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BASIS OF BELIEF The theological basis of the belief, in its simplest form, is that as God is infallible, the Bible, as the Word of God, must also be free from error. A more nuanced restatement of the same idea is that God inspired the authors of the Bible without marginalizing their personal concerns or personalities, and so preserved the texts from error. (See Biblical Inspiration ). Roman Catholic teaching holds that the resurrection of Christ affirms his divinity, and Christ in turn appointed the Pope , or the body of Bishops led by the Pope, guided by the Holy Spirit , to offer infallible guidance on questions of faith and morals whose answers are found within the Word of God, comprising both Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture . But some liberal Roman Catholics do not affirm that the Bible is without error, even when interpreted correctly by the Pope or tradition. The Eastern Orthodox Church also believes in unwritten tradition and the written scriptures, but it has rarely sought to clarify the relationship between them. Contemporary Eastern Orthodox theologians debate whether these are separate deposits of knowledge or different ways of understanding a single dogmatic reality. Father George Florovsky, for example, asserted that tradition is no more than "Scripture rightly understood." Others tend to place a body of beliefs beside scripture, although even then these theologians would argue that tradition is consonant with scripture and does not add any new dogmatic understanding of who God is in Trinity or the work of Jesus Christ. Because the Eastern Orthodox Church emphasizes the authority of councils, which belong to all the bishops, it stresses the canonical uses rather than inspiration of scripture. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, most Eastern Orthodox theologians also recognize the reception of councils by the body of the church as a final seal of authenticity or ecumenicity. Since the acceptance of the Septuagint and New Testament by leading regional bishops of the second century was predicated on those texts' faithfulness to the same apostolic teaching that supposedly is reflected in tradition; the Eastern Orthodox Church emphasizes that the scriptures can only be understood according to a normative rule of faith (the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, in short) and way of life historically continuous with Christ and the Apostles. Protestant churches, unlike Eastern and Roman churches, reject that there is an infallible authoritative tradition that is held over scripture. Some Protestants hold that the Bible confirms its own infallibility, pointing out that Jesus frequently quotes scripture as if it was meant to be taken historically rather than entirely allegorically, and citing John 10:35 "the scripture cannot be broken," they conclude that if the Bible is not inerrant, then Jesus is a liar. BIBLICAL LITERALISM In its most stringent form, biblical inerrancy holds that the Bible is literally true in every word, at least in the original Autograph (the first texts written in the original Hebrew , Greek or Aramaic ). Authenticity, and inerrancy, therefore resides in the earliest and most accurate texts. Of course, because no one has access to these original, inerrant autographs, this claim is impossible to prove. Further, the manuscripts available today conflict with one another, making translations open to potential error. Critics also argue that without the original autographs the claim that they were inerrant is a claim without proof and is meaningless. While believing that every word is given by God through the authors of scripture, many inerrantists say that literal interpretation is not always appropriate. It is necessary sometimes to recognize figurative language in scripture. Indeed, statements such as "And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands" (Isaiah 55:12) do not make literal sense and are impossible to understand correctly without recognizing figurative language (in the example given, a poetic metaphor expressing joy). Entire books have been devoted to understanding figures of speech in Scripture. An early example that is still used is E. W. Bullinger, ''Figures of Speech Used in the Bible'' (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1970; reprinted from the 1898 original). A variation of this belief holds that the translators of the King James Version were guided by God and that the KJV thus is to be taken as authoritative. However, those who hold this opinion do not extend it to the KJV translations of the Deuterocanonical books, which were produced along with the rest of the Authorized Version. Modern translations differ from the KJV on numerous points, sometimes resulting from access to better early texts. Upholders of the KJV would nevertheless hold that the Protestant canon of KJV is itself an inspired text and therefore remains authoritative. The King James Only movement goes one step further, asserting that the KJV is the ''sole'' English translation free from error. THE CONSERVATIVE PROTESTANT POSITION In 1978 a large gathering of conservative Evangelical churches, including representatives of the Conservative, Reformed and Presbyterian , Lutheran , and Baptist denominations, adopted the Chicago Statement On Biblical Inerrancy . The Chicago Statement does not necessarily imply that any particular traditional interpretation of the Bible is without error. Instead, it gives primacy to seeking the intention of the author of each text, and commits itself to receiving the statement as fact depending on whether it can be determined or assumed that the author meant to communicate a statement of fact. Of course, knowing the intent of the original authors is impossible. Acknowledging that there are many kinds of literature in the Bible besides statements of fact, the Statement nevertheless reasserts the authenticity of the Bible ''in toto'' as the Word of God. The Chicago Statement is worried that accepting one error in the Bible leads one down a slippery slope that ends in rejecting that the Bible has any value greater than some other book. ''"The authority of Scripture is inescapably impaired if this total divine inerrancy is in any way limited or disregarded, or made relative to a view of truth contrary to the Bible's own; and such lapses bring serious loss to both the individual and the Church."'' THE CATHOLIC POSITION The position of the Roman Catholic Church on the infallibility of the Bible is contained in Dei Verbum , one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council , promulgated by Pope Paul VI on November 18, 1965. It states that "everything asserted by the inspired authors or sacred writers must be held to be asserted by the Holy Spirit" and that "they, as true authors, consigned to writing everything and only those things which He {Link without Title} wanted." (Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum , n. 11). ''Dei Verbum'' reaffirms a well-known and often-quoted statement by Pope Leo XIII, ''Providentissimus Deus'' (November 18, 1893), that "...all the books which the Church receives as sacred and canonical, are written wholly and entirely ... at the dictation of the Holy Spirit; and so far is it from being possible that any error can co-exist with inspiration, that inspiration not only is essentially incompatible with error, but excludes and rejects it as absolutely and necessarily as it is Impossible That God Himself, The Supreme Truth, Can Utter That Which Is Not True . This is the ancient and unchanging faith of the Church, solemnly defined in the Councils of Florence and of Trent, and finally confirmed and more expressly formulated by the Council of the Vatican." (''Providentissimus Deus'', n. 20). Nevertheless, the Church does not adopt a literalist approach to inerrancy, but holds that, although every biblical passage is true and inerrant when correctly interpreted, the authority to decide correct interpretation rests with the Church through its Magisterium . WESLEYAN VIEW OF SCRIPTURE The Wesley Christian tradition accepts that the Bible is authoritative on matters concerning salvation. But it does not advocate that the Bible is inerrant, nor does it contend that the Bible is authoritative on all matters. What is of central importance for the Wesleyan Christian tradition is the Bible as a tool that God uses to promote salvation. The Bible does not itself effect salvation; God initiates salvation and proper creaturely responses consumate salvation. One may be in danger of bibliolatry (worship of the Bible) if one claims that the Bible secures salvation. With this focus on salvation, Wesleyans need not make claims about inerrancy in the original autographs, subsequent translations, or particular interpretations. And yet Wesleyans affirm the Bible to be principally authoritative for faith and practice, and the Bible is often a principle means for God to promote salvation in the world. SEE ALSO
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