Scott Hahn and "Prima Scriptura"?
 

I was at a friend's for lunch today, and I made the mistake of mentioning Dr. Scott Hahn's name... To our collective surprise, my friend reacted both violently and vocally (?!). He is a graduate of Steubenville (both BA and Masters in Theology), and apparently had Dr. Hahn as a professor in the early 90s. He has some very harsh things to say about him, both personally and "professionally"...! :nope:

One of his most vehement claims is that Dr. Hahn teaches "prima scriptura", explaining this to us as a belief that Scripture is a "higher" authority than Tradition. My friend says that because of this, Dr. Hahn is heretical and goes against the teachings of the Church, and that when he called Dr. Hahn on it in class, he was ignored.

:confused: My question is, does anyone here actually know whether or not Dr. Hahn really teaches this currently (or even whether he ever taught this?)?

I have read and enjoyed everything I have ever read by Dr. Hahn, and have never gotten the impression from what I have read that he was trying to teach me that Scripture is primary over all else--rather, I always thought he reenforced for me my understanding of the equal importance of living Tradition, in that Tradition is what was passed down to us before the written canon of Scripture was established--Tradition is also the teaching of God, and Scripture is the unchaning revelation of the word to be used in conjunction with it. Tradition explains Scripture, and Scripture explains Tradition.

I have never taken Dr. Hahn's classes, yet my friend did and claims to "know Dr. Hahn very well". Even so, I will not accept what my friend has said to me against Dr. Hahn unconditionally--the fruits of Dr. Hahn's work seem clear to me, and I myself have seen no problems in his writing. On top of this, my friend seems to have other "issues" with Dr. Hahn personally, and I fear that this is clouding his judgement.... :(

Can anyone else shed any light on this or point me towards anything that addresses this concern of "prima scriptura"??

Thanks :)

+veritas+

Re: Scott Hahn and "Prima Scriptura"?
 

Veritas,

Just for fun! Would you ask you friend what grade he got in Dr. Hahn's class?

John

Re: Scott Hahn and "Prima Scriptura"?
 

i don't know either way what dr. hahn teaches (personally, i know relatives of his and they are wonderful people who say the same for him and kim) but "prima scriptura" is not heretical. sola scriptura is. prima scriptura basically says that tradition and scripture must line up together. there can be no "tradition" which contradicts scripture (i think we would all agree with this). and since scripture is unchangeable, it is a primary source (i'm not saying tradition is "changeable" just interpreted from scripture and history and therefore must have something to be tested against to figure out if it's tradition or Tradition). scripture is what every tradition is tested against ultimately. you can argue that it is history but the historical figures (jerome, ignatius, augustine, etc.) used scripture to back up any argument. this is the tenet of "prima scriptura".

Re: Scott Hahn and "Prima Scriptura"?
 

Well, my understanding is that Scripture must be "prima scriptura" because it is inspired by the Holy Spirit. How can this not be so??

I agree with most of what bengal_fan says except I would not say that traditions don't change. Some traditions do in fact change along a timeline and this is the reason for measuring tradition with scripture. If there is a contradiction between the two, scripture is right.

Tom

Re: Scott Hahn and "Prima Scriptura"?
 

That was the first question that popped into my mind, also. Does the person have a bone to pick with Dr. Hahn? Maybe they had a heated discussion about somehting completely unrelated, and the friend then takes everything about Dr. Hahn as being wrong. Or maybe He recieved a comment on a paper and didn't like it. As a teacher, I find many students react that way. And as a recent student (finished my last degree in 2002) I know that many of my classmates (and I, too) tended to exaggerate the faults of many of our professors.

John

Re: Scott Hahn and "Prima Scriptura"?
 

I couldn't tell about your friend from your post and know nothing about the school, so here goes........

Is he Catholic?

Re: Scott Hahn and "Prima Scriptura"?
 

It is worth noting that Dr Hahn, and all theologians at Steubenville, have taken an oath of loyalty to Church teaching, and have been certified by their Bishop as approved theologians.

Re: Scott Hahn and "Prima Scriptura"?
 

Dr. Hahn brought me into the church. (not personally, but his books, tapes, and teachings). I highly doubt he's heretical, and if he held any view which was heretical, I'm sure he would quickly recant.

I'm sorry your friend has such a bitter heart. It's crazy when you think what the devil will do to turn people away from those who preach the truth.

I'm thinking also of the home schooling incedent also involving the Hahns. I'm ignorent of the matter but it does seem like silly arguing and bickering.

Re: Scott Hahn and "Prima Scriptura"?
 

As I understand it, there can be no primacy per se.... Both Sacred Scripture and Holy Tradition are 'from' the Holy Spirit.

From my moderate exposure to Hahn, I can see some tendancy to cite Scripture first, but for a Bible scholar like Hahn, that doesn't suprise me much.

My opinion is that Hahn proceeds from an apologetic perspective - and sees Scripture as the primary arena of action with our separated brothers.

For the last twenty years my focus has been similiar - my in-laws are strong anti-Catholics, and citing Holy Tradition will get me nowhere. But if I point out that Holy Tradition is overwhelmingly directly related to Scripture (or at least never contradicts it) I have kept the channel open, so-to-speak.

Clint

Re: Scott Hahn and "Prima Scriptura"?
 

"Inspiration" of the Holy Scriptures is unique, not even Sacred Tradition can claim to be "inspired". I am no theologian, but I see no problem in stating that Scripture should have primacy over Tradition. Prima Scriptura does not pit one against the other, it only recognizes the unique character of the Scriptures as being authored by God Himself. The Holy Spirit certainly guides (towards the truth) and preserves (againt error) Tradition but the Holy Spirit is not the author of Tradition.

Re: Scott Hahn and "Prima Scriptura"?
 

I know someone who had him for a couple of classes at Stubenville. She never mentioned that he was anything but orthodox, intellegent, and difficult.

Re: Scott Hahn and "Prima Scriptura"?
 

Clint,

Where are we finding that Holy Tradition is from the Holy Spirit??

Tom

In describing prima Scriptura, Jimmy Akin writes,

"Apostolic Scripture does have primacy over Apostolic Tradition (and the Church as well; see Vatican II, Dei Verbum 11). We look to it first and foremost because it is inspired, giving us God's ipsisima verba. But we also look to Apostolic Tradition to help us understand Apostolic Scripture, since it conveys God's ipsisima vox."

As Akin explains, the words of Apostolic Scripture are inspired, but "while the original giving of Apostolic Tradition was inspired, the words in which it has been passed down to us are not inspired."

Re: Scott Hahn and "Prima Scriptura"?
 

This is from Catholic Answers website at:

http://www.catholic.com/library/scri..._tradition.asp

In the Second Vatican Council’s document on divine revelation, Dei Verbum (Latin: "The Word of God"), the relationship between Tradition and Scripture is explained: "Hence there exists a close connection and communication between sacred Tradition and sacred Scripture. For both of them, flowing from the same divine wellspring, in a certain way merge into a unity and tend toward the same end. For sacred Scripture is the word of God inasmuch as it is consigned to writing under the inspiration of the divine Spirit. To the successors of the apostles, sacred Tradition hands on in its full purity God’s word, which was entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit.

"Thus, by the light of the Spirit of truth, these successors can in their preaching preserve this word of God faithfully, explain it, and make it more widely known. Consequently it is not from sacred Scripture alone that the Church draws her certainty about everything which has been revealed. Therefore both sacred Tradition and sacred Scripture are to be accepted and venerated with the same devotion and reverence."

Sounds to me like the Church does not put the "prima" in "prima scriptura", but I would like to hear others that can find documentation to the opposite.

Other than that, I don't have too much problem with Hahn. I'm sure it is a primary method of going after sola scriptura Protestants and getting them to convert! :D

-JohnDeP

Re: Scott Hahn and "Prima Scriptura"?
 

If you want to better understand what Hahn means by "prima Scriptura, " read his article, "Prima Scriptura: Magisterial Perspectives on the Primacy of Scripture," in A.J. Mastroeni (ed.), The Church and the Universal Catechism (Steubenville, OH: Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, 1993), pp. 83-116. You can probably get it via interlibrary loan from your public library.


In the meantime... I'm pretty sure that he only means given primacy to Scripture in doing theology. You're more likely to make an impression on him if you come up with an interesting exegesis of a passage in Scripture than if you wax eloquently about your favorite theologian's understanding of Catholicism.