I am working on my sermon for Palm Sunday. The rector lets me preach several times a month, which is great practice, and I am honored to be allowed to preach on such an important day. Sometimes sermon prep can be very difficult, especially when the passage of scripture appointed for the day is cryptic. Interpreting these passages properly is tricky and requires lots of thought, study, and reflection. I use a variety of commentaries to help me in interpreting these passages, as well as to get ideas on how to approach them.
All of this got me thinking about corporate vs. private interpretation of the scriptures. Over on the fundamentalist Roman Catholic blog, Pontifications, they often talk about private interpretation the scriptures, and how that is one of "problems" associated with Protestantism. In the Roman Church, it is the Magesterium that interprets the scriptures in a way that is normative for the life of the Church, whereas individual Protestants (supposedly) just blindly read the Bible and make it say whatever they want. Often those who harp on this issue believe that the various moral and social challenges facing the Church and other "ecclesial entities" today have come about directly because of the sin of "private interpretation". Honestly, though, I think that is over simplifying the situation. And the more I think about it, the less difference I see between the two camps. The Roman Catholic Church interprets scripture in the same way that other churches do. They use the same tools and techniques, and read the same commentaries, and look at the same documents from the Tradition, as everyone else does. They do not have a secret "stash" of biblical commentaries known only to them.
The main difference would appear to be the magesterium. The magesterium of the Church really acts as the "referee" in the game. And while it is the bishops that form the magesterium of the Church, they clearly depend on the work of biblical scholars, theologians, and other experts to help them make their official decisions and pronouncements. So, in actual fact, the Roman Catholic magesterium is not as authoritarian in these areas as people think. Put another way, they do not just sit around and spout off opinions and interpretations, but very carefully listen the experts, pray, read, and study, just like everyone else. In the end they simply rubber stamp what has been a long, rational, and reflective process. And while I believe that the pontiff could theorectically just announce a particular interpretation of a passage as being "the one true interpretation for all time and space", it would obviously be highly unusual for that to occur. The magesterium also has the responsibility to make sure Roman Catholic clergy adhere to these teachings and decisions. This difference (the role of the magesterium in scriputre interpretation) is very enticing to certain people, and causes many to convert to Roman Catholicism. But is there even this difference between Roman Catholics and Protestants?
All churches have a magesterium - that is to say, a body that decides what is or is not normative for the life of the Church in terms of scriptural interpretation and doctrine. Is there no authority in Protestantism? Or in Anglicanism? Don't tell Bp. Bennison, or Bp. Shaw, or Bp. Ilhoff that. They will laugh right in your face. Of course they have authority, and as we all know, they exercise it very well! Do ECUSA bishops not interpret the scriptures in a way that is normative for their church? Of course they do! Those (ECUSA) bishops and there colleagues have and do interpret the scriptures in a way that is normative for the life of their church. In both ways, protestant denominations are the same as Rome. Even extremely Protestant traditions/denominations, such as Presbyterians, do not allow a minister to get up and say and teach whatever he wants to say and teach. He must conform to the received tradition of his church. There is authority, and authoritative scripture interpretation, in every church. Ultimately one must choose which church's authority and teaching to submit himself to.
