Something refreshing

I got this from my monk friend, Prior Aelred:

The voice of an African bishop on Biblical interpretation:

"In matters that are so obscure and far beyond our vision, we find in Holy Scripture passages which can be interpreted in very different ways without prejudice to the faith we have received. In such cases, we should not rush in headlong and so firmly take our stand on one side that, if further progress in the search for truth justly undermines this position, we too fall with it."

This shocking innovation brought to you by Augustine of Hippo!

We often forget that fundamentalism is quite a recent development in the history of Christian thought and that the ancients did not necessarily interpret Scripture literally. Rather they tended to use the allegorical or metaphorical approach.