Scripture Matters: Essays on Reading the Bible from the Heart of the Church [Paperback]

Scott Hahn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2003

What is a "Catholic" approach to interpreting the Bible? What makes for good, sound biblical scholarship? What is the "fourfold sense" of Scripture and how does it relate to understanding the Bible? What perspective and insight does Saint Thomas Aquinas provide for studying the Bible? What is the place of Scripture in Church Teaching? Scott Hahn answers these and many more questions, providing a foundation for a Catholic approach to Scripture.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Emmaus Road (November 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931018170
• ISBN-13: 978-1931018173
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #746,972 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Scott Hahn was born in 1957, and has been married to Kimberly since 1979. An exceptionally popular speaker and teacher, Dr. Hahn has delivered numerous talks nationally and internationally on a wide variety of topics related to Scripture and the Catholic faith. Hundreds of these talks have been produced on audio and videotapes by St. Joseph Communications. His talks have been effective in helping thousands of Protestants and fallen away Catholics to (re)embrace the Catholic faith.

He is currently a Professor of Theology and Scripture at Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he has taught since 1990, and is the founder and director of the Saint Paul Center for Biblical Theology. In 2005, he was appointed as the Pope Benedict XVI Chair of Biblical Theology and Liturgical Proclamation at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

Scott received his Bachelor of Arts degree with a triple-major in Theology, Philosophy and Economics from Grove City College, Pennsylvania, in 1979, his Masters of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 1982, and his Ph.D. in Biblical Theology from Marquette University in 1995. Scott has ten years of youth and pastoral ministry experience in Protestant congregations (in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, Kansas and Virginia) and is a former Professor of Theology at Chesapeake Theological Seminary. He was ordained in 1982 at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Fairfax, Virginia. He entered the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil, 1986.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

96 of 99 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterful guide for reading & understanding Scripture, December 8, 2003

By 

Archbishop Charles Chaput (Archdiocese of Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scripture Matters: Essays on Reading the Bible from the Heart of the Church (Paperback)

Scripture Matters is a masterful guide to reading -- and understanding -- the Bible from the heart of the Church. It is a work that combines intelligence and depth with a wonderful warmth and readability. Dr. Hahn's chapters on historical criticism, the Real Presence, and the place of Scripture in Catholic teaching are worth reading again and again.

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very helpful guide for learning how to interpret Scripture, July 6, 2004

By 

Fr. Kenneth Baker (Editor, Homiletic and Past... (Ramsey, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scripture Matters: Essays on Reading the Bible from the Heart of the Church (Paperback)

In this new volume Professor Scott Hahn has gathered together twelve of his essays on the reading and study of Holy Scripture. The essays are put together in a logical order, even though they were written at different times and for different publications. Professor Hahn stresses the fact that there are many levels of meaning in Scripture. The literal meaning is basic to all the senses of the Bible, but that must not be emphasized to the exclusion of the spiritual and typological meaning that permeates the Scripture. The reason for this is that God is the author of the book.

During the past century many scripture scholars, including many Catholics, have so emphasized the literal sense that they have neglected the spiritual sense. This is especially true of those who rely exclusively on the historical critical methods of interpreting Scripture. Dr. Hahn grants that there is much value in the proper use of the historical critical methods, but at the same time he clearly points out the weaknesses and deficiencies. Professor Hahn reminds us in this fine book that the study of Scripture is the soul of theology. The Bible remains normative for Catholic theology. In short, Dr. Hahn spells out the basic principles for a Catholic interpretation of Scripture, and he also gives us some good examples of how to go about interpreting a few passages the sacred pages. "Scripture Matters," therefore, is a helpful book for those who want to learn how to interpret the Bible in a way that is in agreement with Catholic teaching and tradition. If you read Scott Hahn carefully, you will begin to have a deeper appreciation of the various levels of meaning in the divinely inspired Scriptures.

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Biblical at Heart, September 10, 2004

By 

Ryan Connors - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scripture Matters: Essays on Reading the Bible from the Heart of the Church (Paperback)

Once again, Scott Hahn sets out to motivate Catholics to soak long and often in the Word of God. And once again, the popular Steubenville professor excites in his readers a heightened appreciation for the Bible's inextricable link to the Church. Hahn gives an insightful overview of the traditional ways Scripture can be understood, and argues that the Bible must be read with each sense in mind. In addition to the literal sense, the Bible should be read in the allegorical, moral and anagogical senses as well. Hahn insists the Bible is best understood only when one integrates all four of these senses.

In what is perhaps the book's most challenging chapter, Hahn explains what he believes to be a "key that unlocks the mysteries of faith... the family of God." He points out that "the whole of Scripture can be viewed as the story of how God, as Father, repeatedly strives... to draw his wayward children home." Hahn also includes two chapters about the central importance of Scripture in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas. In another chapter, he provides a moving tribute to the recently canonized St. Josemaria Escriva and the preeminent place he gave to Scripture in the spiritual life. Elsewhere, Hahn explains the importance of Jesus' "hour" in John's Gospel, as the culmination of his saving work, as it is re-presented in the Mass. In another chapter that's particularly helpful in current debates about marriage, celibacy and the male priesthood, Hahn offers an insightful look at the priestly vocation of fatherhood and the fatherly vocation of the priesthood. He ends with a thoughtful critique of currents trends in biblical scholarship.

In each chapter, Hahn's style is accessible to a wide range of readers, yet even seasoned theologians can benefit from his clear and enthusiastic elucidation of the basics of Bible reading for Catholics. "Scripture Matters" is an invitation to penetrate the mysteries of God's Word more deeply, always within the Living Tradition of the Church. If it finds the wide readership it deserves, it will succeed in its aim to help Catholics become Bible Christians and Bible Christians to become Catholics. After all, God's Work is at the heart of the Church; just so, the Church should be at the heart of every Christian.