The Pope on Exegesis and Theology

For the 1988 Erasmus Lecture, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger gave a speech entitled “Biblical Interpretation in Crisis,” in which he argued that “the exegete must realize that he does not stand in some neutral area, above or outside history and the Church.” Addressing the synod of bishops in Rome this week, Pope Benedict reiterated the connection between exegesis and theology:

Referring to “Dei Verbum,” the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, the pope spoke of the importance of the historical-critical method that finds its roots in John 1:14, the Word becoming flesh. The pope spoke to us as a father and teacher, reminding the assembly of the importance of Scripture studies that reflect the unity of all Scriptures; studies that are done with and flow from the living tradition of the Church. Our exegesis and analysis of the word of God must always have a theological dimension for we are not simply dealing with a history book of the past but with a Word that is alive in the community of the Church: a Word that is Jesus. When biblical exegesis is divorced from the living, breathing community of faith that is in the Church, exegesis is reduced to historiography and nothing more. The hermeneutic of faith disappears. We reduce everything to human sources and can simply explain everything away. Ultimately, we deny the One about whom the Scriptures speak, the one whose living presence lies underneath the words. When exegesis is divorced from theology, then Scripture will not be the soul of theology.