Last time, we ended with a question that becomes necessary as a consequence of certain opinions that were held by (for example) Martin Luther: to wit, that the Holy Spirit helps a person to correctly interpret the Bible. The question…
In our last episode, I examined the Reformed/Presbyterian notion that Scripture is the “infallible interpreter” of Scripture. This model of exegesis does not work, I argued, because the Bible is an object and objects do not interpret themselves. Interpretation is…
In my last post, I said that the Protestant has made himself the measure of all things when it comes to the Bible: he will decide for himself what the Bible teaches. This amounts to a sort of “baptized Renaissance…
Sometimes, and for reasons that honestly escape me, certain Protestants will attempt to say that St. Thomas was “one of them:” Not that he was literally Protestant of course, for that would be anachronistic, but rather some folks claim that…
St. John of the Cross has this to say about the meaning of Scripture: Many things have been spoken by the Holy Ghost, the meaning of which is different from that which men conceive. (Ascent Of Mount Carmel) He enumerates…
When I was a Protestant I took the view (like many or most of my theologically conservative coreligionists) that Genesis 1 must be interpreted literally in this sense: the seven days of creation must be understood as literal, consecutive 24-hour…
In a thread at the Protestant (and excellently-named) blog Green Baggins a Presbyterian commenter opines of the Catholic paradigm: There is no room for “asking what the Bible says” on any matter of serious importance in this paradigm. The freedom…
Aquinas, Etc. 