God's Word: Scripture, Tradition, Office »

In this book Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, explains with clarity and detail the nature of the Bible as the Word of God, and the important teaching of how the divine Word is also alive in the Church and present in Tradition. He also discusses the issue of Ecumenism and unity among Christians. Finally, he explains the crucial role of the Bishop as interpreter of the Word of God and custodian of Tradition in the Church.

The Pope is responding to the question of how the truth of the Christian faith can be recognized and articulated, how we can witness to it and hand it on to others. This is a frank, yet open exploration of the Catholic understanding of God's Word presented in a collection of classic essays by the brilliant teacher and writer who became Pope Benedict XVI.

Introduction   Peter Hunermann   Thomas Soding     7
Primacy, Episcopacy, and Successio Apostolica     13
The Church's Teaching on Primacy and Episcopacy     15
Reflections on the Nature of Apostolic Succession in General     22
Successio Papalis and Successio Episcopalis in Relation and Distinction to Each Other     31
The Question of the Concept of Tradition: A Provisional Response     41
Revelation and Tradition: An Attempt to Analyze the Concept of Tradition
Formulation of the Problem     41
Theses on the Relation between Revelation and Tradition
Revelation and Scripture     51
The Differing Significance of Scripture in the Old and New Testaments     53
Christ, the Revelation of God     56
The Nature of Tradition     58
The Function of Exegesis     64
On Interpreting the Tridentine Decree on Tradition     67
The Pneumatological Setting of the Concept of Tradition in the Original Draft of Cardinal Cervini     68
The Linking of Tradition with Ecclesial Life in Various Contributions to the Discussion at Trent     76
Tradition and Church Dogma     82
The Meaning of the Trent Decree     83
Biblical Interpretation in Conflict: The Question of the Basic Principles and Path of ExegesisToday     91
Preliminary Considerations: The Situation and the Task     91
Self-Criticism of the Historical-Critical Method Following the Paradigm of the Methodological Doctrine of Martin Dibelius and Rudolf Bultmann     102
Some Basic Elements of a New Synthesis     114