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"...The church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
I Timothy 3:15
Vatican Condemns Literal
Interpretation of the Bible
From The Philippines Star, 1994
Manila, Philippines
VATICAN CITY, Italy - The Vatican criticized a literal interpretation of the Bible and said the fundamentalist approach to scripture was “a kind of intellectual suicide.”
A Vatican document said fundamentalism “refuses to admit that the inspired Word of
God has been expressed in human language... by human authors possessed of limited
capacities and resources.”
The 125-page document, The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church, was written
by the Pontifical Biblical Com-mission, a group of scholars who assist the Pope in
the study of scripture.
It noted that a fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible had been gaining strength.
The Vatican is increasingly concerned about the number of Catholics, especially in
Latin America, who have abandoned the church for fast-growing fundamentalist sects.
“The fundamentalist approach is dangerous, for it is attractive to people who look
to the Bible for ready answers to the problems of life,” the document said. Fundamentalism
actually invites people to a kind of intellectual suicide.”
A fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible began during the Reformation, when Protestants
showed an increasing concern for fidelity to the literal meaning of scripture.
The document said fundamentalism refused to admit that there was a human element
in the transmission of the Word of God.
One member of the commission, Jesuit Father Joseph Fitzmyer, said fundamentalists
failed to recognize that several years elapsed between the time Jesus spoke and the
time when the gospels were written.
“There was no stenographer, no one with a tape recorder on that time,” said Fitzmyer.