Catholic Church no longer swears by truth of the Bible

[denny]

“We should not expect to find in Scripture full scientific accuracy or complete historical precision,” they say [...]

Some Christians want a literal interpretation of the story of creation, as told in Genesis, taught alongside Darwin’s theory of evolution in schools, believing “intelligent design” to be an equally plausible theory of how the world began.

But the first 11 chapters of Genesis, in which two different and at times conflicting stories of creation are told, are among those that this country’s Catholic bishops insist cannot be “historical”. At most, they say, they may contain “historical traces”.

[...]

They go on to condemn fundamentalism for its “intransigent intolerance” and to warn of “significant dangers” involved in a fundamentalist approach.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-1811332,00.html

Comments

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

Er. That's more or less what I've been taught all along. It's a figurative truth; there's a lot of allegory and moral tales in the bible.

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

I particularly liked the last paragraph I've quoted.

Somehow I don't think this pronouncement is really aimed at this country's Catholics.

[hilarityallen.livejournal.com]

Particularly with regard to creation. Even Augustine admitted (at one point) that the creation narration wasn't a literal truth, just a metaphor. It's only taken some people 1600 years to realise it.

[liadnan]

It's a re-statement of what's actually been catholic doctrine for some time: at least since Vatican II and generally accepted long before that.

[meirion.livejournal.com]

given the meaning of (lower-case c) catholic i should hope it wasn't.

but i'm impressed too. it gives me hope ;-)

-m-

[booklectica]

Worth restating, though, given the way American fundamentalism is going. And growing.

[liadnan]

Oh yes, quite.

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

Oh. i thought that bit was just obvious.