Scripture in the Tradition

by Henri de Lubac, Peter J. Casarella (Introduction)

The Crossroad Publishing Company once again makes available this examination of the quality and quantity of the "spiritual understanding" of Scripture that developed during the Christian centuries. Far from believing that modern exegetical insights and abilities make earlier interpretations of Scripture naive curiosity, de Lubac communicates to the modern reader his own appreciation and knowledge of the irreplaceably creative role that exegesis of the church fathers and of medieval theologians played in the survival and formulating of Christianity. Even more fundamentally, he links the process of exegesis to the permanent foundation of Christian thought, demonstrating that all forms of scriptural exegesis are part of the ongoing reflective life of God and the process by which the human race learns to share in this mystery.

Genres: Theology, Biblical Studies

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Henri-Marie de Lubac, SJ (1896-1991) was a French Jesuit priest who became a Cardinal of the Catholic Church, and is considered to be one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century. His writings and doctrinal research played a key role in the shaping of the Second Vatican Council.

De Lubac became a faculty member at Catholic Faculties of Theology of Lyons, where he taught history of religions until 1961. His pupils included Jean Daniélou and Hans Urs von Balthasar. De Lubac was created cardinal deacon by Pope John Paul II on February 2, 1983 and received the red biretta and the deaconry of S. Maria in Domnica, February 2, 1983. He died on September 4, 1991, Paris and is buried in a tomb of the Society of Jesus at the Vaugirard cemetery in Paris.

Reviews

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an abridgement of his works on Origen and Medieval exegesis--but don’t let that turn you off. In many ways, this book is much the superior, especially when compared with the latter. It relies on footnotes, not endnotes, and de Lubac’s choice of chapters focuses more on exposition than name-dropping. Further, most of the Latin is translated into English within the text, rather than being relegated to footnotes.

What does the title, Scripture in the Tradition, actually mean? It’s easier to point out what de Lubac is not addressing. He isn’t addressing Protestant vs Roman Catholic/Orthodox polemics on authority. Nor does he get into controversies surrounding liturgy, Marian prayers, and other things placed under the label “tradition.” Rather, he points us back to Jesus. For de Lubac there is one source of revelation, the Incarnate Christ (xvi).

Allegory is a passage from a moment of things under the shadow of law to things under the light of grace. It posits a qualitative difference. While de Lubac doesn’t mention it, in many ways allegory functions like Hegel’s “aufheben,” raising up, sublating a lower concept to a higher one. He notes that the reality “follows upon another, replaces it and assumes it...while at the same time surpassing it and superseding it” (166). Indeed, de Lubac argues that the relationship between OT and NT is one of “dialectical movement” (180). Of course, we do not think de Lubac (or Augustine) was a Hegelian.

Conclusion

This book is clearly superior to his other treatments of exegesis. The citations are kept to a minimum, allowing the thesis to reveal itself. The last chapter is the most important and is quite stirring. Should you buy this book? If you are new to de Lubac, buy this book instead of his Medieval Exegesis. If you have read his works on Medieval Exegesis and Origen, this won’t tell you anything new.

[Anthony Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating work by a Roman Catholic theologian I’d read much about, but never much from him directly. Helpful orientation to a Catholic way of reading. In many ways, similar to what I think many Protestant preachers already do. In other ways, it’s totally foreign. A helpful read.

[Jack Hayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good condensed version of Lubec’s Four Volume (only three are in english) Medieval Exegesis. I think, if I could, I would have started here and then went into the volumes.

This book helpfully condenses his ideas that The Church Fathers through the medieval ages believed that interpretation centered around of the Act of Christ as the guideline of all interpretation. The Newness of Christianity, and the Unity of the OT and NT which relies on the previous two ideas. Importantly, he pushes the idea that there is a spiritual nature of interpretation.

Interestingly, 30 years, after publishing the four volumes during the war, amidst Vatican II, most of what Lubec says stays the same. However, he is more willing to concede and explain NT allegory, something he minimizes (at least in the three volumes in English).

Lubec is worth a read and I hope that as more people are interested in theologies of retrieval that they will turn to Lubec for ressourcement, as guide and an entrance and into a world largely forgotten, especially by Protestants.

[Ryan Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this would be better, but I actually think it’d be worth the work to just read History and Spirit and Medieval Exegesis. Condensing those books into this didn’t help.

[Bernard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterful overview of how the Fathers read the Bible and a call to re-evaluate how we read the scriptures today.

[Brian Thatcher]

Tough to rate this one. We all would probably be better off for reading it. I read it off a PDF on my computer and want to eventually read it again via paper. It does a great job of showing the relationship on both testaments, primarily. And that the idea of seeing Christ in the OT has existed even in the earliest days of the Church.