Senses of Scripture

Good happy Day to each of you !

We have been looking at the Bible for the last few days what it is, who it is for who wrote it and how to interpret it.

There are 4 Senses of Scripture

Today I want to talk about the four senses which we use to read the Bible.  There are four senses

The first one is the Literal sense.

Now this is more than literally just what the words say.

There is potential for danger here

It is very dangerous to look at just the literal words of Scripture.  We have to take those ideas from yesterday and put them into the puzzle as well. So we will actually read in the critical interpretation of the Sacred text. 

It may sound like we are saying to read literally into the text… but that is exactly the opposite of what is being talked about.    We do not want to read anything into the text.  Remember it is God speaking to us through his word… not the other way around… When we start talking in place of God that pulls us off that good road.

Using all of our Reading Skills

Using the literal sense lets the words speak to you and using the 4 rules of interpretation which we talked about yesterday allows those words to actually ring true.  Without this form of the literal sense nothing else would be possible.  We have to see the words interpret them and pull out of them what God is saying to us.  We analyze it with our intellect using the whole remaining content of Scripture, take into account what we know of the scripture itself and root out anything that distorts the faith we have.

Now the other senses in which we read scripture are then drawn from this literal reading. Here we move into the spiritual senses. The first one of which is Allegorical. The words on the page mean something and mean something in relation to something.  In any book this is true. Talking of Atticus Finch in to Kill a Mocking bird or Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind.

In the case of the Sacred Scriptures the relationship is to Jesus the Christ.  The words can be a sign pointing towards Jesus or a special thing called a type. The Catechism uses the example of the Parting of the Red Sea being a type of Christ’s victory or of Christian Baptism. All of these things allegorically belong to Christ.

We might teach

Another Sense which we can read is the Moral sense.  Remember the Gospels are the reading of the instruction and actions of Christ. They are teaching us the just way of acting. Each of our goals is to get to heaven so it would be good if we knew not only the ways of not going there, but also how we should act.  Maybe saying How to live with everyone else in Justice.  This is another sense in which we can read the scriptures mystically.     Keep in mind mystical sense goes along with the literal sense to complete our ability to read.

Now the last sense in which we should be interpreting Scripture is the get ready for it… the Anagogical…  okay that is simple…. Oh you probably are not going to let me get away with that…. I don’t blame you.

Where are we headed?

So this word means  leading…This refers to the Scripture leading us forward into their eternal significance. There are things pointed to in Scripture that will last eternally and point us heading us to our true homeland with God. For Catholics the Church is a sign of the Heavenly Jerusalem and leads us to Our father’s house.

Using these 4 senses over time the Church, as arbiter of interpretation, is able to get a firmer handle on the Scriptures themselves.   Just using the literal sense, we could never acknowledge newer technologies and how God desires us to be with him using these technologies. Even things like video could not be associated with the Scriptures since it wasn’t around to speak about 2000 years ago.  Scriptures would be a dead letter so to speak if it were not able to be seen in light of current times and actions.

We have to be able to read Scripture with open eyes to all of the senses. This then will allow us to grow and for the Scripture to make a difference in our own and other’s lives. I mean after all, that is the purpose of reading Scripture in the first place.

The two make a whole.. and much much more

That type of reading will also allow us to recognize the unity of the two Testaments.   Using foreshadowing and what is called typology allows us to see Jesus Christ being spoken about in the Old Testament.  Jesus speaking to the two men on the road to Emmaus speaks to them how the Christ was talked about in the Hebrew Scriptures. For you really cannot understand the New Testament without reading and knowing the Old Testament.

We will be seeing typology throughout this series I am sure. It plays too big of a part of reading Scripture, Going to Church and understanding our relationship with God as Father Son and Holy Spirit.

So please continue to pray for me… I will be praying for you.

Be Good Play Nice Think God!