Chiesa.it has an article on the book which notes how the Pope (no anti-intellectual, as you know if you know him) takes aim at the sort of theologian or Bible scholar who is too busy with the ideas he's invented to bother with actual faith.
Benedict XVI dedicates this passage of his book, in the chapter on the temptation of Jesus, to the interpretation of Scripture:
“To lure Jesus into his trap, the devil quotes Sacred Scripture,
[...] he appears as a theologian. [...] Vladimir Soloviev took up this
theme in his ‘Tale of the Antichrist’: the Antichrist receives an
honorary degree in theology from the University of Tubingen; he is a
great expert in the Bible. With this story, Soloviev wanted to express
in a drastic way his skepticism toward a certain type of erudite
exegesis in his time. This doesn’t mean a ‘no’ to the scientific
interpretation of the Bible as such, but rather a very healthy and
necessary warning over the incorrect paths that this can take. The
interpretation of the Bible can essentially become a tool of the
Antichrist. It is not only Soloviev who says this; it is what is
affirmed implicitly in the account of the temptation itself. The books
most destructive toward the figure of Jesus, the ones that demolish the
faith, have been woven together with presumed results of exegesis.”
Comments