Joseph Ratzinger’s theological hermeneutics for Christians’ faith enhancement: An appraisal

Abstract

The question of who Jesus is often arouses cognitive as well as affective responses that have far reaching influences on people‟s faith. The category of those who subscribe to the affective mode with foot in systematized cognitive investigation of the question often experience what Ratzinger refers to as “a clutching of the air”¹ in an attempt to form a relationship with Jesus. In other words, the role of modern biblical critical method of studying the Gospels, with its characteristic scientific approach to the question of who Jesus is, is said to often create a gap between belief and practice. Among scholars who have attempted to bridge such a gap are Rudolf Schnackenburg and Joseph Ratzinger. The latter has attempted a theological and spiritual hermeneutics in approaching the question. The general intent of this paper is an appraisal of his method for reading the gospels as highlighted in two of his writings: Jesus of Nazareth and "Biblical Interpretation in Crisis”. While the central effort of the paper is to evaluate the adequacy or otherwise of Ratzinger‟s model for Christians‟ faith enhancement, the guiding question shall be what possibility such method has in ameliorating the “danger of clutching the air” and in establishing an “intimate friendship with Jesus” through the gospels.

Keywords: Historical Jesus, Modern Biblical Critical Methods, Joseph Ratzinger, Theological Hermeneutics, Faith Enhancement