To the Editor:
“Born-again” Christian preachers demonstrated at Georgetown’s front gates last Wednesday, warning of the dangers of Catholicism and its inability to lead us to salvation. The event didn’t really draw my attention, except for one thing: a pamphlet they were distributing titled “What Roman Catholics Find When They Study Their Own Bible.”
Catholicism is different from other Christian denominations in that it favors exegesis, or critical interpretation, over the literal reading of Scripture, but this does not hinder our understanding of revelation. Rather, this Catholic approach to the Bible, historically honored by the Jesuits, strengthens my faith by painting a more complete picture
While Luther called for a faith based solely on Scripture, Catholics call on outside sources of knowledge to complement our reading, for varying reasons. One example, recently cited by Fr. Jim Martin, S.J., is that we citizens of the 21st century are far removed from the first-century Hebrew realities of the people Jesus spoke to. Another is that, because the Gospels were written much after the events they describe and have been translated so many times, sometimes we must call on the etymologies of words, as Jesuits frequently do when they preach, to understand the true undertones of the messages that Jesus and the prophets have conveyed across millennia.
As a science student, I’ve learned to think critically about sources and when to trust them, so naturally in some instances I question the Gospels, especially when something doesn’t seem to fit with what I’ve learned about Jesus. This critical approach has really has made a difference in my spirituality; it has strengthened my faith and made me feel more connected with Jesus, the person. My reply to these preachers calling for Catholics to read “their own” Bible is: “Sure! What else should we take a look at?”
Carlos A. Miranda
COL ’17