Expert: Marco - 9/20/2006

Question
Background for my question:
Unfortunately in the big world out there, leaving my cocoon of Catholic family and friends, I've run into so many (upsetting) messages from people who believe in God, but want "everything proven" and don't think religion is important (You and I both know the answer/reason for to this, I'm sure...) They indicate that all stories in the Bible aren't credible, and are "just stories". I want to know what us Catholics believe, so I atleast have a firm understanding, myself.  

I am confused about interpreting the Bible, I know that some denominations take everything literally. How do us Catholics take the various types of scripture?

1) Historically, are we to take literally that Jesus actually performed those miracles that "show" who he is eg. converting water to wine and wallking on water. Or the healing types of miracles eg. healing the blind? I understand his Apostles, who were good people, were witness these events along with common people.  

2) Yet are some stories eg. splitting the red sea and noah's ark meant to be inspirational, faith-motivating stories only-written to explain a "moral" or the story?

3) Of the "story" or "fictional" parts, meant for inspiration purpose, did the authors actually see a sign/hear for God or are they writing from what they think God is trying to commmunicate?

Thanx, your clearification is grately appreciated!

Just trying to build my armor, not to argue with unfortunate misbelievers, but to have peace AND KNOWLEDGE in what I believe and leave it at that.  

Answer
Dear JT,

I certainly believe that Jesus actually performed all the miracles reported in the Gospels. I believe that the Gospels were written either by direct witnesses of those miracles or by persons who personally knew some direct witnesses of those miracles. The Gospels were written only a few decades after Jesus' resurrection (there are many historical element supporting this); they are then very reliable also from an historical point of view (of course atheists do not consider them reliable, because they reject "a priori"  the idea of God).
Of course, some details may be wrong; when we report a fact occurred some years before, we can confuse several details, but we certainly remember the essential facts.
God has not intervened to correct these irrilevalt details, because the purpose of the Bible is to teach us God's salvific Truth, and not every irrilevant details.
The Bible is inspired by God, but it is not dictated by God.

On the other hand, the Old Testament reports many facts, which occurred many centuries before the time they were written. These fatcs were handed down only orally for many centuries. Certainly the facts reported in the Old Testament are less reliable from an historical point of view, even if they contains fundamental spiritual teachings. In particular the Genesis is  to be interpreted symbolically.

I believe that God inspired the authors of the Bible with the purpose to teach us the spiritual and moral Truth, and not with the purpose to teach us science or history.

I would like to quote a verse from the Bible:

Ti 2:15  And because from thy infancy thou hast known the holy scriptures which can instruct thee to salvation by the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16  All scripture, inspired of God, is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice:
17  That the man of God may be perfect, furnished to every good work.

In these verses Paul says that Scripture is profitable to teach in JUSTICE, and not in science or history.

The official teachings of the Catholic Church are given in the Cathechism. I report here a verse from the Cathechism

136 God is the author of Sacred Scripture because he inspired its human authors; he acts in them and by means of them. He thus gives assurance that their writings teach without error his saving truth.

Observe that in this verse points out that the Bible teaches without errors "the saving truth"; since history, geography or science has nothing to do with the saving truth, there is no reason to expect that the Bible cannot contain scientific or historical errors.

I think that there is no possible answer to your questions n.2 and 3. Each catholic can believe that some facts reported in the Old Testament have only a symbolic meaning or not. And nobody can know exactly how the authors of the Bible felt when they wrote the Bible.
The official teachings of the Catholic Church are written in the Catechism, also available on line at

www.christusrex.org/www1/CDHN/ccc.html

All what is not explicitly explained there as a dogma of the catholic faith, is left to our personal conscience.
  
I hope this may help you,

Your brother in Christ,

Marco
PS I think that faith cannot come only from logic, because to have faith in God means to trust and love God.
I think however that logics and science prove the existence of our soul and the existence of  God and that there are many rational arguments strongly supporting the christian faith.
The explanation of these aguments is rather long and Allexperts allows only to give short answers. You can find such arguments  the following site

http://xoomer.alice.it/fedeescienza/englishnf.html

where  I analyse the incongruencies of the materialistic conception of the mind, on the basis of our present scientific knowledges about brain and matter.
This analysis points out how the laws of physics  prove that the   brain cannot generate consciousness, which existence implies  the presence in man of a unbiological/unmaterial element. The problem of consciousness is then strictly connected to the one of the existence of the soul and, consequently, the existence of God.
In the first article entitled “Mind and brain...” you can find a general discussion of the mind and brain problem from a scientific point of view.
In the second article entitled “Scientific contraddictions in materialism”
you  can find an explanation of the fundamental inconsistencies of  the  typical arguments used by materialists, such as the concept of emergent, macroscopic or holist property, complexity, information, etc.
In the section called “FAQ: answers to  visitors' questions” you can find the answer to many typical questions, such as "Are there any scientifically proved miracles?", "Does the existence of the universe imply the existence of God?", "Can science explain God?", "Can science establish which is the true religion?", "Can science explain consciousness in the future?", and many others.

I hope this may help,

please ask again if you should need some clarifications,

Your brother in Christ,

Marco