« J'espère que le lecteur verra clairement que ce livre n'est pas écrit contre l'exégèse moderne » : l'étude de l'Avant-propos de son livre, désormais fameux, sur Jésus de Nazareth, pose la question du rapport personnel de Benoît XVI à ce qu'il appelle le plus souvent la « méthode historico-critique » tout en traitant des apports et limites de cette « méthode ». Par delà quatre siècles d'histoire de l'exégèse critique, qu'en est-il de ces rapports ? Les évangiles et surtout (...) la personne historique du Christ ont-ils bénéficié ou souffert de l'exégèse moderne ? Benoît XVI soulève ici un problème grave qu'il ne convient pas d'écarter une fois de plus, exégètes et théologiens campant sur leurs positions, et le lecteur des évangiles risquant l'incertitude par rapport aux difficultés que les évangiles lui présentent. Cet article s'efforce de montrer les attendus des positions complexes de Benoît XVI par rapport à l'exégèse, tout en rappelant les fondements du projet critique pour le service des croyants. “I hope that the reader will clearly see that this book is not written against modern exegesis”: study of the Preface to his now famous book on Jesus of Nazareth raises the question of Benedict XVI's personal relationship to what he most often calls the “historical-critical method”, all the while examining the contributions and limits of this “method”. After four centuries of the history of this critical exegesis, how do things now stand? Have the gospels and above all the historical person of Christ benefited or suffered from modern exegesis? Benedict XVI raises a serious problem here that should not be simply set aside once again, with exegesists and theologians holding steadfast to their positions, and the reader of the gospels left prey to uncertainty in regard to the difficulties that those gospels present for him or her. This article will endeavor to show the motives behind the complex positions of Benedict XVI in relation to exegesis, while recalling the foundations of its critical project in the service of believers. (shrink)

Depuis l'Antiquité grecque, et notamment avec Hérodote et Thucydide, une conception claire de l'histoire semble s'être imposée, quitte à exclure de son champ un certain nombre d'autres " historiographies " qui ne coïncideraient pas avec cette conception. Même si l'historiographie médiévale a été dominée par le modèle biblique et ses schémas, celui-ci s'est progressivement trouvé écarté, d'autant plus qu'à partir du XVIIe siècle l'examen critique du corpus biblique et les différentes formes que cet examen prendrait au cours des trois siècles (...) suivants tendrait à réduire sa pertinence et son importance, sinon à les nier. Il y a pourtant de l'histoire dans l'Ancien comme dans le Nouveau Testament. Si de récents travaux nous conduisent à réduire sérieusement la vérité historique de certains personnages et de certains évènements, voire de la majeure partie de la synthèse historique de l'A.T., il n'en existe pas moins un projet historien qui s'exprime dans des principes, règles, pratiques et qui révèlent une authentique conscience historienne.Since Greek antiquity, and especially with Herodotus and Thucydides, a clear conception of history seems to have become established, even at the expense of excluding from its sphere a certain number of other "historiographies" that would not have coincided with this conception. Although medieval historiography was dominated by the biblical model and its schemes, it found itself gradually dismissed, all the more so as, from the 17th century onwards, the critical examination of the biblical corpus and the different forms that this examination would take during the following three centuries tended to reduce, if not deny, its relevance and importance. Nevertheless, there is history in the Old as in the New Testament. While some recent works have led us to seriously reduce the historical truth of certain characters and events, or even most of the historical synthesis of the O.T., there still exists a historical project that expresses itself in principles, rules, and practices and reveals authentic historical awareness. (shrink)

Après quinze siècles de lecture « christique » des Ecritures, deux siècles de crises bien différentes allaient en proposer de nouvelles approches : le XVIe siècle comme Siècle des Réformes, le XVIIe comme Siècle de la critique. Après la confrontation d’Erasme et de Luther, la confrontation des Libertins et des apologètes, puis l’apparition de ce qui deviendrait l’exégèse critique avec notamment J. Meyer, Spinoza et R. Simon, allaient créer une autre sensibilité aux Ecritures, selon les perceptions de l’univers et de (...) la raison marquées par la philosophie de Descartes. Une épistémologie nouvelle se mettrait nécessairement en place. Les résistances des autorités ecclésiales ne pourraient rien contre une approche qui n’était pas seulement « scientifique » mais qui marquait désormais la lecture religieuse de ces Ecritures. Les questions que poserait cette approche dans le cadre de la réception croyante comme par rapport au dogme de l’Inspiration ont-elles reçu leur réponse ? Ce questionnement devrait être au cœur du colloque que prépare l’ensemble de ce dossier.After fifteen centuries of a “Christ-centered” reading of the Scriptures, two centuries with very different crises would propose new approaches: the 16th century as the Century of Reformation and the 17th as the century of criticism. After the confrontation of Erasmus and Luther, the confrontation of the Libertines and apologists, then the appearance of what would become critical exegesis, notably with J. Meyer, Spinoza, and R. Simon, another sensibility towards the Scriptures would be created, in keeping with perceptions of the universe and reason influenced by the philosophy of Descartes. A new epistemology would necessarily be put in place. The resistance of Church authorities was powerless against an approach that was not only ³scientific² but would influence the religious reading of these Scriptures in the future. Have the questions that this approach would raise, from the standpoint of how the believer receives the Scriptures and the dogma of inspiration, been answered? This questioning should be the core of the conference for which all these readings are a preparation. (shrink)

L'imaginaire est-il un moyen aléatoire d'un dire sur les Fins dernières ? L'auteur commence par donner quelques caractéristiques de l'imaginaire reconnaissable dans ce domaine et dont la dominante est la nécessité d'un consensus social. Mais la relativité du langage en la matière le contraint à remonter aux sources bibliques des représentations. Le langage apocalypti­que et plus particulièrement l'Apocalypse de S. Jean étant incontestable­ment à l'origine de nombre de représentations, son examen révèle une fonction et une utilisation de l'imaginaire qui contestent (...) les soupçons portés à son encontre. Langage nécessaire pour une réalité présente considérée comme indicible parce qu'inouîe, l'imaginaire traite d'abord l'expérience humaine en ce qu'elle a de plus tragique. Dès lors, le glissement effectué sur les Fins dernières permet de distinguer entre une application légitime de l'imaginaire et les dérives dont celui-ci devient tout autant la victime qu'il peut en être dit responsable.Is the imaginary a haphazard way of expressing the Last Things ? The author begins by giving some characteristics of the imaginary that are recognizable in this domain and of which the most important is the need of a social consensus. But the relativity of language in this matter constrains us to go back to representations in biblical sources. Since apocalyptic language, and especially the Apocalypse of St. John, is without doubt at the origin of a number of representations, its study reveals a function and use of the imaginary that counters the suspicions that are held against it. The imaginary, a language necessary for a present reality considered as inexpressible because unheard-of first treats of human experience in its most tragic aspect. From there the deviations effecting the Last Things allow us to distinguish between a legitimate application of the imaginary and its derivations, the latter of which become just as much the victim, and thus can be called responsible. (shrink)

The year 2010 marks the one-hundredth anniversary of the Recherches de Science Religieuse and provides an opportunity for the journal to explore its past, present, and prospects for the twenty-first century. In order to celebrate the event, this special commemorative issue calls upon authors from many different fields. "Commemoration" involves not only examining the past, however rich it may be, but also taking up the challenge of analyzing the present and reflecting upon the future. In the first section, diverse approaches (...) -- theological, sociological or historical -- are applied to an in-depth diagnosis of the present. The second part is dedicated to memory: the founding years during the modernist crisis and the major stages in the development of the journal under various directors until today, among them, Henri de Lubac and Joseph Moingt. Finally, this special issue is rounded off by a series of broad perspectives tracing out paths for the future of the disciplines at the heart of theology and religious science today, thus remaining faithful to the journal's original mission of "research in movement". (shrink)

Why are we proposing this anthology of articles drawn from Recherches de Science Religieuse in an English translation? On the eve of its centennial celebrations, the Journal, which has numerous subscribers and readers in English-speaking countries, decided to take stock of its rich heritage in the field of theology, as in that of religious science, embodied in its many past issues and their articles. Over these years and decades, the journal has built up a corpus of documents covering information and (...) thought specific to the French-language sphere of theology and religious sciences. We are also highly aware that the thought reflected in the Journal has taken paths, if inevitably diverse, that are nonetheless rich in encounters and confrontations with what was being taught and thought elsewhere. Such a rich exchange went on over the years that the question arose a decade ago of providing a bilingual, even a trilingual edition in order to facilitate access to the Journal's content. However, opinions from the English-speaking world and beyond converged at that time to encourage us to continue with renewed purpose as witnesses and actors of this French-language realm and to remain faithful to editing the journal in French. Today, it seems to us both useful and desirable to make this theological heritage accessible to a broader public. This first anthology has thus been composed around a fundamental theme, that of faith. (shrink)