Scripture in the Tradition.

Scripture in the Tradition
Henri de Lubac
Crossroad/Herder & Herder, $29.95, 244 pp.

Henri de Lubac was aghast when, in 1968, he saw a book of his appearing in English under the title The Sources of Revelation. He had been a forceful opponent of those who thought that revelation comes from two sources, Scripture and Tradition--a view repudiated at Vatican II only a few years before. That book has now been reissued by Crossroad in the Herder & Herder series "Milestones in Catholic Theology" under the title Scripture in the Tradition, which more accurately reflects the French original. It is a curious volume in that it cobbles together chapters of books that de Lubac had previously published. The author intended this short book to make accessible his thinking on the spiritual exegesis of the Scriptures, which he laid out in formidable detail in his four-volume history of medieval exegesis (now, thankfully, being translated into English) and in his excellent study of Origen's exegesis. The introduction to Scripture in the Tradition recommends that we read this precis of his much larger project slowly, because de Lubac, with his unparalleled command of the sources, provides much to ponder.

De Lubac never intended that the Christian world turn its back on historical-critical approaches to Scripture. What he did very much intend to demonstrate was that the Christian tradition, as Saint Paul forcefully shows, has always read Scripture as a whole and as a living unfolding of the purpose of God. To the believing community that listens and seeks to understand it, the Word of God provides nourishment and reveals the Living God. The term "Word of God" has both a plain sense and one which suggests the constant encounter of the community and the Word. As de Lubac understands it, the word "tradition" is not a mere historical record, but the continuing acceptance and retrieval of the Word of God. In other words, for de Lubac Scripture and Tradition come together "to form one thing and move as to one goal" as Vatican II puts it (Dei verbum).

Scripture in the Tradition contains three long chapters which treat, in order, the spiritual understanding of Scripture, the dual testaments, and the Christian newness. The book has an excellent introduction by Peter Casarella, who provides not only a historical account of how the book came to be, but also a context for the current debates between those who favor the primacy of the historical-critical method of Scripture study and those who feel that a too exclusive reliance on that method runs the risk of turning Scripture into a mere historical artifact. With a sensitive understanding of this debate, Casarella, following de Lubac, warns against excesses on both sides.

If there is one solid achievement of historical-critical research, as John Meier has vigorously demonstrated, it is to emphasize Jesus within the world of Second Temple Judaism. This emphasis is crucial for Jewish-Christian dialogue. Therefore, it is encouraging that when de Lubac, in the second and third sections of this volume, discusses the dual testaments and the Christian "newness" there is no sense of supersessionism, no argument that Judaism has been "replaced" by Christian revelation. He knows that what God has revealed to Israel is part of the seamless whole which is God's Word. It is the same Word, de Lubac writes, "brought forth by the Virgin who had been brought forth by the prophets long ago."