Brown was one of the first Catholic scholars in the United States to use the historical-critical method to study the Bible.

When applied to the Bible, the historical-critical method is distinct from the traditional, devotional approach.

The historical-critical method of Biblical scholarship is taught widely in Western nations, including in many seminaries.

Hans Frei argues that the historical-critical method separates truth from fact by ignoring what is "behind" the text.

Scholars who use the historical-critical method treat the Bible as they would any other text.

Therefore, I am not sure why he is surprised to see that the Pope does not exclusively rely on the historical-critical method.

According to Childs, it represents an entirely new departure, replacing the entire historical-critical method.

The historical-critical method of analyzing scripture questioned the reliability of the Bible.

This allows for historical-critical methods for interpretation.

In fact, Childs disliked the term, believing his work to represent an entirely new departure, replacing the entire historical-critical method.