WHO GETS TO INTERPRET THE BIBLE? (Part 2)

 

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)