Scripture has been opened up anew by historical-critical scholarship and, I admit, locked up anew as well. It has been opened up anew: thanks to the labors of exegesis we hear the Word fo the Bible in a completely new way in its historical originality, in the variety of a developing and growing history, with its tensions and oppositions, which are at the same time, its unexpected richness. But in this way Scripture has also been locked up anew: it has become the object of specialists, and the layman, indeed even the professional theologian who is not an exegete, can no longer dare to speak about it at all, so that it plainly appears to be removed from the realm of spiritual reading and meditation as well, because anything that could result from that would necessarily smack of dilettantism. Scholarly erudition becomes a fence around Scripture, which is not accessible to the nonspecialist. A the same time, however, this Bible is no longer read within the context of tradition but entirely on its own makes its all-encompassing demand on theology in a new way; the latter must prove itself in light of that demand, has to enter into it, and cannot emerge without being changed.
On Historical-Critical Scholarship
On Historical-Critical Scholarship
On Historical-Critical Scholarship
Scripture has been opened up anew by historical-critical scholarship and, I admit, locked up anew as well. It has been opened up anew: thanks to the labors of exegesis we hear the Word fo the Bible in a completely new way in its historical originality, in the variety of a developing and growing history, with its tensions and oppositions, which are at the same time, its unexpected richness. But in this way Scripture has also been locked up anew: it has become the object of specialists, and the layman, indeed even the professional theologian who is not an exegete, can no longer dare to speak about it at all, so that it plainly appears to be removed from the realm of spiritual reading and meditation as well, because anything that could result from that would necessarily smack of dilettantism. Scholarly erudition becomes a fence around Scripture, which is not accessible to the nonspecialist. A the same time, however, this Bible is no longer read within the context of tradition but entirely on its own makes its all-encompassing demand on theology in a new way; the latter must prove itself in light of that demand, has to enter into it, and cannot emerge without being changed.