Meditation 612
Self-contradictory and unintelligible.
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"Jesus lives before the face of God, not just as a friend, but as a Son; he lives in the most intimate union with the Father. We have to start here (emphasis added) if we are to truly understand the figure of Jesus as it is presented to us in the New Testament; all that we are told about his words, deeds, sufferings and glory is anchored here. This is the central point, and if we leave it out of account, we fail to grasp what the figure of Jesus is all about, so that it becomes self-contradictory, and, in the end, unintelligible." Pope Benedict XIV
I find this statement by the current Pope remarkable. What he is trying to do in his new book, Jesus of Nazareth, is to encourage believers, particularly Catholics, to approach the story of Jesus from a position of belief; not to get bogged down in scholarly analysis
But what is he saying in the above quotation? In brief, he is saying that if you don't approach the New Testament already believing in the divinity of Christ, then the text is self-contradictory and unintelligible.
This is something non-believers have been saying for years. I'm glad the Pope agrees.
If only this would convince believers to stop telling us to "Read the bible to believe." It does not work that way. Without belief, the bible is unbelievable.