Last time,
in Part 1, I asked this same question and pointed out that the Catholic Church
claims to be able to authentically
interpret the Scriptures, and even to be the ONLY entity to be able to do that!
(CCC #100)
In essence,
they claim to have an infallible Magisterium who can provide certainty in their
interpretations.
I can
understand why Catholics would embrace that idea. And I must admit, at first glance, an
infallible interpreter does sound like a great concept. After all, who wants to have poor biblical
interpretations, right?
But the
concept of an authentic/infallible interpreter is a slippery slope which gives a
false sense of security, causing an unbiblical over-dependence on one select
group of fallible humans. But is this
really a reliable safeguard? Can any
denomination, group, or church guarantee such infallible interpretations? According to the Bible itself, no.
Handle with Care
First of all, the “need” for infallible interpretations is only a perceived need. Now, we certainly don’t want anyone using
random or haphazard interpretations when reading the Bible, nor should we be
flippant when doing so. We should
approach God’s Word with the utmost respect, common sense and a commitment to
reading it in context. When doing so,
the consistency of Scripture can be seen and we can have confidence in what the
Holy Spirit is showing us, in spite of our fallibility. Again, there is no person or group in the
post-apostolic church who can exercise infallibility
in moral or doctrinal matters. But we can have sufficient certainty in our interpretations.
Scripture Interprets Scripture
A person can be wrong on some of his
theology, and yet still be right with God, and it is also possible that a brand new Christian could understand
a passage that a mature Christian may have been struggling with for years! Maybe we’re just not listening to the Holy
Spirit like we should be (John 14:26; 16:13; Romans 8:14-16). But I think that often the problem is not so
much “hard Scripture” as it is hard
hearts!
Of course,
there are many things in the Bible that are easily understood – but not
everything.
So why would God
purposely allow portions of His Word to be so challenging? I believe whole-heartedly that He wants us to
“press in” closer and depend on Him when we have these questions, probing
deeper into His Word, rather than trusting in a supposedly infallible group of
clerics.
The Bible
has one infallible and ultimate author – God.
And God is consistent with Himself, so He will not contradict
Himself. The same with His God-breathed
Word (2
Timothy 3:16). There is a
balance throughout Scripture. The
information on one topic in a certain passage will be consistent with
information in other passages on the same topic. I believe His Word always explains itself –
that’s just how He made it. The patterns
within are consistent – we just don’t always see it. As we often say, Scripture interprets
Scripture. Jesus, Himself, used this
principle (Matthew 4:5-7). The easier/clearer passages help to interpret
the harder/less clear passages.
But how are
you going to allow the clear things to help with the harder things if you keep going outside the Bible and putting more
emphasis on the church fathers, councils, and church history for your
answers? You’re leaving the infallible
“goldmine” to look for information elsewhere in fallible (and sometimes even questionable)
sources! When attention is turned away from our God-breathed source, the
chance of error in our interpretation is increased. Of course church history, the fathers and
councils can be of some help, but these are secondary
to Scripture.
No Need for Perfection
But when it
comes to interpretation, the reality is that we don’t have to know everything
perfectly about Scripture – and we don’t have to solve every mystery – there
will always be challenges in reading
the Word because we are all fallible people.
As someone once said, God’s Word is so simple that a child can
understand the basics of it (2 Timothy 3:15), yet it is so deep
that a theologian can drown in it (Psalm 119:18; 139:6)! God reveals His word to us in layers, little
by little. And we will never, in this life,
completely mine the depths of His Word.
The Bereans Set the Example
We know that
we all need to grow in our understanding/interpretation of Scripture, but the
Bible never tells us to look to a Magisterium/central office for infallible
interpretations. In fact, many people
feel that the multitude of documents used by the Magisterium are quite complex
and harder to understand than Scripture, itself!
A
Magisterium may seem to “work
better,” but that’s only true if we had a biblical guarantee that this Magisterium
was always telling the truth. But how do
you know if they are telling the truth, if not by checking them out with the
Bible (1 Thessalonians 5:21)?
Question: By what authority did the noble Bereans
test the message that the apostle Paul preached (Acts 17:11)? They didn’t need any “special authority” or
“permission” to do so, but they checked what he said against the Old Testament
Scriptures, and apparently understood quite well what Paul was saying – and
they weren’t even Jews! Furthermore, the
author of the book of Acts (Luke) commended
them for verifying Paul’s message (v. 11)!
In fact,
most of Paul’s epistles were written primarily to gentiles and “lay” people,
yet, for the most part, they could understand and interpret his words just fine. Peter does say that some of the things that Paul taught may have been hard to
understand (2 Peter 3:16), but even so, there was no infallible
Magisterium needed.
Is “Private” Interpretation Wrong?
Is there a
degree of freedom for Catholics to interpret?
And if so, how does that compare to Protestants? The difference is this:
Catholics
are free to interpret Scripture, AS LONG AS THE INTERPRETATION DOESN’T CONTRADICT
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH… while…
Protestants
are free to interpret Scripture, AS LONG AS THE INTERPRETATION DOESN’T CONTRADICT
SOME OTHER PART OF SCRIPTURE.
Catholics
often use 2 Peter 1:20 to try and show that “private interpretation” is a
bad thing and that Peter was trying to warn us against it. But again, if you look at the context, you will find that this is not
a warning at all:
(v. 19) “We have also a
more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a
light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise
in your hearts:
(v. 20) “Knowing this
first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.
(v. 21) “For the
prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
In fact,
Peter is actually telling us about the truthfulness
and reliability of prophecy/Scripture. Catholics (and others) are missing the whole
point of Peter’s words and twist them to say the opposite of his intended
message. Peter is not speaking of one’s reading of Scripture, but it is about
the origin of the Scriptures.
The truth
is, we all use private
interpretation! Every person’s interpretation is a private interpretation, no
matter what church he goes to. And there
is nothing intrinsically wrong with that, as long as we follow the basic
principles mentioned earlier.
See also this
link:
https://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2014/07/private-interpretation.html
An Empty Promise
A very
interesting, honest and informative article was written by Craig Ireland
(Australian author, pastor and theological educator). I would encourage every Catholic to read
it. You can find his article here:
https://craigireland.substack.com/p/the-infallible-interpreter-that-never
In this
piece, he said:
“Rome
promises what it cannot deliver: certainty without the burden of thinking. The pitch is elegant and compelling. Surrender your private judgment to the
Magisterium, and, in return, receive access to an infallible interpreter who
settles every ambiguity, and protects you from the chaos of competing
interpretations. It is the theological
equivalent of an extended warranty. And
like most warranties, it looks better on paper than in practice.”
He also
said:
“Protestants
openly acknowledge that while Scripture is the final authority, interpreting it
requires study, wisdom, and community input.
We argue. We test interpretations
against the text. We reason
together. Sometimes we disagree strongly
enough to separate. It’s messy. It’s honest.”
And this:
“Sola
Scriptura is not just an arrogant claim that any individual can master
Scripture by themself. It is the honest
recognition that Scripture is clear enough on salvific matters, that the Spirit
illuminates God’s Word, and where ambiguity remains, Christians may search the
text together rather than outsource their thinking to an ecclesiastical
authority that can’t even deliver the certainty it promises. It’s not freedom from interpretive work. It’s freedom from pretending someone else can
do that work for you.”
And lastly:
“… The
‘infallible interpreter’ is a mirage.
Shimmering in the distance, evaporating on approach.”
Very well
said!
Although
they will never admit this, all of this Catholic stress on an infallible
interpreter is two-fold: I believe it is designed to prop up the authority of
the Catholic Church, while undercutting the authority of the Scriptures. It is Satan whispering in the ear of Eve in
the Garden of Eden all over again: “Did God really say what you thought He
said? No, you should just listen to me!”
Conclusion
John 12:
v. 47 – “And if any man
hear My words, and believeth not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the
world, but to save the world.”
v. 48 – “He that
rejecteth me, and receiveth not My words, hath one that judgeth him: the word
that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”
First,
notice that Jesus doesn’t say that it is the words of any Magisterium that will
judge us in the last day! John
12:47-48 contains the words of Jesus Christ that were heard orally, but
were later put into writing (Scripture).
These were not hard to understand for the people of Jesus’ day. And they are not hard for us to understand
today.
It was
mostly the common people who understood,
believed in, and accepted Jesus, rather than the educated rulers. It was those who pressed in and had a hunger
for His Word. The apostle Paul wrote
letters to the common people to the churches in Rome, Corinth, Galatia,
Ephesus, etc. His writings were
recognized as Scripture, but, for the most part, these believers didn’t need
anyone to interpret for them.
When Jesus
spoke to the people and used terms like “whosoever,” He wasn’t just talking to
the leaders of the church! The common
people were expected to hear the Word
of God and understand/interpret it.
In 1
Corinthians 10:15, Paul said to the local Corinthian church, “I
speak as to wise men – judge for yourselves!” (KJV)
Note that
many other Bible versions say, “I speak as to ‘sensible people,’” including
Catholic versions, like the NAB and NRSV. He was speaking to the common people (who had common sense)
when He said this, not to scholars and lawyers.
So, who gets
to interpret the Bible? Anyone who has
surrendered his heart to God and is humbly seeking Him – one who is consistent
with his use of Scripture and who allows God to clarify His own Word through
the use of other Scripture passages.
If you’re
having trouble interpreting the Bible, dig deeper – “It is written again…”
(Matthew 4:5-7)
