Introduction vii
Chapter1. What Do Catholics Believe about the Bible? 1
The Bible and the Church 2
Modern Catholic Documentation 4
The Word of God in Human Language 13
Chapter 2. What Is in the Catholic Bible? 17
The Different Canons 18
The History of the Old Testament Canon(s) 21
Chapter 3. How Do Catholics Approach the Bible? 33
The Catholic Theological Tradition on the Bible 34
The catholic Experience 38
Catholic Bibles Today 41
Chapter 4. How Do Catholics Analyze a Biblical Text? 49
Literary Methods 52
Historical Methods 55
Theological Methods 63
Chapter 5. How Do Catholics Read the Old Testament? 65
Old Testament Study Today 67
Biblical Interpretation in Jesus' Time 72
Reading the Old Testament as Catholic Christians 76
Chapter 6. How Do Catholics Read the New Testament? 81
The Formation of the Gospel 83
The Gospels as Witnessesto Jesus and the Early Church 86
The Epistles as Witnesses to Early Chritian Faith and Life 90
Chapter 7. How Do Catholics Interpret Scripture? 95
Philosophical Hermeneutics 97
The Literal Sense and the Spiritual Sense 102
Scripture andTradition 106
Chapter 8. What Place Does the Bible Have in CatholicLife? 113
The Role of the Magisterium 115
The Bible in Catholic Life 117
Lectio Divina 123
Conclusion: Twenty-Five Theses 129
Appendix: Some Resources for Catholic biblical Interpretation 133
Glossary 139
Notes 147
Index 153
About the Author 159