"'In the beginning . . .' And from here,
many Christians begin their journey through the Bible. It seems like a
reasonable place to start, and considering that it contains the
beginning of salvation history, it's not a bad idea. What is likely to
happen, however, is that a reader will continue on until he hits the
avalanche of ritual ordinances or the never-ending lists of obscure Old
Testament names. The clear trail at the beginning of Genesis seems to
taper off into a dense forest of text. It can be a matter of pure
perseverance even to make it to the book of Psalms!
"Assuming one makes it through the Bible okay, the next problem is one of understanding. What in the world was all that about? We find a good example
of this problem in the Acts of the Apostles where an Ethiopian eunuch
is stumped while reading a passage from the prophet Isaiah. As divine
providence would have it, one of the Apostles, Philip, was nearby when
the Holy Spirit prompted him to go to the Ethiopian. 'Do you understand
what you are reading?' asks Philip. With great humility, the Ethiopian
responds: 'How can I, unless someone instructs me?' (Acts 8:26–40)."
In a recent commentary, Brother Bernard Knapke, O.P., reflected on the importance of proper instruction (through the apostolic succession) in our striving to understand Holy Scripture.
To access Br. Pier’s complete post, please visit:
Dominicana: How Can We Understand? (28 JUN 18)
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