"...some hermeneutical consequences are derived regarding the way to interpret Scripture, which can indicate still today the just path for a correct reading of sacred Scripture. It is a matter, in fact, of discovering the meaning hidden in the sacred text..."
Benedict XVI
"On John Scotus Erigena"
Wednesday General Audience, June 10, 2009
This statement about finding the "hidden meaning" is a reflection of Benedict's contact with rabbinic/Talmudic exegesis in which the literal meaning of the Biblical text is almost never the actual meaning.
Jesus Christ declared that He spoke nothing in secret! (John 18:20).
Why then does the pope imply otherwise?
This pontiff has certainly been enchanted by the rabbis.
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4 comments:
Quite the contrary: Matthew 13:10-15.
To Anonymous 10:35 a.m.
Really, Jesus spoke His parables in secret?
You're right that the pope is being influenced by the rabbis. This is pretty clear.
And Jesus didn't speak His parables in 'secret' but the meanings of those parables were not clear to most of the people and even His own disciples requested that He explain some of them.
The very word 'parable' means - any of the stories told by Jesus to convey his religious message.
The 'religious message' was not always clear to the listeners.
This issue is a bit complex because while the literal meaning of Scripture is valid, there are also layers of deeper meaning.
This is pretty clear in Revelation, where some of the literal meanings may not apply at all.
Also, for instance, the conversation Jesus had with one of the Jewish leaders about being 'born again'. The religious leader didn't understand what Jesus meant but Jesus basically responded that, being a Jewish religious leader, the man should have understood what was meant by the phrase.
And yet, as far as I know, we don't find 'born again' in the Old Testament, so what was being discussed here was a concept that was illustrated in the Old Testament but not spelled out literally. It may have referred to God telling the Jews that He would eventually give them a new heart to replace the stony one they had.
Certainly their hearts were not literally made of stone, so there was a deeper meaning to the literal words. And this is also true with many other passages.
Of course, what the Talmudic rabbis did with the Old Testament was completely turn it upside down, as Jesus pointed out.
So we have a difference between deeper meanings being mined from the surface literal meanings and then we have 'deeper meanings' being fabricated from whole cloth, as we see in the Talmud and other rabbinical writings.
I think that it's a bit of a stretch to seek rabbinic influence in this particular statement by the Holy Father. If we want evidence of rabbinic influence, we need look no further than the Pope's shameful behavior during his recent trip to the Holy Land.
I agree that he has been enchanted by the rabbis.
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