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Catholic Principles for Interpreting Scripture: A Study of the Pontifical Commission's. The Interpetation of the Bible in the Church (Subsidia Biblica)

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For Catholics involved in catechetical or other pastoral work or for Catholics who just seek nourishment from the Scriptures, the profusion of books on the Bible and the historical Jesus (whether as Jewish peasant, "marginal Jew," or social revolutionary) is an experience in vertigo. Dr. Williamson fortunately has distilled the principles of Catholic biblical interpretation in his study of the Pontifical Biblical Commission's 1993 document "The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church." The authoritative and approving preface is by Albert Vanhoye, S.J., Secretary of the Biblical Commission, a biblical scholar in his own right. Williamson conveniently summarizes the twenty principles for Catholic biblical interpretation that he distills from this official Church document in an appendix. He also includes a welcome glossary of terms. Thus, the book is accessible by non-specialists. And that in the end is, in my opinion, the most significant point made by the book: that the Bible belongs to the entire believing community. Contrary to what we see on the shelves of bookstores, the Scriptures are not merely the playthings of specialized scholars, some of whom disdain the very idea of divine intervention in human history. As Williamson points out in his Principle No. 7: "The Scriptures belong to the entire Church . . . and all of the members of the Church have a role in the interpretation of Scripture" (Appendix). This book will help you take up that role knowledgeably and responsibly. It will be of aid to both Catholic and non-Catholics.