The week before last, we began a look at Pope Pius XII’s letter on studying scripture, titled Divino Afflante Spiritu, written in 1943. We had just noted that studying scripture well means keeping it in the context of the whole faith and understanding how it has been used in prayer and liturgy throughout history. The next guideline the pope offers is to carefully study what the Church Fathers and Doctors of the Church say about scripture. The “Church Fathers” are the major theologians of the early Church who helped to clarify the fundamentals of what we believe. It includes people like St. Augustine, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and others. Doctors of the Church are saints who were especially noted for their learning and teaching. When the Church declares someone a “Doctor,” they are saying that that person was not only holy, but was an effective teacher of the true faith. Since we believe the truth does not change, these insights of these teachers and scholars remains perpetually relevant to the study of scripture today.
On the opposite extreme, there are people who believe that all of Scripture has been adequately interpreted and that there is no need for further study and scholarship. Pope Pius XII clearly rejects this idea and says “There are other books or texts which contain difficulties brought to light only in quite recent times.” He encourages a combined use of tradition, new scholarship, and faith to better understand what is not yet explained sufficiently. By way of example, he points out that our understanding of Divine Inspiration has developed. The men who wrote scripture were inspired by the Holy Spirit. At this point in time, however, scholars put special focus on the fact that when God works through a person, they remain a free person. While the content comes from God, the manner of speaking, the cultural expressions, the unique personality of the writer are all still in play. So, understanding the cultural context of each book in the bible and the style of each author can help us better recognize the central aspect of the inspired message from God. In sorting through this, the key thing is to “discover and define what the writer intended to express.”
Indeed, many errors and controversies are almost entirely based on misunderstanding this principle. Because ancient authors did not write and speak in the same journalistic and scientific style as people in the modern, western world, a lot of confusion arises. Many misunderstandings about Genesis, the psalms, and the prophetic books involve this kind of mistake. Still, this does not reduce scripture to mere myth. The pope immediately points out that a number of recent archaeological studies added evidence that many of Scripture’s historical claims were in fact truly historical.
The pope then turns to the question of continuing difficulties. He advises exegetes (people who study scripture) to remember what St. Augustine taught: “God wished difficulties to be scattered through the Sacred Books inspired by Him, in order that we might be urged to read and scrutinize them more intently, and, experiencing in a salutary manner our own limitations, we might be exercised in due submission of mind.” In other words, God allows confusion and mystery to teach us humility and help us practice faith. Like Jesus’ parables, it also causes us to try harder and pay closer attention, often enabling us to grow in virtue rather than just increasing passive knowledge.
Finally, the letter concludes with an exhortation to all to make good use of scripture for the strengthening of faith. He especially challenges pastors to make use of the work of scholars to better catechize and exhort their people in their relationship to Christ and their pursuit of salvation and holiness. He urges that study of scripture be accompanied and led by prayer and then offers a blessing and prayer that all “may taste how good and sweet is the spirit of the Lord” that inspired the scriptures.