This document discusses the Catholic view of using Scripture in ethics. It outlines several challenges in interpretation, including questions around divine inspiration, infallibility, and inconsistencies between the Old and New Testaments. It proposes guidelines for proper exegesis, including determining original meaning and context, using Christ as the lens, and avoiding proof-texting. The theological task involves combining biblical messages with other moral sources, unlike some Protestants who see Scripture as the sole authority. Tradition, natural law, and Church teachings also provide guidance.

2. Use of Scripture –
A Catholic View
Part One

3. Intro
0 View of Scripture: Books written by the author of
Christian Ethics.
0 Just like Aristotle wrote down the basic rules of
Aristotelian Ethics in Nicomachean Ethics, God has given
us the foundations of Christian Ethics.
0 “The Bible reveals what God has done, is doing, and will
do for humankind, as well as what He expects humans
to do to make His efforts on their behalf fruitful.”

4. Intro
0 Paradox: Everybody can
read the Bible, but no
one agrees on how it
should be read.
0 Bible – Problematic and
controversial

5. Interpretation Difficulties
& Responses
0Divine Inspiration
0 Christians believe that God himself helped to write the Bible.
0 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” (2
Timothy 3:16)
0 Problems: Questioning how human the Bible is versus how
divine it is.
0Fundamentalists believe God directed every word of the Bible.
0More liberal Christians argue that God has inspired other
books as well, like St. Augustine’s Confessions.
0Golden mean
0Similar to understanding of hypostatic union

6. Interpretation Difficulties
& Responses
0Infallibility and the Meaning of Truth
0 If God is the author of the Bible, the books must be infallible – right?
0 “Infallible” can be as problematic as “divinely inspired.”
0 Fundamentalists believe that the Bible is infallible. All of its claims –
historical, scientific, and theological – are accurate.
0 October 23, 4004BC 9:00AM
0 How can the Bible be infallible if there are “false” statements?
0 There has to be mystery and faith in Scripture
0Many Christians recognize that God’s guidance is necessary for truly
understanding the Bible

7. Interpretation Difficulties
& Responses
0Infallibility and the Meaning of Truth
0 “The Bible contains a fallible element in the sense that it reflects the
cultural limitations of the writers. But it is not mistaken in what it
purports to teach, namely, God’s will and purpose for the world. There
are no errors or contradictions in its substance and heart. It bears the
imprint of human frailty, but it also carries the truth and power of
divine infallibility. It is entirely trustworthy in every area in which it
claims to be trustworthy.” – Donald G. Bloesch
0 The Bible is fallible on scientific matters as a result of the
limitations of the authors. The Bible is infallible in matters of
spirituality and morality.

8. Interpretation Difficulties
& Responses
0Infallibility and the Meaning of Truth
0 Ta Biblia – “The Books”
0The Bible should be approached as a collection of books– and
so can’t be read and interpreted in the same way.
0 Validations of Various Interpretations
0“What harms comes to me, if various meanings may be found
in these words, all of which are true?” – St. Augustine
0“Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God
the things that are God’s”

9. Interpretation Difficulties
& Responses
0The Place of Scripture in Matters of Faith & Morality
0 Protestant Understanding: “sola Scriptura” – The Bible alone is enough
for a person’s theological and ethical needs.
0 Proverbs 30:5-6
0Mark 7:13
0 Catholic Difference
0 God’s guidance can be found in Sacred Scripture AND Sacred Tradition.
0 Acts of the Apostles 1:8
0 Problems with Catholic Scripture Use
0 “Proof-Text”
0 Too heavy reliance on natural law and tradition in the past

10. Interpretation Difficulties
& Responses
0 Inconsistencies Between the Old Testament & the New
0 Common Understanding
0 Old Testament – Angry, vengeful God (1 Samuel 15:3)
0 New Testament – God of love, mercy, and forgiveness (Luke 6:27)
0 Refutations
0 Leviticus 19:18
0 Exodus 23:4-5
0 Proverbs 25:21
0 Matthew 5:17
0 Matthew 10:34
0 Matthew 25:41

11. Interpretation Difficulties
& Responses
0 Inconsistencies Between the Old Testament & the New
0 Not all Bible Books are of equal importance. We should look at the whole
Bible through Jesus.
0 Some teachings in the Old Testament are considered “provisional” and only
applicable to Jews at the time, but they all still hold some spiritual truth for
us.
0 Leviticus 19:2; Numbers 30:2; and Deuteronomy 23:21 vs. Matthew 6:33-34
0 Matthew 5:31-32; 38-48

12. Guidelines for the Use of
Scripture in Ethical Thinking
0 Introduction
0 “Scripture is not an ethical cookbook that can be opened
and followed like a recipe, as the fundamentalists would
have it, nor is Scripture merely a collection of good
quotes meant to serve natural law or philosophical
arguments, as proof-texting Catholics would have it.”
0 “…pillar of Catholic ethics”
0 “…needs to be examined with a critical eye and used
wisely.”

13. Guidelines for the Use of
Scripture in Ethical Thinking
Theological
Hermeneutical
Christocentric
Methodological
Exegetical

14. Guidelines for the Use of
Scripture in Ethical Thinking
0The Exegetical Task
0 Exegesis: Determining the original meaning of a particular text.
0 Difficult Task
0 Old Testament books were written more than 2,000 years ago, and have
been translated many times, but the disconnect between modern
Christians and the words is not only a result of time and language
differences, but of culture as well.
0 We need to know the historical circumstances, the biases of the author and
audience, the socio-economic and intellectual environment, the language,
literary structure, context, etc.
0 Moral theologians often ask for help from historians, linguists, and
archaeologists.

15. Guidelines for the Use of
Scripture in Ethical Thinking
0The Exegetical Task
0 Modern Example: Generational gaps in slang
0 Biblical Examples:
0 Luke 12:25 & 26: “‘If anyone comes to me without hating his father and
mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he
cannot be my disciple.”
0 That “hate” is only necessary if those family members would stand in the way of
one’s connection and allegiance to Jesus.
01 Corinthians 7: Paul might sound like he is advising against
marriage, but he is really advising against unnecessary distractions
from the Kingdom of God – he believes the end of the world will be
soon.

16. Guidelines for the Use of
Scripture in Ethical Thinking
0The Methodological Task
0Methodology: Determining if a particular passage is to be
taken literally, as an explicit moral rule, or in some other
way, such as hyperbole intended to motivate an audience.
0There are many different and effective ways to make one
point.
0Matlock example
0Practical: There are many different ways to develop moral
character and shape behavior.
0Exodus 21-23: Ten Commandments
0Mark 10:43

17. Guidelines for the Use of
Scripture in Ethical Thinking
0The Christocentric Principle
0Christocentricity: Jesus should be the lens through which
the whole of the Bible is viewed and understood.
0After we determine the original meaning and goal of the
text, we “should view a given passage in light of Christ’s life
and teachings.”
0 Deuteronomy 24:1-4
0Mark 10:1-12

18. Guidelines for the Use of
Scripture in Ethical Thinking
0The Hermeneutical Task
0Hermeneutics: Determining what a particular text has to
say about contemporary ethical issues.
0We need to carefully use the exegetical and methodological
tasks in order to avoid distorting or manipulating the text’s
original meaning.
0This task is often largely the responsibility of priests and
Church leaders.

19. Guidelines for the Use of
Scripture in Ethical Thinking
0The Hermeneutical Task
0Ten Commandments Examples
0 “Honor your father and mother” and “You shall not steal” are easily applied
to today’s moral issues
0 “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make any graven
image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in
earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow
down to them or serve them.”
0 These gods don’t have the be other religions’ deities. They can be popularity,
money, pleasure, etc.
0 “Feed my sheep” (John 21:17)
0 Mother Teresa fed the poor in Calcutta
0 Jesuits sought to liberate the Nicaraguans from the tyranny of their
government.

20. Guidelines for the Use of
Scripture in Ethical Thinking
0The Theological Task
0In this task, we have to combine the Biblical message with
other sources of moral wisdom.
0Unlike conservative Protestants, Catholics believe that
wisdom and guidance can be found in sources other than
the Bible.
0Virtuous neighbors, parents, teachers, friends, natural law,
lives of saints, and the Church itself through the teachings
of the magisterium.
0Catholics believe the Holy Spirit continues to guide and
inspire the Church so it can discern God’s will for modern
ethical issues.