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-   -   How many meaning can a biblical passage have? (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=490293)

  • Aug 30, 2010, 01:46 AM
    paraclete
    What do you mean?
  • Aug 31, 2010, 08:24 PM
    galveston

    Truth is not a concept, philosophy, or argument.

    Truth is the Man Jesus Christ.

    Wasn't that what He told Pilate?
  • Aug 31, 2010, 09:02 PM
    TUT317
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by galveston View Post
    Truth is not a concept, philosophy, or argument.

    Truth is the Man Jesus Christ.

    Wasn't that what He told Pilate?


    Hi Gal,

    I think it is... but I don't think it excludes Jesus from being the truth.

    In my opinion 'absolute truth' is a problem of universals. The seeking of absolute truth can be seen as a Greek tradition which carried over to the early Christian thinkers. Notably, Plato and Aristotle.

    We could perhaps look at it this way.

    Plato claimed to have discovered absolute truth. However, I am sure Aristotle would want to make the same claim. The problem is that both their absolute truths are different absolute truths.

    The problem here is that we end up involved in a very dry argument about logic, and ontology. Some people might say that we may as well be discussing how many angels can dance on the point of a needle.

    I think," Truth is the man Jesus Christ'" is a good way to look at it.


    Regards


    Tut
  • Sep 5, 2010, 07:45 AM
    Athos

    Traditionally, Bible passages had four levels of meaning - literal, allegorical, moral and eschatological (dealing with the end times).
  • Sep 11, 2010, 08:46 AM
    De Maria
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by cyk1989 View Post
    how many meaning can a biblical passage have?

    As many meanings as do not contradict the teaching of the Church.

    Literal, metaphorical, Spiritual, and others. Here is the teaching of the Catholic Church:
    The senses of Scripture

    115 According to an ancient tradition, one can distinguish between two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, the latter being subdivided into the allegorical, moral and anagogical senses. The profound concordance of the four senses guarantees all its richness to the living reading of Scripture in the Church.

    116 The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation: "All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the literal."83

    117 The spiritual sense. Thanks to the unity of God's plan, not only the text of Scripture but also the realities and events about which it speaks can be signs.

    1. The allegorical sense. We can acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their significance in Christ; thus the crossing of the Red Sea is a sign or type of Christ's victory and also of Christian Baptism.84

    2. The moral sense. The events reported in Scripture ought to lead us to act justly. As St. Paul says, they were written "for our instruction".85

    3. The anagogical sense (Greek: anagoge, "leading"). We can view realities and events in terms of their eternal significance, leading us toward our true homeland: thus the Church on earth is a sign of the heavenly Jerusalem.86

    118 A medieval couplet summarizes the significance of the four senses:

    The Letter speaks of deeds; Allegory to faith;
    The Moral how to act; Anagogy our destiny.87

    119 "It is the task of exegetes to work, according to these rules, towards a better understanding and explanation of the meaning of Sacred Scripture in order that their research may help the Church to form a firmer judgment. For, of course, all that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgement of the Church which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God."88

    See this page for more info:
    Catechism of the Catholic Church - PART 1 SECTION 1 CHAPTER 2 ARTICLE 3

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