Formally approved by Pope Francis, this present work is the contribution of the Pontifi cal Biblical Commission toward a more adequate understanding of the concepts of inspiration and truth that respects both the nature of the Bible and its signifi cance for the life of the Church. Drawing on a close reading of the Scriptures themselves, the document focuses on three main aspects: 1. The inspiration of Sacred Scripture and the exploration of its divine provenance 2. The truth of the Word of God, emphasizing the message about God and his project of salvation 3. Challenges that arise from the Bible itself, on account of certain aspects that seem inconsistent with its quality of being the Word of God
This book, originally published in 1836 as Evidences of the Authenticity, Inspiration, and Canonical Authority of Holy Scripture, contains Archibald Alexander's defense of God's role in the inspiration of Scripture. Alexander devotes time to defending the truth of Scripture, the veracity of miracles, the fulfillment of prophecy, and the credibility of the Gospels, firmly supporting the view that the revelation of God in the Bible is neither improbable nor unreasonable. Lexham Classics are beautifully typeset new editions of classic works. Each book has been carefully transcribed from the original texts, ensuring an accurate representation of the writing as the author intended it to be read.
This document's purpose is to spell out the Church's understanding of the nature of revelation--the process whereby God communicates with human beings. It touches upon questions about Scripture, tradition, and the teaching authority of the Church. The major concern of the document is to proclaim a Catholic understanding of the Bible as the "word of God." Key elements include: Trinitarian structure, roles of apostles and bishops, and biblical reading in a historical context.
God has provided a way for all people, not just scholars, to know that the Bible is the Word of God. John Piper has devoted his life to showing us that the glory of God is object of the soul’s happiness. Now, his burden in this book is to demonstrate that this same glory is the ground of the mind’s certainty. God’s peculiar glory shines through his Word. The Spirit of God enlightens the eyes of our hearts. And in one self-authenticating sight, our minds are sure and our hearts are satisfied. Justified certainty and solid joy meet in the peculiar glory of God.
This is the sixth annual volume of the remarkably popular journal of biblical theology edited by Scott Hahn and his St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. This volume features an all-star lineup tackling one of the most controversial and important subjects in biblical scholarship the inspiration and truth of Sacred Scripture. What does it mean to say that Scripture is "the Word of God"? Are there "errors" in Scripture? These are some of the questions addressed in important new works by Hahn, Brant Pitre, Pablo Gadenz, Michael Waldstein, John Betz, and Germain Grisez. Highlights include Hahn's new essay on the "the truth and humility of God's Word" and Gadenz's authoritative review of the Catholic teaching on the "inerrancy" of Scripture. This volume also includes a never-before-translated essay by Romano Guardini, "Holy Scripture and the Science of Faith." From the Editors' introduction: " The widespread erosion in the assumption that Scripture is the true Word of God forms the broader context for the articles and studies in this volume of Letter & Spirit. As we see it, the work we present in these pages is no ivory tower exercise. It is no exaggeration to say that at stake in this discussion is the future of the identity of the Church and the mission of the Word incarnate. If the Scriptures cannot be trusted to communicate the truth about God and his saving message, if they do not bring us to the encounter with the living God who speaks his Word, then it must be asked: what is the meaning and purpose of the Church?"
What does it mean to say that Scripture is God's Word? And just how true is the Bible? Though sometimes dismissed as "fundamentalist" concerns, these questions also sent twentieth-century Catholic theology searching for a new paradigm of biblical inspiration. Theologians repeatedly attempted to reconcile the traditional conviction that the Bible shares in the omniscience of its divine author with scholarly findings that suggested otherwise. Joseph Ratzinger contributed both negatively and positively to this project, deconstructing the regnant manualist models of inspiration and constructing an alternative inspired by St. Bonaventure. The result is an ecclesial model of surprising comprehensiveness and balance. Indeed, The Inspiration and Truth of Scripture concludes that Ratzinger's alternative provides the least inadequate paradigm currently on offer. The Inspiration and Truth of Scripture breaks new ground in several ways. First, it situates Ratzinger within a broader Catholic quest for a theology of inspiration, showing his model offers advantages even relative to those proposed by modern theology's most eminent minds: John Henry Newman, Pierre Benoit, Karl Rahner, and David Tracy. Secondly, this book shows how Ratzinger's paradigm generates "tests" for identifying the perennially valid affirmations of Scripture, and thus an approach to resolving disputed biblical questions. Must one who accepts the authority of Scripture believe in the Devil? Are the Marian dogmas really "in" Scripture? To what extent does Jesus's prohibition of divorce still apply in today's changed social circumstances? Just how historical are Gospel narratives, like the Last Supper, intended to be? The result is a book that bridges the gap between normative theology and historical exegesis. Overall, The Inspiration and Truth of Scripture presents Ratzinger not as an unimaginative enforcer of doctrinal conclusions but as a creatively faithful theologian, whose reconfiguration of inspiration should serve as the point of departure for all future reflection on the subject.
In the modern debate on biblical interpretation and verbal inerrancy, this book gives weighty evidence for the historic Christian position that the Bible, the sacred canon, is the very truth of God and that it can be interpreted, understood, and applied in our time. The book considers the phenomena and data of the Bible and finds them consistent with the teaching of Christ and the apostles that they are both true and meaningful in any culture. Inspiration of the Bible and the canonical status of its books are closely interrelated matters, but the treatment of both subjects in one volume is all to rare. In the treatment of the canon, the book quotes extensively from the sources--the very early Christian writers as well as recent finds--the Dead Sea Scrolls and the books and papyri from Nag Hammadi in Egypt. It combines the extensive historical evidence with the witness and claims of the Bible itself. Reviews of the original work--that it was well-documented and thorough but profitable for any serious Christian layman--are still applicable to the revised and updated edition.
Born out of the experiences of hundreds of thousands of women who Raechel and Amanda have walked alongside as they walk with the Lord, She Reads Truth is the message that will help you understand the place of God's Word in your life.
