but there is no doubt whatsoever that the Church Fathers took a decidedly didactic approach to the Bible, believing 2 Timothy 3:16 that all Scripture is “useful (ōphelimos) for teaching (didaskalia).” The general view of the Church Fathers on the profitableness of Scripture is captured well by this statement of Basil the Great introducing the Psalms: All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful, composed by the Spirit for this reason, namely, that we men, each and all of us, as if in a general
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