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On Non-Literal Interpretations of Scripture:
A brief explanation and analysis.


"All sacred Scripture can be divided into flesh and spirit as if it were a spiritual man. For the literal sense of Scripture is flesh and its inner meaning is soul or spirit. Clearly someone wise abandons what is corruptible and unites his whole being to what is incorruptible" (St. Maximus the Confessor, First Century of Theology, 91). St. Maximus the Confessor wrote upon the different ways of interpreting Scripture, and in doing so, has represented the way which many within Alexandria and Byzantium have viewed Scriptural Exegetics. Instead of merely seeking for the external, fleshy interpretation of Scripture-- the literal level, one must seek beyond what is first apparent, and find out what is buried deep within Scripture itself. The literal sense is often mistaken as the most important, and can lead one to many contradictory beliefs, into many theological errors. For within the literal level of Scripture, one finds within it, a view of God which is much less than His great dignity: it treats the divine essence as having human parts (hands, fingers, etc.), human emotions and passions (anger, wrath), with human needs (rest), and with human failings (ignor- ance). All of these examples, which can be found within the literal reading of Scripture, are examples of the "flesh" of Scripture, the corruptible aspects of Scripture, which one should abandon. Instead the Christian should seek beyond this level of interpretation, and seek to go into the realm of allegory, typology, and in this, with the Spirit. "When a man sticks to the mere letter of Scripture, his nature is governed by the senses alone, in this way proving his soul's attachment to the flesh. For if the letter is not understood in a spiritual way, its significance is restricted to the level of the senses, which do not allow its full meaning to pass over into the intellect" (St. Maximus the Confessor, Fourth Century of Various Texts, 76).

Within the New Testament there are many examples of non- literal exegetics, which have been taken by the Fathers as key verses giving examples to value and need to take Scripture beyond its most literal level. For example, Jesus in John 8:17-18, showed that the brazen serpent lifted up by Moses was an example and prophecy of His own crucifixion. St. Paul, in I Cor 5:6-8 discusses the need to take out the "old leaven" at Passover, as an indication of having to remove the passions and sin in our life. Also, In I Cor, St. Paul took the crossing of the Red Sea as an allegory of Christian Baptism. While allegorical (and other non-literal) interpretations of Scripture are considered much more important than the mere literal level of Scripture, this does not dismiss that there are relevant points to be found within the literal level, but one must not be contained by them, if the interpretation brings about something which is contrary to the faith. Interestingly enough, this is one of the major reasons why the allegorical method of interpretation flourished: the early Fathers were protecting the Scripture from unjust use. For example, several heretical sects saw God in the Old Testament to be wicked, and it was through their strict literal interpretation that they would go on to tell Christians that they should reject the Old Testament. However, St. Irenaeus, St. Clement of Alexandria, St. Augustine, and Origen all saw that the error did not come from God, but an over-literal understanding of the Old Testament. Thus, God's wrath, was only taken as wrath-- what humans could understand of divine chas- tisement. The order of God to the Jews of extermination of many gentiles was considered, not to be an order on the literal level, but one of spiritual warfare, where we are to put to death our unjust desires. It is through this kind of apologetics, which was heavily needed in the early centuries of the Church, which was forgotten during the time where such criticisms where not found. Now that we are once again facing this kind of criticism of Scripture in a non-Christian age, it is once again time that Christians understand the spiritual meaning of Scripture, so as to provide explanations for otherwise hard to understand passages in Scripture which would seem quite embarrassing to the Christian faith.

Having established that there is a need to examine the Scriptures, and use more than just the literal level, we need to examine the methods of Scriptural interpretation which are provided by Sts. Clement of Alexand- ria, Maximus the Confessor, and those who share their method of exegetics (which include, to one degree or another, Origen, St Gregory of Nyssa, St John of Damascus, St Augustine, and many others). Both St. Clement of Alexandria, and his pupil and Biblical Scholar, Origen, provide within their writings several statements on how to interpret Scripture. St.Clement, also stated that he had learned and gained a great amount of insight on the Old Testament from the first century Jewish theologian, Philo. St. Maximus, who wrote upon the need to go to the spiritual level of Scripture, did not write a full exposition upon the how as much as the what, because it was already well founded within the tradition he was raised in. Thus, he applied himself (as did many others) with the exegetical principle without dictating fully the exact method to follow. Nonetheless, while St. Maximus does not write upon the issue, he is in general agreement in prac- tice with the Alexandrian method. Thus, in examining the method, texts from St. Clement of Alexandria and Origen will be the highlighted examples upon the method. It will not be an all-encompassing examination of the allegorical method (it would be too difficult to provide a good study within a short essay), but it will provide many of the key-points and insights needed to keep within a good exegetical parameters.




Scriptural Exegetics: What one needs to know and do to take things beyond the literal level of Scripture:



1) Christ is the Center of all Scripture. The Law and the Prophets speak of Him, but we must often seek Him out, hidden within them. At the most literal level, we can totally leave out the hidden references to Christ, and the Kingdom of Heaven which are revealed from them. When examining a passage, one should try to bring out the hidden references to Christ found within all of Scripture, giving to all a more thorough awareness of the work of Christ throughout all the ages. Indeed, Christ is the central figure of human history, and all history, as all Scriptures, points out to Him. But, if one neglects the spiritual and prophetic utterances in the Old Testament about Christ, one is able to start losing sight of what preparations God had for the work and ministry of Christ. Indeed, the problem of those Jews who rejected Christ, was they had a lack of understanding about the Old Testament, and of the Law and the Propehts. If they understood, they would have believed Jesus. To the Apostles, after the Resurrection, our Lord showed them what had pertained to Himself-- He had revealed that which was previously covered in the dark cover of mystery. "And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." (Luke 24:27).For those who still try to take the Law and the Prophets too literal, without giving in to believe that which is covered in the externals of the law, this cloak of mystery still remains. All the Scriptures speak of Him, and thus one of the major tasks of exegetics is revealing this to others by demonstration. The Gospel is able to be found in the Old Testament, but the task is up to the exegete to bring this out in the open.

2) Scripture must be interpreted, not outside of the Apostolic Tradition, but within the confines of the faith. While it might sound limiting, there is nonetheless a great expanse of understanding that one can gain, by keeping within the established and revealed norm of the faith. It is also much less limiting than the narrow ways of extreme literalism (which is the way of those who misunderstand and misapply Scripture). Thus, Origen wrote on this matter as one of the primary elements of the Christian faith, that the truth is found within the boundary of the Apostolic Tradition of the Church, "...that alone is to be accepted as truth which differs in no re- spect from the ecclesiastical and apostolic tradition." (Origen, On First Principles Preamble). Indeed, while the Apostolic Tradition is the boundary, it is really more like a gate which opens up the Scriptures, leading to an expanse field which is waiting to be picked. This is truly what St. Paul and St. Peter would have people do, when trying to understand Scripture. St. Paul wrote that one needs to follow the Apostolic teachings, both those which were written down in letter, and also those which were being spoken by the Apostles (cf. 2 Thes 2:15). St. Peter saw that people were trying to take Scripture upon themselves, outside of the unity of the faith, and in doing so, he warned that Scripture is for the community and not for private inter- pretations (cf. 2 Peter 1:20), and he also warned against manipulating Scripture (which comes from private interpretations), as he saw was being done with the writings of St. Paul (cf.2 Peter 3:15-16). Thus, when one is interpreting Scripture, it is to be sure that they are not to seek new under- standings, that is, understandings which contradict that which is already known- but they are to seek a further and deeper understanding of that which is being proclaimed universally in the Church.

3) Scripture needs to be examined with itself. That is, each passage must not be thought of as something separate from the rest of Scripture, but each passage must be remembered within the context of the whole of Scripture. For a single passage might denote some information, which if taken by itself will only give an incomplete, and misleading understanding of some points of doctrine. "And if those also who follow heresies venture to avail them- selves of the prophetic Scriptures, in the first place they will not make use of all the Scriptures, and then they will not quote them entire, nor as the body and texture of prophecy prescribe. But selecting ambiguous ex- pressions, they wrest them to their own opinions, gathering a few expressions here and there, not looking to the sense, but making use in the mere words." (St. Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 7:16) There are many kinds of examples which can be brought out upon this point, especially on issues of soteriology. We read that faith is necessary for salvation, but many can confuse it as being the sole basis, without understanding the need of repentance and its works, of Baptism, and many other matters which Scripture discusses as being needed for salvation. One can easily take one of verse, and make that the all in all for their own doctrines, but if they do so, they will neglect the rest, and not run the race to the end- thus finding themselves cut off from the prize. It is therefore of extreme importance that one takes to heart, if they want to work at interpreting Scripture; it is easy to get caught into some sections of it, and neglect the rest. It is even worse, however, if a person does this-- to the exclusion of the Apostolic Tradition, because they will be much more likely to go widely astray in their picking and choosing of doctrine-- than if they are trying to stay within the norm of the Christian faith, because they would then understand doctrine is not a private matter, but a matter of the universal faith.

4) Names are of key importance in understanding Scripture. Unlike within the modern conception, that we name someone in an arbitrary fashion without considering a meaning behind the name, names within most of history have been of significance in understanding a person and places. There are a lot of meanings behind names and, when seeking to understand Scripture, we must seek out the meaning behind the names of the people and places being discuss- ed in each section. We can not understand the changing of names (Abram to Abraham;Jacob to Israel; Saul to Paul; etc.) if we consider names as being meaningless. To understand the names, one must often understand somewhat the languages the names come from (or know someone who does, so as to gain the meaning behind the names). When one has learned the meanings, then one can apply this knowledge in one's exegetics. This was often one of the methods which Origen applied in his homilies, because it is the easiest first step to going deeper into Scripture, and finding what types are being represented by the names. As an example of this method, St. Maximus wrote, "The name Mephiboseth, meaning 'ignominy of mouth (cf. 2 Sam 4:4) signifies the intellect's preoccupation with thoughts devoted to the world and to bodily indulgence." (St. Maximus the Confessor, Fifth Century of Various Texts, 22). Also, with a similar interest to names, one must seek to under- stand more what is being said through the symbols of numbers. Like with names, in ancient times, numbers were considered of great importance, and that when one comes across a specific number, it is never by chance-- and thus, one needs to seek out and understand the significance of each number one en- counters. St. Augustine, in his work on the subject of Scriptural exegetics, On Christian Doctrine, expresses this belief. "Ignorance of numbers, too, prevents us from understanding things that are set down in Scripture in a figurative and mystical way. A candid mind, if I may so speak, cannot but be anxious, for example, to ascertain what is meant by the fact that Moses and Elijah, and our Lord Himself, all fasted for forty days. And except by the knowledge and reflection upon the number, the difficulty of explaining the figure involved in this action cannot be gotten over." (St. Augustine, On Christian Doctrine, Book II Chap 16). Hence, one of the great keys to unlocking the further meaning of Scripture, is understanding that which is before one's eyes, which often, in the literal level, looks to be of little or no importance, that is, names and numbers.

5) Moral value behind what is said is very important. One area where allegory excels is in its ability to teach on moral subjects, based upon the events recorded upon Scripture. This is not hard to understand, nor hard to grasp, but nonetheless, because it is a key element of what is being sought in many allegorical and spiritual interpretations of Scripture, it is something which must be remembered when providing an exegetical analysis of Scripture. As an example of this kind of exegetics, St. Maximus the Confessor wrote upon an analysis of the situation of Jonah. "Scripture represents Jonah as grieving on account of the booth and the gourd-- that is to say, on account of the flesh and the pleasure of the flesh-- and it represents God as caring for Nineveh (cf. Jonah 4:1-11). From this it is clear that, compared with the things valued and prized by men, what is loved by God is better and ore precious by far. For the things that men value lack being; they only seem to exist because of mistaken judgment, but have no principle of existence at all: there is only the fantasy, which cheats the intellect and through passion supplies non-existent things with empty form but no real substance."(St. Maximus the Confessor, Fifth Century of Various Texts, 16).

6) Proper Spiritual Life and Guidance. Since the Scripture was inspired by the Holy Spirit, it is the same Holy Spirit who will guide one in under- standing of Scripture. This is not to mean one is to think one is guided by the Holy Spirit, and thus can dismiss the interpretation of Scripture provided by the Church-- one can easily make a subjective analysis of their own interpretation, and say it was through the Holy Spirit they made their interpretation-- but totally mislead themselves. The Holy Spirit will not create discord, but will provide unity into the faith with one's inter- pretation. This is again why one must be willing to be bound my the Apostolic Faith, because one can easily convince oneself incorrectly of the Spirit's inspiration in exegetics, and lead oneself and many astray. How- ever, good exegetics will be attuned to the Holy Spirit, through a life of prayer, virtue, and the sacraments, so that the Holy Spirit will help them in their exegetics. "Then, finally, that the Scriptures were written by the Spirit of God, and have a meaning, not only such as is apparent at first sight, but also another, which escapes the notice of most. For those (words) which were written are the forms of certain mysteries, and the images of divine things. Respecting which there is one opinion throughout the whole Church, that the whole law is indeed spiritual; but that the spiritual meaning which the law conveys is not known to all, but to those only on whom the grace of the Holy Spirit is bestowed in the word of wisdom of knowledge." (Origen, On First Principles, Preface). Again, it is to be noted that this is not a statement that the Spirit divides people away from the Church, but instills them perfectly in harmony with the Church. Those who seek to exclaim they are led by the Holy Spirit for interpretation, but are led far away from the revealed teachings within the Church, are to be sure not being led by the Holy Spirit, but by their own self-deception or something worse. Thus, St. Gregory the Great in his dialogues wrote: "For if, on the vain presumption that they, too, are filled with the Holy Spirit, they refuse to be guided by another human being, they will only become teachers of error. The soul that is really filled with the Spirit of God will be easily recognized by its miraculous powers and humility. Where these two signs of holiness are found to perfection they show beyond a doubt that God is truly present."(St. Gregory the Great, Dialogues). With this warning, this does not mean that one can not gain a deeper insight into Scripture through the Spirit: one in fact, will. But deeper insight is, by nature, not going to be self-contradictory.





Works Cited and Key Works of Reference: St. Augustine, On Christian Doctrine. In Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, Series One, Vol 2. Trans. Rev. Prof. J.F. Shaw. 1887. Reprinted 1994. St. Clement of Alexandria. The Stromata, In Ante-Nicene Fathers Series II Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. 1885. Republished 1994.

St. Gregory the Great. The Dialogues. Trans. Odo John Zimmerman, O.S.B. Fathers of the Church, Inc. Vol 39. Catholic University of America Press: Washington, DC: 1959. Fr. Tadros Malaty, The School of Alexandria, Book One: Before Origen. Pope Shenouda III Coptic Theological College, Sydney, Australia: 1995. [It has been an invaluable resource, helping me not have to reread the whole of St Clement of Alexandria's works, but to have a ready resource which breaks down St. Clement's theology and teaching in easily findable sections. Highly suggested!]

Fr. Tadros Malaty, The School of Alexandria, Book Two: Origen. Pope Shenouda III Coptic Theological College, Sydney Australia: 1994.(Prepatory Edition) [The same for this volume and Origen. It can almost be considered a small encyclopedia on Origen].

St. Maximus the Confessor. First Century of Theology in "The Philokalia, The Complete Text" Vol II.compiled by St Nikodemus of the Holy Mountain and St Makarios of Corinth. Trans and Ed by GEH Palmer, Philip Sherrard, Kallistos Ware. Faber and Faber, Boston: 1984.

St. Maximus the Confessor. Fourth Century of Various Texts in "The Philo- kalia,The Complete Text" Vol II.compiled by St Nikodemus of the Holy Moun- tain and St Makarios of Corinth. Trans and Ed by GEH Palmer, Philip Sherrard, Kallistos Ware. Faber and Faber, Boston: 1984.

St. Maximus the Confessor. Fifth Century of Various Texts in "The Philo- kalia,The Complete Text" Vol II.compiled by St Nikodemus of the Holy Moun- tain and St Makarios of Corinth. Trans and Ed by GEH Palmer, Philip Sherrard, Kallistos Ware. Faber and Faber, Boston: 1984.

Origen. On First Principle in The Ante-Nicene Fathers Series, Vol IV. Ed Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. 1885. Republished 1994.




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