Is the Sacra Pagina Commentary Series Helpful for Protestant Christians

Hey all,

I saw that the Sacra Pagina series is on sale during March Madness.

I was wondering if Sacra Pagina is helpful for Protestant Christian Pastor who are trying to get a better grasp of the text. Does the series focus on just studying the meaning of the text, or does it explain the text through a Catholic lens?

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SineNomine

Does the series focus on just studying the meaning of the text, or does it explain the text through a Catholic lens?

Yes.

Chi Shun Cheung

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/963449#Comment_963449

Hey SineNomine,

Do you mind telling me briefly how the Sagra Pagina is like and how it helps you in you study of the NT?

Eduardo Espiritu

EDITOR’S PREFACE

Sacra Pagina is a multi-volume commentary on the books of the New Testament. The expression Sacra Pagina (“Sacred Page”) originally referred to the text of Scripture. In the Middle Ages it also described the study of Scripture to which the interpreter brought the tools of grammar, rhetoric, dialectic, and philosophy. Thus Sacra Pagina encompasses both the text to be studied and the activity of interpretation.
This series presents fresh translations and modern expositions of all the books of the New Testament. Written by an international team of Catholic biblical scholars, it is intended for biblical professionals, graduate students, theologians, clergy, and religious educators. The volumes present basic introductory information and close exposition. They self-consciously adopt specific methodological perspectives, but maintain a focus on the issues raised by the New Testament compositions themselves. The goal of Sacra Pagina is to provide sound critical analysis without any loss of sensitivity to religious meaning. This series is therefore catholic in two senses of the word: inclusive in its methods and perspectives, and shaped by the context of the Catholic tradition.
The Second Vatican Council described the study of the “sacred page” as the “very soul of sacred theology” (Dei Verbum 24). The volumes in this series illustrate how Catholic scholars contribute to the council’s call to provide access to Sacred Scripture for all the Christian faithful. Rather than pretending to say the final word on any text, these volumes seek to open up the riches of the New Testament and to invite as many people as possible to study seriously the “sacred page.”

DANIEL J. HARRINGTON, S.J.

Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Mark, 2002, 2, xi.

The Mark 8:25 note:

25. once again he [Jesus] laid his hands on his eyes: From 8:23 it was not clear where Jesus laid his hands the first time. In 7:33 Jesus puts his fingers in the ears of p 257 the deaf man and touches his tongue. That Jesus must perform the healing ritual “once again” indicates that it was not entirely successful the first time.

he came to see again clearly, and his sight was restored, and he was seeing everything distinctly: The completeness of the cure is emphasized by three different and quite striking verbs. That “he came to see again” (dieblepsen) can be taken to mean that he began (inceptive) to see clearly again or that he succeeded (effective) in seeing clearly again. That “his sight was restored” (apekatestē) confirms that the story is about the recovery of sight and suggests that God was the agent of his healing (the divine passive construction). That “he was seeing everything (eneblepen) distinctly” calls attention to the intensity of his seeing (emblepein means “look at, fix one’s gaze upon”) and to his own ongoing ability to see (imperfect, “was seeing”). The final adverb tēlaugōs, found only here in the NT, means “far shining” and then “clearly, plainly, distinctly” and underscores the cure’s completeness.

John R. Donahue and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Mark, ed. Daniel J. Harrington, Sacra Pagina Series, (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002), 2:256–257.

The bibliography for Mark 8:22-26

FOR REFERENCE AND FURTHER STUDY

Baudoz, Jean-François. “Mc 7,31–37 et Mc 8.22–26. Géographie et théologie,” RB 102 (1995) 560–69.
Collange, Jean-François. “La déroute de l’aveugle (Mc 8,22–26). Ecriture et pratique chrétienne,” Revue d’Historie et de Philosophie Religieuses 66 (1986) 21–28.
Howard, J. Keir. “Men as Trees, Walking: Mark 8.22–26,” SJT 37 (1984) 163–70.
Johnson, E. S. “Mark 8:22–26: The Blind Man from Bethsaida,” NTS 25 (1978–79) 370–83.
Marcus, Joel. “A Note on Markan Optics,” NTS 45 (1999) 250–56.
Miller, J. I. “Was Tischendorf really wrong? Mark 8:26b Revisited,” NovT 28 (1986) 97–103.
Sugirtharajah, Rasia S. “Men, Trees and Walking: A Conjectural Solution to Mk 8:24,” ExpTim 103 (1992) 172–74.

John R. Donahue and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Mark, ed. Daniel J. Harrington, Sacra Pagina Series, (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002), 2:259.

Chi Shun Cheung

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/963469#Comment_963469

Thank you very much! That is very helpful

Stephen Terlizzi

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/963473#Comment_963473

I highly recommend this commentary. One of my "go to" commentaries.

Dan Francis

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/963707#Comment_963707

This is a highly useful commentary series that is not overly dogmatic, I useful t a lot and do not typically notice anything that would give a hint that it was catholic.

-dan

Chi Shun Cheung

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/963711#Comment_963711

Thanks Ed, Stephen, and Dan.

Your comments were helpful. I decided to purchase the set and it's actually very good. I like the fact that its main focus is on the text of Scripture and exegeting the meaning from the text.

SineNomine

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/964287#Comment_964287

Your comments were helpful. I decided to purchase the set and it's actually very good. I like the fact that its main focus is on the text of Scripture and exegeting the meaning from the text.

I'm glad that that has worked out for you. [:)]