan. If such a meaning were discerned, it should be rejected,
but not the text! Our interpretations are fallible, but the text is infallible.
The meaning of the text may require greater work on the part of the interpreter,
but it does not demand its rejection. |
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The
difficulty with this line of reasoning is that little attention has been
given to the nature of biblical theology or redemptive history, notwithstanding
the apparent recognition of this discipline in Principles 3 and 5. It is
not because of a perceived lack of resonance with the divine plan, that
certain texts are deemed no longer applicable to the Christian era. Rather,
it is because we do not live under the theocracy of Ancient Israel. The
Mosaic economy has been fulfilled by Christ and therefore frees us from
those laws, which were a shadow of the reality that was to come (Colossians
2:17). A simple example may suffice. The law given to Abraham to circumcise
his sons was a law from God. It preceded Moses and was part of the Old Testament
economy. Christ's death was the fulfilment and abrogation of circumcision
(Colossians 2:11), making it no longer necessary to mark God's people by
this sign. Yet the command to circumcise is still received by the church
as an "authoritative" text. It was a command for those who lived under the
old covenant, even if it is not "applicable" for those under the new covenant,
because it has been fulfilled in Christ. Moreover, we may continue to learn
important principles from laws which no longer have application, for example
the principle of purity embedded in the prohibition of wearing mixed cloths
or the principle of avoiding pagan practices, expressed in the ban on boiling
a kid in its mother's milk. Some laws, on the other hand, may have little
relevance to those living in a nonagrarian society, although they still
have something to teach us about the character of God and what he requires
of his people. Compare the injunction not to muzzle the ox while it is treading
out the grain and Paul's application of this text to minsters of the gospel
under the new covenant (1 Timothy 5:18). |
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Article
vii rightly draws the distinctions among those Old Testament laws which
concern ceremonies and rites, as no longer binding, those laws which are
civil precepts, that need not of necessity be received, and those laws termed
moral, which are still binding upon Christians. However, while Principle
7 rightly draws our attention to the meed for discernment as to the moral
significance of any commandment, it fails to restrict this assessment to
the Old Testament laws in the way that Article vii does. A proper biblical
theology of redemption recognises the distinctive character of new covenant
ethics as opposed to old covenant ethics, which appears lacking in this
proposed hermeneutical principle. |
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8. Thus, for the Church's judgment of the morality of actions and dispositions
to be authoritative, it is insufficient simply to condemn those things that
are condemned somewhere in Scripture, or to approve those things that are
somewhere approved. |
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The
failure to perceive the distinctiveness of Old Testament law makes the proposition
of Principle 8 untenable, if "somewhere in Scripture" is inclusive of the
whole of the New Testament. Apart from the ongoing lack of distinction between
what is "authoritative" and what is "applicable", this principle's wide
gamut is tantamount to promoting the autonomy of the Church's judgment of
morality in order to overturn specific judgments of Scripture. Rather, it
is the principles inherent within the Scriptures that provide the
key to understanding the way in which some practices and some prohibitions
are no longer binding. Moreover, these principles are found imbedded in
the text of Scripture, for example, the declaration in Mark 7:19. |
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9. Faithful interpretation requires the Church to use the gifts of "memory,
reason, and skill" to find the sense of the scriptural text and to locate
it in its time and place. The Church must then seek the text's present significance
in light of the whole economy of salvation. Chief among the guiding principles
by which the Church interprets the sacred texts is the congruence of its
interpretation with Christ's Summary of the Law and the New Commandment,
and the creeds. |
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Faithful
interpretation of the Bible will certainly require diligence in finding
the sense of the text in its original context. God speaks to his people
in time and space and it is important to discern both the time and place
of such speech to ascertain its significance for today. The gifts of "memory,
reason and skill", however, do not exhaust the gifts that God as given to
his Church, though no doubt each of these is important in the interpretative
task. However, in seeking to find an interpretative benchmark for understanding
Scripture, it is unwise to elevate the creeds alongside Christ's summary
of the Law and the New Commandment. The creeds are a subservient standard.
It is only because they "may be proved by most certain warrant of Holy Scripture"
(Article vii) that they are to be received and believed. They provide a
framework for the Christian faith that we have received, not a benchmark
against which Scripture is to be tested. |
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10.
The Church's interpretation of Scripture is itself part of the human response
to the economy of salvation, an essential means whereby the Christian faithful
understand God's actions in their lives and experience and therein know
God's power and purpose to judge, redeem, liberate, and transform. |
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The
elevation of the church's interpretation of Scripture is dangerously close
to the magisterium that Principle 13 seeks to avoid. While the interpretation
of the Church is an important part of a Christian's understanding of the
text of Scripture, it is self-delusion to suggest that the Church's interpretation
is "an essential means whereby the Christian faithful understand God's actions
in their lives". God's power to judge, redeem, liberate and transform is
resident in his breathed out word. This is not to elevate private interpretation
over the interpretation of the Church. Rather, it is to recognise that it
is God who speaks through his word, and sometimes the meaning of his Word
is hidden from the wise and revealed to babes (Matthew 11:25). The Bible
is not dependent upon the interpretation of the Church in order for it to
be believed, even though the interpretation of the community of faith will
be an invaluable asset in understanding what God has spoken to his people.
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11.
Yet precisely because the Church's members are human, their reading of Scripture
is contingent and fallible, even in matters of faith and morals. In reading
its Scriptures, the historical Church remains always a wayfaring community
using discernment, conversation, and argument to find is way. |
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The
recognition of the fallibility of all humans, including the Church's members
is acknowledged and well expressed. However, it would have been more helpful
to include the necessity of faith as an essential element in the discovery
of the meaning of Holy Scripture (Hebrews 11:3). |
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12.
Interpretative security rests not in an indefectible community or infallible
magisterium but in the tested deposit of the baptismal faith and, above
all, in the covenant God who is faithful to a people who err. |
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Ultimately
it is God who confirms the teaching of his Word to our hearts. The authority
of the Bible is the authority of God speaking. Its power to convict, rebuke
and convince is resident in its character as being of God's Word. Thus Paul's
reflection upon the way in which the Thessalonians received the gospel is
indicative of how people believe God's Word: "Our gospel came to you not
only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction."
(1 Thessalonians 1:5). It is the plan of a covenant God who sends forth
his word to do his will, and it shall not return to him void (Isaiah 55:11).
Interpretative security rests therefore in the God who has spoken. This
is the word to which we must continually return to hear his voice. Our baptismal
faith, on the other hand, is the Christian faith that finds its genesis
and perfect expression in the text of Holy Scripture. |
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13.
To affirm the "sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for salvation" is to enlarge
the sphere of human liberty by acknowledging limits upon what may be required
in matters of faith and morals. Taken in this way, the Scriptures do not
lose their authority but on the contrary fulfill their ultimate intent,
which is to bring all people to the blessed liberty of the children of God,
whose service is perfect freedom. |
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This
final principle refers back to the limits upon the moral relevance of certain
texts of Scripture, developed in previous principles. Our judgment has been
that a case has not been sufficiently argued for understanding exactly what
these limits are. Who imposes them – the Church or the Scripture itself?
Not only are matters of morals included in this acknowledgment of limits
(as presented in Principle 7), but so are matters of faith! Yet there has
been no argument for or defence of the suggestion that matters of faith
are to be limited (except so far as our perception of matters of faith are
fallible – Principle 11). The only limits that can be placed upon the
Scripture are the limits that God has placed upon his Word, in the unfolding
plan of his redemption of Israel and all nations. |
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It
is difficult to discern how such limitations, being an enlargement of the
sphere of human liberty (autonomy?), do not undermine the authority of Scripture.
Furthermore, it is unfortunate that the final Principle should speak of
the "ultimate intent" as bringing all people to the blessed liberty
of the children of God. Rather, it is the salvation of all those who are
in Christ, the elect of God, from every tribe and nation, that is the intent
of God's saving purposes. For God's intent to judge the wicked stands alongside
his intent to save his people from their sins, as Article xvii Of Predestination
and Election concludes. |
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Concluding
remarks |
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The
classical Anglican approach to understanding the Scriptures is to recognise
that the will of God is "expressly declared" in the Word of God. Failure
to understand Scripture is normally associated with unbelief. When Jesus
was challenged by the Pharisees concerning the behaviour of his disciples
in picking grain on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8), he replied: "Have you
not read what David did…?" Jesus' accusation is that the Pharisees
have not understood what the Scripture said on these matters, even though
it was accessible to them. Jesus continues: "If you had known what this
means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice', you would not have condemned
the guiltless." Since they had not truly comprehended the Word of God given
under the old covenant, it is not surprising that they did not comprehend
that "something greater than the temple" had arrived. |
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To
his contemporaries Jesus frequently asked: "Have you not read…?" (Matthew
19:4; 21:42; 23:31; 24:15; cf Luke 10:26). The implication is that they
should have read and should have understood. That they did not do so, as
the apostle Paul explains, is due to a veil over their minds, a veil which
only the Spirit of God can remove (2 Corinthians 3:15). True interpretation
of the Old Testament Scripture is to view it in the light of the coming
of Christ. It is the New Testament that reveals Christ and aids our understanding
of the Old Testament. However, there is no suggestion in the pages of New
Testament of any doctrinal development beyond the revelation of the new
covenant Scriptures. That the New Testament records the unfolding implications
of the revelation of Christ (eg Acts 10) does not give any credence to post-apostolic
unfolding revelation or to doctrinal development in contradiction to the
faith once for all delivered to the saints. This is not to suggest that
the Church may not grow and develop its own understanding of Scripture.
On the contrary, the church must continue to give itself to the interpretation
of Scripture so that it might "take every thought captive to the obedience
of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). True development of doctrine will reflect
a growth in knowing more completely and responding more obediently to the
God who has revealed himself in the text of the Holy Scripture. |
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Revised
Principles of Interpretation |
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In
the light of the above comments the following 13 Principles of Interpretation
are set forth as an alternative framework for understanding the Bible. For
ease of comparison the original Principles are reprinted on the left-hand
side. They are presented here as a revision of the 13 Principles offered
by the Diocese of New York in the hope that they will assist the Church's
understanding of God's Word Written. |
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Original
Principles of Interpretation |
Revised
Principles of Interpretation |
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1
The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are "the Word of God and
contain all things necessary to salvation." They are called the Word of
God by the household of faith, not because God dictated the biblical text,
but because the Church believes that God inspired its human authors through
the Holy Spirit and because by means of the inspired text, read within the
sacramental communion of the Church, the Spirit of God continues the timely
enlightenment and instruction of the faithful. |
1
The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are "the Word of God and
contain all things necessary to salvation." They are God's Word to his people,
written by human agency under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. The
human authors convey in Spirit-inspired text what God says; and God's word
cannot be broken (John 10:35.) The household of faith receives God's Word,
believing it to be not of human origin but of God who has "caused all Scriptures
to be written for our learning." The same Spirit who inspired the text of
Scripture applies it to the hearts and minds of believers, with power and
full conviction (1 Thess 1:5). |
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2
The Holy Scriptures are the primary constitutional
text of the Church. They provide the basis and guiding principles for our
common life with God, and they do so through narrative, law, prophecy, poetry,
and other forms of expression. Indeed, the Scriptures are themselves an
instrument of the Church's shared communion with Jesus Christ, the living
Word of God, who uses them to constitute the Church as a body of many diverse
members, participating together in his own word, wisdom, and life. |
2
The Holy Scriptures are the primary authority and constitutional text for
the Church. They provide the basis and guiding principles for our common
life with God, and they do so through narrative, law, prophecy, poetry,
and other forms of expression. Indeed, the Scriptures are themselves an
instrument of the Church's shared communion with Jesus Christ, the living
Word of God, who uses them to constitute the Church as a body of many diverse
members, participating together in his own word, wisdom, and life.
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3
The Scriptures as "God's Word Written," bear witness
to, and their proper interpretation depends upon, the paschal mystery of
God's Word incarnate, crucified and risen. Although the Scriptures are a
manifestly diverse collection of documents representing a variety of authors,
times, aims and forms, the Church received and collected them, and from
the beginning has interpreted them for their witness to an underlying and
unifying theme: the unfolding economy of salvation, as brought to fulfillment
in Jesus Christ. |
3
The Scriptures as "God's Word Written," bear witness to, and their proper
interpretation depends upon, the fulfilment of God's promises to humankind
in the revelation of God's Word incarnate, crucified and risen. The Scriptures
are a variegated collection of documents representing a variety of authors,
times, aims and forms. Yet from the beginning the Church has interpreted
them for their witness to an underlying and unifying theme: the unfolding
plan of salvation, as brought to fulfilment in Jesus Christ. |
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4 The Scriptures both document and narrate not only God's saving acts
but also the manifold human responses to them, revealing that God's unchanging
purpose to redeem is fulfilled, not by means of a coercive, deterministic
system, but through a divine plan compassionately respectful of human freedom,
adapted to changing historical circumstances, cultural situations, and individual
experience and need. In reading the diverse texts of Holy Scripture, the
Church seeks an ever-growing comprehension of this plan and of the precepts
and practices whereby believers may respond more faithfully to it, walking
in the way of Christ. |
4
The Scriptures both document and narrate not only God's saving acts but
also the manifold human responses to them, revealing that God's unchanging
purpose to redeem is accomplished in Christ and fulfilled in the lives of
sinful men and women, as they respond to the invitation to repent and put
their faith in God. While God is sovereign in his electing purposes to save,
he is neither coercive nor capricious. He is compassionately respectful
of human freedom, not desiring the death of the wicked, but that they should
turn to him and live. In reading the multi-faceted texts of Holy Scripture,
the Church seeks an ever-growing comprehension of God's will and of the
precepts and practices whereby believers may respond more faithfully to
it, walking in the way of Christ. |
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5
The New Testament itself interprets and applies the texts of the Old
Testament as pointing to and revealing the Christ. Thus, the revelation
of God in Christ is the key to the Church's understanding of the Scriptures
as a whole. |
5
The New Testament itself interprets and applies the texts of the Old Testament
as pointing to and revealing the Christ. Thus, the revelation of God in
Christ is the key to the Church's understanding of the Scriptures as a whole. |
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6
Individual texts must not, therefore, be isolated and made to mean something
at odds with the tenor or trajectory of the divine plan underlying the whole
of Scripture. |
6
While the Bible comprises individual texts by individual human authors,
it remains God's holy Word and always speaks truthfully (Psalm 119:160;
John 17:17). Individual texts must not, therefore, be expounded nor interpreted
in such a manner that they contradict one another. All texts contribute
to the unfolding revelation of God's plan to sum up all things in Christ.
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7
It must be concluded that the words of a scriptural text or texts, however
compelling, may not in every circumstance be received by the Church as authoritative.
Even if the Church has no authority to abrogate "commandments which are
called Moral" – unlike its jurisdiction in "ceremonies and rites" –
the true moral significance of any commandment is not simply given but must
be discerned. |
7
While all the words of Scripture are God's words, not all words under the
old covenant bear the same application under the new covenant. The temporary
nature of the Mosaic Law, as a law for national Israel, reflects a time
that has been superseded by the coming of Christ, who is the goal of the
law (Romans 10:4). It is the climactic event of the making of a new covenant
in Christ that brings about a change in the law (Hebrews 7:12). While the
Church has no authority to abrogate "commandments which are called Moral"
– unlike its jurisdiction in "ceremonies and rites" – it must
discern the extent to which the coming of Christ has affected the commands
and prohibitions of God for his people under the old covenant. Yet, the
basis of discerning such changes in Old Testament commands is still the
revelation of God as it unfolds in the pages of the New Testament. |
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8
Thus, for the Church's judgment of the morality of actions and dispositions
to be authoritative, it is insufficient simply to condemn those things that
are condemned somewhere in Scripture, or to approve those things that are
somewhere approved. |
8
Thus, for the Church's judgment of the morality of actions and dispositions
to be authoritative, it is necessary to view whatever is condemned in the
Old Testament, or whatever is approved in the Old Testament, in the light
of the coming of Christ as revealed in the New Testament. The New Testament
indicates a changed status of some commands and prohibitions, while also
endorsing and reaffirming other commands and prohibitions, which remain
binding upon Christians. |
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9
Faithful interpretation requires the Church to use the gifts of "memory,
reason, and skill" to find the sense of the scriptural text and to locate
it in its time and place. The Church must then seek the text's present significance
in light of the whole economy of salvation. Chief among the guiding principles
by which the Church interprets the sacred texts is the congruence of its
interpretation with Christ's Summary of the Law and the New Commandment,
and the creeds. |
9
Faithful interpretation requires the Church to understand the nature of
Old Testament law in its various covenantal epochs, from Adam to Noah, from
Noah to Abraham, and from Abraham to Moses. The gifts of "memory, reason
and skill" enhance the quest for a true understanding of the sense of each
scriptural text having located it in its time and place. The Church must
then seek the text's present significance in light of the whole economy
of salvation. Chief among the guiding principles by which the Church interprets
the sacred texts is the congruence of its interpretation with New Testament
teaching, especially Christ's Summary of the Law and the New Commandment.
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10
The Church's interpretation of Scripture is itself part of the human response
to the economy of salvation, an essential means whereby the Christian faithful
understand God's actions in their lives and experience and therein know
God's power and purpose to judge, redeem, liberate, and transform. |
10
The Church's interpretation of Scripture is itself part of the human response
to the economy of salvation. However, the teaching of Scripture is accessible
to the Christian faithful so that they might understand God's actions in
their lives and experience, and thereby know God's power and purpose to
judge, redeem, liberate, and transform. |
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11
Yet precisely because the Church's members are human, their reading of Scripture
is contingent and fallible, even in matters of faith and morals. In reading
its Scriptures, the historical Church remains always a wayfaring community
using discernment, conversation, and argument to find its way. |
11
Precisely because the Church's members are human, their reading of Scripture
is contingent and fallible, even in matters of faith and morals. Yet a true
understanding is not beyond human reach, where it is founded upon a trust
in the God who speaks. It is in God's light that we see light (Psalm 36:9;
119:105). In reading its Scriptures, the historical Church is a wayfaring
community using discernment, conversation and argument, coupled with faith
and obedience, so that it might grow into maturity in Christ. |
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12
Interpretative security rests not in an indefectible community or infallible
magisterium but in the tested deposit of the baptismal faith and, above
all, in the covenant God who is faithful to a people who err. |
12
Interpretative security rests not in an indefectible community or infallible
magisterium but in the gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Thes 1:5) to those who
have been baptised into Christ and believe his Word. Above all, it is the
covenant God whose Spirit is not only responsible for the text of Scripture
but also for its application to the hearts of God's people despite their
frailty and fallibility (1 John 2:26-28). |
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13
To affirm the "sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for salvation" is to enlarge
the sphere of human liberty by acknowledging limits upon what may be required
in matters of faith and morals. Taken in this way, the Scriptures do not
lose their authority but on the contrary fulfill their ultimate intent,
which is to bring all people to the blessed liberty of the children of God,
whose service is perfect freedom. |
13
To affirm the "sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for salvation" is to
affirm the intelligibility of God's Word. The will of God, which is expressly
declared in God's Word, is to be followed by God's people. While a contextual
reading of the Scriptures will discern that some Old Testament commands
no longer apply for Christians in the light of the New Testament, the authority
of God's Word is not thereby diminished. Rather, such commands have found
their fulfilment in the revelation of Jesus Christ. However, those commands
which transcend the Old Testament, enhanced by the coming of Christ, continue
to be binding upon the people of God (1 Corinthians 7:19). All who keep
his commandments abide in him and he in them, which is the blessed liberty
of the children of God, whose service is perfect freedom. |
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