St. Paul and the Crisis of Modern Biblical Interpretation | Dr. Eric Jenislawski

Summer Conferences

Following a break for lunch, Christendom College Professor of Theology Eric Jenislawski spoke on the challenges facing modern Biblical interpretation.

“Modern methods of interpretation often yield results that either cannot be reconciled to the Catholic faith or are spiritually sterile, not so much heterodox, but useless for preaching, spiritual meditation, or theology,” he said. “Biblical studies today could be described as ‘Christianity as reconstructed by a post-Christian generation of archeologists.’”

Jenislawski proposed that St. Paul can help put things back together again. “If we want to overcome today’s crisis in Biblical interpretation, we must renew ourselves in our Catholic tradition of Biblical interpretation, and the foundation of that tradition is the writings of St. Paul,” he said.

“If we want to rejuvenate Biblical studies, we need to make Biblical studies more Pauline.”