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Editorial
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Written by The Editor
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Sunday, 08 January 2012 00:00 |
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Editorial
In our first article, continuing our ongoing series updating our readers on recent developments in biblical studies, Jennifer Dines considers the Book of the Twelve (often better-known by Augustine’s title of ‘the Minor Prophets’). She offers a fascinating and wide-ranging critical survey of different recent attempts to explain the existence of this collection and how it should be read, both diachronic (with their attempt to reconstruct the stages of its historical development) and synchronic (including canonical readings and reader-response approaches).
Sean Ryan’s article is an intriguing exploration of continuities between the angelic liturgy as described in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (found at both Qumran and Masada) and the scenes of heavenly worship found in the Apocalypse. For all their differences, Ryan has detected some striking similarities: not least, their shared visualisation of the heavenly realm as the interior of a celestial temple re-imagined as a living, animate structure of praise, and the prominence of the number seven as an organising principle. This suggestive article points the way to further research into the liturgical background and reception of the Book of Revelation.
In our final article, Matthew van Duyvenbode offers further reflections on Pope Benedict’s Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, produced following the Synod of Bishops on the Word of God. Building on his work with Bible Society and his extensive knowledge of projects aimed at bridging the gap between scriptural engagement and contemporary culture, his particular focus is on the final section of the document: ‘the Word for the World’ (Verbum Mundo). He sets out four qualities or ‘hallmarks’ which should characterise a faithful sharing of the word of scripture in a missional context.
Ian Boxall
Editor
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Written by Editor
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Tuesday, 05 July 2011 00:00 |
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In the first article of this issue, Michael Tait considers the various New Testament options for the Church’s birthday. Whilst its traditional birthday of Pentecost might well be described appropriately as the Church’s ‘official birthday’ given its public character, the New Testament offers several further possibilities for its ‘actual’ birth. Tait’s conclusion is that any answer to the question depends upon the aspect under which the Church is being viewed. Several ‘birthdays’ may need to be celebrated in order for all aspects to be appreciated.
In his provocative contribution, Henry Wansbrough explores the Acts narrative of Paul’s arrival in Rome, against the backdrop of Luke’s literary artistry and in the light of parallels with contemporary novels. He points to significant difficulties with Luke’s claim in Acts that Paul was a Roman citizen, a key plank for the Rome episode which is presented as the culmination of Paul’s appeal to the emperor. Wansbrough suggests that Paul’s actual visit to Rome may have been rather less glorious, the Acts story being an imaginative reflection of Luke’s overall concerns, not least to represent in narrative form the triumph of Christianity.
In our third article, the ambiguous figure of the Apocalypse’s rider on the white horse (the first of the four horsemen) is examined. Although it has similarities with the later portrayal of Christ riding a white horse, not all may what it appears to be. Is he a Christlike figure, or a figure of the ‘dark side’? This contribution proposes that this ambiguity might be a deliberate strategy of the book. It would then reflect what is one of the Apocalypse’s greatest contributions to the theology of the New Testament: that recognizing evil, naming it for what it is, is a notoriously difficult task, which calls for ‘wisdom’ and divine revelation.
Finally, the Executive Committee of the Catholic Biblical Association has received news of the recent death of Fr Reggie Fuller, founder member and one-time Secretary, at the age of 102. Fr Henry Wansbrough pays tribute to Fr Reggie in a reminiscence which can be read on the ‘CBA News’ section of this website (http://www.cbagb.org.uk/cba-news).
Ian Boxall
Editor
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Written by Editor
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Monday, 10 January 2011 20:27 |
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December 2010 witnessed the revival of the Lattey Lectures at St Edmund’s College, Cambridge, originally founded in honour of Fr Cuthbert Lattey SJ, first Chairman of the Catholic Biblical Association of Great Britain. Henry Wansbrough OSB delivered a commemorative lecture marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the CBA, a shortened version of which was published in The Tablet of 11th December 2010. We are delighted to be able to publish the full version here, in the on-line journal of the CBA. In his lecture, Fr Henry traces the CBA’s key phases and important publications, and provides affectionate pen portraits of its major players, against the backdrop of the great Roman encyclicals on Scripture.
Another anniversary, falling in this new calendar year, is the quatercentenary of the King James Version of the Bible. To mark this occasion, Nicholas King SJ, himself an accomplished translator of the Scriptures, reflects on the cultural context of this significant English version, and the influence of its antecedents, including the Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible. More broadly, he offers an insightful reflection upon the particular challenges confronted by all biblical translators.
In the third article, Adrian Graffy offers a lucid assessment of the recently-published Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, the long-awaited post-synodal document to the 2008 Synod on the Word of God. He explores its threefold focus on the word in itself (Verbum Dei), in the Church, especially the liturgy (Verbum in Ecclesia), and vis-à-vis the world (Verbum Mundo). He suggests that Verbum Domini should itself been seen as a milestone in Catholic attitudes to the Bible, evaluating how far Catholics have come since the Second Vatican Council, and inviting a renewed commitment to the Scriptures within the life of the Church.
Ian Boxall
Editor |
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Written by Editor
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Thursday, 01 July 2010 17:37 |
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To mark the impending beatification of John Henry Newman, this edition of Scripture Bulletin includes two articles exploring different aspects of Newman’s engagement with the Bible.
In our first article, Henry Wansbrough OSB offers a stimulating account of two aspects of Newman’s developing thought pertaining to biblical study: the relationship between Scripture and Tradition, and the quest for an appropriate Catholic understanding of scriptural inspiration. In the former case, Wansbrough shows how Newman anticipated the direction eventually taken by the Second Vatican Council, for which, among a number of reasons, Vatican II has often acquired the title ‘Newman’s Council’. In the second, we also see Newman responding, often creatively, to challenges posed by critical scholarship and developments in the natural sciences.
The second article considers Newman as a preacher of the gospels. In this year of Luke, it examines Newman’s treatment of the Third Evangelist and his writings, together with some specific examples of sermons on Lucan texts. It aims to show that, although very much a preacher of his time, in several ways Newman anticipates more recent developments in scholarly study of the Bible, as well as reminding us of older, well-tested exegetical strategies.
Timothy Ashworth’s article offers a sustained study of a fundamental aspect of Pauline thought as expressed in his Letter to the Galatians: the relationship between Christian liberty in the Spirit and continuing moral discipline. He does this through a very effective exploration of the key terms stoicheia and stoicheō, arguing that, in contrast to their normal treatment by translators, they have firm definitions which Paul uses effectively to clarify difficult theological concepts.
Ian Boxall
Editor
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Written by Ian Boxall
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Friday, 01 January 2010 00:00 |
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Welcome to the first on-line edition of Scripture Bulletin. The Executive Committee of the Catholic Biblical Association is most appreciative for the very generous donations from subscribers which have made this new
venture possible. We hope that this new format will enable the journal to reach out to a wider audience, as well as to our existing body of readers.
In the modern tendency to oppose Science to Theology, and against a general preference for the ‘scientific’ prosaic over the poetic, the Bible is regularly regarded as a problematic text. In her article on ‘Reading the
Bible after Darwin,’ at the end of a year marking the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth, Mary Mills examines the presuppositions underlying both creationist and evolutionary treatments of the Bible, and explores an alternative and more nuanced strategy for reading Genesis. She finds in the early chapters of Genesis some similar interests, though differently expressed, to those found in evolutionary theory. She also highlights ways of reading Genesis which prioritise human responsibility over human ‘dominion’.
In the latest article in our ‘What are they saying about…?’ series, Peter Anthony offers a wide-ranging exploration of recent trends in scholarship on Luke-Acts. He shows the potential for complementing more established historical-critical approaches with other methods: holistic readings, for example, which encourage an approach to the finished text, and social scientific approaches. He also alerts us to some of the challenges posed, for example, by deconstructionist approaches and committed readings. This is a fine survey of the range of approaches on the current scholarly table, which includes suggestive pointers to the future shape of this fertile area of New Testament studies.
Our final article is what might be called an exercise in historical imagination, aiming to flesh out the historical and social context presupposed by the book of Revelation. Ironically, although authorial location is regularly regarded as significant for the interpretation of the gospels and the Pauline letters, John’s named context of Patmos has been largely ignored in scholarly discussions of the Apocalypse. This article hints at how to restore the balance, inspired by visits to Patmos itself.
Ian Boxall
Editor
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