A Synod on Scripture
Pope Benedict XVI has called a synod of bishops to meet on the theme "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church." For those of us not in the ecclesiastical know, this is a big deal. The synod is going to meet Oct 5-26 and talk about the Bible in Catholic life--something that has not been done in an official, serious way since the publication of Dei Verbum 40 years ago.
A little controversy was ginned up back in January when Cardinal Martini wrote a piece giving his opinion on what the synod should avoid saying.
The important thing that will come out of this is an official document penned by Benedict himself that presents the results of the synod and a way forward for the Church regarding Scripture. While I try to avoid predicting the future too much, I'll bet some of his views from his famous Erasmus lecture in 1988 will resurface, albeit in disguised form. This lecture has guided much discussion on biblical hermeneutics in Catholic circles in the United States. I project that the document coming from this synod will be equally important for future discussions. If nothing else, the synod promises to be an important and much needed moment for reflection on Scripture by our Church's leadership.
Here's a couple articles on the synod:
Chinese Catholics Prepare...
Zenit
From CNS
CNA
And here's the official synod preparation document.
A little controversy was ginned up back in January when Cardinal Martini wrote a piece giving his opinion on what the synod should avoid saying.
The important thing that will come out of this is an official document penned by Benedict himself that presents the results of the synod and a way forward for the Church regarding Scripture. While I try to avoid predicting the future too much, I'll bet some of his views from his famous Erasmus lecture in 1988 will resurface, albeit in disguised form. This lecture has guided much discussion on biblical hermeneutics in Catholic circles in the United States. I project that the document coming from this synod will be equally important for future discussions. If nothing else, the synod promises to be an important and much needed moment for reflection on Scripture by our Church's leadership.
Here's a couple articles on the synod:
Chinese Catholics Prepare...
Zenit
From CNS
CNA
And here's the official synod preparation document.
Labels: Scripture Synod
4 Comments:
Mark, I enjoy reading your blog. Please answer me, in brief, this one question: I have yet to see evidence sufficient to compel me to believe that Jesus was or is a god. What is the evidence that compels you to believe that he was a god?
Mark, you must be quite busy this semester. I will wait patiently to see if you have any response to my previous question.
Meanwhile, I will state the obvious: there is no compelling evidence for the existence of a perfect person who is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present, and who loves you and me with an infinite love. Stories in a book are not sufficient evidence. Personal feelings are not sufficient evidence. There is no evidence sufficient to compel belief that such a person exists.
Mark,
Sorry I have taken so long to write. It seems that there are two quite different questions at stake: 1.) Is there a God? and 2.) Is Jesus God?
So going in reverse order: Yes, I believe Jesus claimed to be God. While he doesn't say "I am God" in the Gospels, the chief priests and Pharisees sure thought he was blaspheming when he talked about the Son of Man coming on the clouds (an allusion to the book of Daniel). And when the apostle Thomas calls him "My Lord and My God!" (John 20:28), Jesus does not correct him. And later in the New Testament--especially in the Book of Revelation it is quite apparent that the biblical authors considered Jesus to be divine.
So what is the evidence that compels me to believe he is God? I think it's pretty simple: he rose from the dead. Now I know not everyone believes that, but if it's true, it strikes me as pretty good evidence that the claims he made were true. Also the miracles and healings he performed give a great deal of evidence of his divinity. Even the demons were subject to him.
C.S. Lewis put it this way: Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic or Lord. That is, he claims to be God. And if he is not God and knows he isn't then's he's a liar. If he claims to be God and doesn't really know what's going on then he's crazy. But if he was a sane human being and gave good moral teaching and made such a claim, we'd have to assume that his claim was true--otherwise he'd be going against his own teaching by lying.
So that's not the most compelling argument or evidence anyone has ever presented? There are a boatload of Christian apologists out there like Josh McDowell and Ravi Zacharias who deal with the evidence quite a bit, but in the end it comes down to faith. Do I mean an irrational leap into the unknown, no. I mean a supra-rational activity of man where God intervenes in the soul and lifts the mind to see a higher level of truth and to trust in God and his teaching at a level deeper than humans are naturally capable of.
So I don't presume to be able to convince you to become a Christian in the way that one might convince someone to change a political position. I really believe it is something God himself accomplishes in a person.
But I think a good starting point for a discussion is "What else?" That is, what other worldview or system or philosophy better explain our experience here on earth? I don't think there is one besides the Christian view.
Ok, on to Question Number 1: Is there a God?
When I say "God," I'm assuming you know what I mean. But for the sake of the argument: God is a being greater than which nothing can be conceived. This was the definition used by St. Anselm in his ontological proof for the existence of God.
And I do believe you are correct to say that stories in a book nor personal feelings are sufficient to prove the existence of God.
But I'll approach this the same way many people have, also dovetailing with my previous comment: What better explanation is there? I mean, we exist, we talk and think and live in a world of realities like space, the sun, the earth, animals, people and stuff. But where the heck did it all come from? Everyone has to answer this question: the believer, yes, but also the agnostic and the atheist, the Hindu and the Taoist. It's not an easy question to answer, but I think we can start by saying it had to have come from somewhere, or more properly, from somebody.
I say "somebody" because how could a lower being like dirt or stardust or whatever, produce a higher being like a deer or a dog or a human? Somehow, this has to be a top-down activity. I mean, you or I might be able to build a house or a car, but not an angel or a god. And even then we'd be using things that were already in existence. We're not actually creating anything. But at some point, somebody did create something. Either that or the universe goes back into infinity, but then how did that happen? I think saying "it just did" is a less sufficient explanation than asserting someone created it.
Ok, I've exhausted my brain for the moment. More later if I get a chance.
Mark, I appreciate what you've shared with me. It's a lot of food for thought, and I need some more time to digest it before I can reply more fully. However, I do have a few Q that will help me in my thinking. Were you raised to believe the basics of your faith and to believe that you were in a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus from childhood on up, or did you find Jesus later than childhood? How old were you when your relationship with the Lord first began, or have you always known Jesus personally as far back as you can remember? We're both busy students, so please feel free to be brief and take as much time as you like before you reply .
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