Review article
Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ
Ivan Bodrožić
orcid.org/0000-0001-9399-9420
; University of Split, Catholic Faculty of Theology, Split, Croatia
Abstract
In this paper, the author explores the Jerome phrase: „Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ“, and places this in a broader patristic context. Accordingly, the work is divided into two sections. The first touches on several historical situations from early Christianity in which the Church had to stand in defense of Scripture against distorted interpretations. It had been in conflict with Judaism since apostolic times, and during the 2nd century had to resist Marcion, Montan, and the Gnostics. The great challenge was to confront pagan philosophical and scientific thought. These were the demanding circumstances in which the Church took a stand and gave birth to the principles of reading and interpreting the Word of God. In the second section, the author examines the theological premises or principles that underlie Jerome’s exegesis. The first of these principles is: Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ, and the second is derived from the first: Ignorance of Christ is ignorance of the Scriptures. The third premise of Jerome’s exegesis is that Scripture is one and unique, and the fourth is that it should be read in a „spiritual“ way in the community of believers – the Church.
Keywords
exegesis; Scripture; St. Jerome; early Christianity; spiritual exegesis; Christological reading of Scripture
Hrčak ID:
272091
URI
Publication date:
8.2.2022.
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