The Future of Catholic Biblical Scholarship

Dennis Hamm, S.J.
"Politically incorrect' is a label that Luke Timothy Johnson and William Kurz might wear proudly. They mean to buck some trends that they feel have distracted biblical scholars from serving the community of faith — from ancient prooftexting to the current privileging of the historical-critical approach, the hermeneutics of suspicion, and the quest for the historical Jesus. In doing so, they mean to stimulate their peers in the biblical guild to rethink some of the ways they do their work, yet without scrapping the benefits of modernity and even postmodernity. Readers will likely find much to argue with here (indeed, Johnson and Kurz sometimes disagree with each other), but few will doubt that the challenges they issue need to be addressed. Although Johnson and Kurz specifically address their Roman Catholic colleagues, what they say in this book will surely earn a hearing among all Christians who read the Bible with a view to living as disciples of Jesus Christ."

Frank J. Matera
"An important discussion that will be a focal point of debate for years to come."

Interpretation
"Two leading Roman Catholic scholars attempt to describe what is distinctive about Catholic biblical scholarship and what challenges lie ahead in view of the limitations of historical-critical approaches to the Bible. . . Useful for seminarians, pastors, and teachers who would like an intelligent presentation of issues facing Catholic exegetes. . . One hopes that others, whether Catholic or not, will join the conversation, for there is much at stake in future biblical interpretation. "