MUOGBO MICHAEL, chapter 6 number 24
The
written word of God and the sacred tradition are the fundamentals of sacred
theology. They strengthen and rejuvenate it under the light of faith, for the
truth in the mystery of Christ. The
sacred pages ought to be the soul of sacred theology. The words of the
scripture also nourish pastoral preaching, catechetics and all forms of
Christian instructions. On the one hand, theological reflections should be
based on and nourished by the word of God in the scriptures. On the other hand,
theology has to discover, unfold and interpret the word of God. Theology,
therefore, is the interpretation of the word of God in the scriptures in the
light of the actual context, and interpreting the context in the light of the
word of God.[1]
In this article, the council father reminds us, that the sacred
scriptures are “the very soul of theology” and it urges
those mandated to teach and ordained to preach to make the
Scriptures the primary source of their work. However it didn’t leave out
sacred traditions, the emphasis on the scripture does not imply a neglect of
sacred tradition. Tradition shapes beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes of those
who participate in the “practices” of tradition. Here tradition refers us back
to the apostolic origin; the transmission of the whole Christian mystery along
with the interpretations of the scriptures, which are traceable to the
apostles, “who handed on, by oral preaching, by their example, by their
dispositions, what they themselves had received; whether from the lips of
Christ, from his way of life and his works.” (DV 7) This tradition is
transmitted to us through the communities of believers associated with the
apostles.
Sacred
theology rests on the written word of God, together with sacred tradition, as
its primary and perpetual foundation. By scrutinizing in the light of faith all
truth stored up in the mystery of Christ, theology is most powerfully
strengthened and constantly rejuvenated by that word. For the Sacred Scriptures
contain the word of God, and so the study of the sacred page is, as it were, the
soul of sacred theology. By the same word of Scripture the ministry of the word
also, that is, pastoral preaching, catechesis and all Christian instruction, in
which the liturgical homily must hold the foremost place, is nourished in a
healthy way and flourishes in a holy way.
[1] K.
PATHIL and D. VELIATH, An Introduction
to Theology, Theological publication, India, 2007, 54.
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