A Catholic Approach to Genesis 1: Vocabulary

A set of vocabulary flashcards defining key theological and hermeneutical terms used in a Catholic approach to interpreting Genesis 1.

Inspiration

The gift of the Holy Spirit that guided human authors as they freely wrote Scripture, so that their work is truly God's word.

Inerrancy

Scripture teaches the saving truth God wanted recorded for us faithfully and without error.

Hermeneutics

The principles and rules that guide sound, careful interpretation of a text.

Exegesis

The hands-on work of drawing out a passage's intended meaning through careful study.

Interpretation

The effort to discover the meaning the Bible's divine and human authors intended to convey.

Literal sense (proper)

The meaning intended by the biblical author, discovered through careful exegesis not a flat, word-for-word reading.

Myth (biblical sense)

A literary genre that uses story to express transcendent truth, not simply a "false tale."

Literary approach

Reading a text first as literature attending to its genre, structure, and devices.

Theological approach

Asking what a text reveals about God, humanity, creation, and worship.

Antimyth

A story that borrows the shape of the myths around it in order to correct and transform them.

Consonance

Points of harmony or mutual enrichment between two different, true perspectives, like science and theology.

Rational seeds

Augustine's term for the potentials God placed in creation from the start, able to unfold into life over time.

Secondary causes

The real, God-given causal powers built into created things, through which God continues to act.

Special creation

The idea that God made every living thing directly, in a single divine act an idea Augustine's model moves beyond.