Theology and Life, Bible Reading
Theology and Life
by Fr. Andres Arboleda, SSP
When they go to Mass, they already are familiar with the Word of God in the liturgical celebrations and have their own reflections on them. In this case, the Bible truly becomes a table where one finds nourishment for his soul. Familiar way. Then, of course, we have the familiar way of reading the Bible.
This means that one begins reading the Bible following the books as they are arranged in the printed copies of this wonderful Book. One begins reading from the first pages containing the Book of Genesis, the story of creation, and goes on to end with the last pages of the Book of Revelation, the prophecy of the end of time. This could be a highly recommendable project for one who wants to get to know the Bible itself. It is enough that one gives himself something like fifteen minutes every day to dedicate in reading the Bible, perhaps before going to sleep or waking up early in the morning. The practice of reading the Bible, so most spiritual fathers tell us, is already prayer in itself. Reading the Bible, in fact, one gets in touch with God who speaks.
The Bible is God’s love letter to man. One who daily gets in touch with God’s letter gets in touch with God daily. He may not be aware of it but the very act of getting in touch with God has very beneficial effects on one’s spiritual life. Of course, this familiar way has its own difficulties and problems. Reading the Bible from page one to the last page can become tedious, too, more so when one is not familiar with the literary forms of the passages he reads or is not familiar with the historical background. These difficulties, however, can easily be overcome if one’s copy of the Bible includes notes and commentaries. Most printed Bibles have these notes and commentaries prepared by Bible scholars. Personally, I find these notes most helpful. One alternative to reading the Gospel in this manner is to follow the groupings or classifications with which the Bible has been arranged. In fact, most printed copies of the Bible, starting from the Latin Vulgate, are divided into sections just as a library is divided into sections. A look at the table of contents of the New American Bible, for example, will show us that the Bible is divided into two principal sections: The Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament includes the following divisions: the Pentateuch, the historical books, the wisdom books, the prophetic books.
The New Testament includes the Gospels, the New Testament Letters and the Catholic letters. One could focus reading only on any of these groupings at a time. This makes reading usually more enjoyable because one is prepared to face the literary style of what he reads, from narrative to poetry, to anecdotes and maxims, to prophecy and admonitions, etc. In the long run, what counts is that one becomes familiar with what the Bible contains, especially all those that regard to one’s relationship with God and neighbor. Scholarly way. Of course, there is the highly specialized manner of reading the Bible. In fact, it is no longer just reading but studying the Bible. This is done by all so-called Bible scholars and those who are meant to share their knowledge with people, like theology professors, priests, preachers, etc. Certainly, biblical scholarship is not limited only to scholars and priests. I know of lay persons who go out of their way, attend courses even at their own expense, study languages, etc., in order to be able to read the Bible in a scholarly manner.
Principally, the aim of reading the Bible in the scholarly manner is to discover what the original writers really wanted to say when they wrote those passages contained in the Bible. In the past, this approach was not much welcomed. In fact, in the past the Bible was taken more as a book containing dogmatic propositions and laws. This led to what we call fundamentalism, which means the literal interpretation of the Bible. Indeed, this made the Bible most vulnerable to different interpretations, which, in fact, led to the establishment of sects. Most sects consider themselves Christian because they base their teachings on the Bible. However, hardly would anyone point out that the interpretation of those passages close to these people might be but personal interpretations.
The Church has defended itself against this possibility by establishing that the Church alone, because of the ministry Christ has granted to the Apostles — (Mt 16:19):
“I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” – is infallible in interpreting the Bible. Bible scholarship, however, has become more scientific in this regard. It has become what they call interdisciplinary. Bible scholarship in fact now covers practically all areas of human knowledge that has to do with knowing what the authors of the Bible wanted to say.
This includes studies of the original languages in which the Bible books were written: Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek and Latin. These languages of course are no longer current. Then Bible scholarship also includes such areas of knowledge like philology or the study of words and their meanings, archeology (the study of the traces of past civilization), literature, history, geography, sociology, etc., etc.
It is very rare that a Bible scholar would be familiar with all those branches of human knowledge related to the Bible. This is why we have Bible scholars who are highly specialized only in some sectors of the Bible. Certainly, these contribute to the general knowledge of God’s Word. Unless one wants to specialize in these sectors, the scholarly approach to the Bible is certainly not for everyone.
As a whole, one can approach the Bible in any way he wants. Or else, he could combine for example his reading with the texts used in the liturgy. He could also make the daily reading his personal devotion. There are also those who make use of the Bible to find answers to their questions. All these are possibilities. What is important is that, in the end, one gets in touch with the Word of God, nourishes from it, and thereby become mature in the practice of the love of God and neighbor.
by Fr. Andres Arboleda, SSP
When they go to Mass, they already are familiar with the Word of God in the liturgical celebrations and have their own reflections on them. In this case, the Bible truly becomes a table where one finds nourishment for his soul. Familiar way. Then, of course, we have the familiar way of reading the Bible.
This means that one begins reading the Bible following the books as they are arranged in the printed copies of this wonderful Book. One begins reading from the first pages containing the Book of Genesis, the story of creation, and goes on to end with the last pages of the Book of Revelation, the prophecy of the end of time. This could be a highly recommendable project for one who wants to get to know the Bible itself. It is enough that one gives himself something like fifteen minutes every day to dedicate in reading the Bible, perhaps before going to sleep or waking up early in the morning. The practice of reading the Bible, so most spiritual fathers tell us, is already prayer in itself. Reading the Bible, in fact, one gets in touch with God who speaks.
The Bible is God’s love letter to man. One who daily gets in touch with God’s letter gets in touch with God daily. He may not be aware of it but the very act of getting in touch with God has very beneficial effects on one’s spiritual life. Of course, this familiar way has its own difficulties and problems. Reading the Bible from page one to the last page can become tedious, too, more so when one is not familiar with the literary forms of the passages he reads or is not familiar with the historical background. These difficulties, however, can easily be overcome if one’s copy of the Bible includes notes and commentaries. Most printed Bibles have these notes and commentaries prepared by Bible scholars. Personally, I find these notes most helpful. One alternative to reading the Gospel in this manner is to follow the groupings or classifications with which the Bible has been arranged. In fact, most printed copies of the Bible, starting from the Latin Vulgate, are divided into sections just as a library is divided into sections. A look at the table of contents of the New American Bible, for example, will show us that the Bible is divided into two principal sections: The Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament includes the following divisions: the Pentateuch, the historical books, the wisdom books, the prophetic books.
The New Testament includes the Gospels, the New Testament Letters and the Catholic letters. One could focus reading only on any of these groupings at a time. This makes reading usually more enjoyable because one is prepared to face the literary style of what he reads, from narrative to poetry, to anecdotes and maxims, to prophecy and admonitions, etc. In the long run, what counts is that one becomes familiar with what the Bible contains, especially all those that regard to one’s relationship with God and neighbor. Scholarly way. Of course, there is the highly specialized manner of reading the Bible. In fact, it is no longer just reading but studying the Bible. This is done by all so-called Bible scholars and those who are meant to share their knowledge with people, like theology professors, priests, preachers, etc. Certainly, biblical scholarship is not limited only to scholars and priests. I know of lay persons who go out of their way, attend courses even at their own expense, study languages, etc., in order to be able to read the Bible in a scholarly manner.
Principally, the aim of reading the Bible in the scholarly manner is to discover what the original writers really wanted to say when they wrote those passages contained in the Bible. In the past, this approach was not much welcomed. In fact, in the past the Bible was taken more as a book containing dogmatic propositions and laws. This led to what we call fundamentalism, which means the literal interpretation of the Bible. Indeed, this made the Bible most vulnerable to different interpretations, which, in fact, led to the establishment of sects. Most sects consider themselves Christian because they base their teachings on the Bible. However, hardly would anyone point out that the interpretation of those passages close to these people might be but personal interpretations.
The Church has defended itself against this possibility by establishing that the Church alone, because of the ministry Christ has granted to the Apostles — (Mt 16:19):
“I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” – is infallible in interpreting the Bible. Bible scholarship, however, has become more scientific in this regard. It has become what they call interdisciplinary. Bible scholarship in fact now covers practically all areas of human knowledge that has to do with knowing what the authors of the Bible wanted to say.
This includes studies of the original languages in which the Bible books were written: Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek and Latin. These languages of course are no longer current. Then Bible scholarship also includes such areas of knowledge like philology or the study of words and their meanings, archeology (the study of the traces of past civilization), literature, history, geography, sociology, etc., etc.
It is very rare that a Bible scholar would be familiar with all those branches of human knowledge related to the Bible. This is why we have Bible scholars who are highly specialized only in some sectors of the Bible. Certainly, these contribute to the general knowledge of God’s Word. Unless one wants to specialize in these sectors, the scholarly approach to the Bible is certainly not for everyone.
As a whole, one can approach the Bible in any way he wants. Or else, he could combine for example his reading with the texts used in the liturgy. He could also make the daily reading his personal devotion. There are also those who make use of the Bible to find answers to their questions. All these are possibilities. What is important is that, in the end, one gets in touch with the Word of God, nourishes from it, and thereby become mature in the practice of the love of God and neighbor.
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