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title: "George Pell on The argument from scripture"
description: "Pell defended the reliability of Scripture as divine revelation while accepting modern historical-critical methods of interpretation."
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# George Pell on The argument from scripture

> Pell defended the reliability of Scripture as divine revelation while accepting modern historical-critical methods of interpretation.

Position

# George Pell on _The argument from scripture_

Argues forCardinal of the Catholic Church

Pell defended the reliability of Scripture as divine revelation while accepting modern historical-critical methods of interpretation.

George Pell upheld the Catholic position that Scripture is divinely inspired and authoritative, while insisting that proper interpretation requires attention to literary genre, historical context, and the teaching authority of the Church. He was not a biblical literalist — he famously stated in his debate with Dawkins that the Genesis creation account was at least partly mythological — but he maintained that the core theological claims of Scripture are true and revealed by God.

Pell's approach to the argument from Scripture was characteristically institutional. He argued that the Bible should not be read as a standalone text but within the living tradition of the Church that produced it. The Gospels, in his view, are historically reliable accounts of Jesus's life, death, and resurrection, and their theological claims are confirmed by the ongoing life of the Christian community.

On contentious questions — the historicity of Adam and Eve, the authorship of the Pentateuch, the relationship between Old Testament violence and divine command — Pell deferred to the magisterium. He was comfortable acknowledging that not every passage of Scripture records literal historical fact, while insisting that the overall trajectory of revelation is trustworthy and divinely guided.

Key quotes

> “The Bible is not a science textbook. It is a library of books written in different genres over many centuries, and it must be read with intelligence and faith.”

Continue exploring

[

George Pell

Full profile — positions, quotes, and key moments.

](/people/george-pell)[

The argument from scripture

The full argument — stated fairly, then answered.

](/arguments/argument-from-scripture)

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