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infallibility
infallibility , in Christian thought, exemption from the possibility of error, bestowed on the church as a teaching authority, as a gift of the Holy Spirit. It has been believed since the earliest times to be guaranteed in such scriptural passages as John 14.16,17. The analogous attribute of the Bible is usually called inerrancy. Protestants widely reject infallibility of the church. The Orthodox Eastern Church holds that only the church, taken as an integral community and spiritual body guided by the Holy Spirit, is infallible. Roman Catholics hold that the infallibility of the church is vested in the pope, when he speaks ex cathedra (i.e., from the chair of Peter, as the visible head of the church) on matters of faith and morals. Definitive pronouncements resulting from an ecumenical council, when ratified by the pope, are also held to be infallible. The pope speaks ex cathedra only rarely and after long deliberation. The dogma of papal infallibility was enunciated by the First Vatican Council (1870).
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"infallibility." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "infallibility." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-infallib.html "infallibility." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-infallib.html |
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Infallibility
Infallibility. Inability to err, predicated by Roman Catholics of the Church or of some teaching office within it, e.g. the papacy or an ecumenical council, when expounding the Christian revelation. The term is a negative one, signifying preservation from error rather than inspiration, and it is predicated properly of people or institutions rather than of the statements they make.
In Islam, infallibility (Arab., ʿiṣmah) is predicated by all Muslims of the Prophet Muḥammad when mediating God's revelation (i.e. the Qurʾān), though otherwise he is an ordinary human, subject to error, etc.; by Sunni Muslims of the consensus of the community (ijmaʿ), and by Shiʿa Muslims of the Imāms. |
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JOHN BOWKER. "Infallibility." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Infallibility." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Infallibility.html JOHN BOWKER. "Infallibility." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Infallibility.html |
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infallibility
infallibility. Inability to err in teaching revealed truth. While many Christians maintain that the Church is infallible, on the basis of such texts as Jn. 16: 13, various beliefs have been held as to the seat where such infallibility rests. At the First Vatican Council (1870) the RC Church declared that the Pope was infallible when he defined that a doctrine concerning faith or morals was part of the deposit of Divine revelation handed down from apostolic tradition.
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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "infallibility." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "infallibility." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-infallibility.html E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "infallibility." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-infallibility.html |
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infallibility
infallibility in the Roman Catholic Church, the doctrine (also called papal infallibility) that in specified circumstances the Pope is incapable of error in pronouncing dogma; the assertion that infallibility attached to his definitions in matters of faith and morals was made by the Vatican Council of 1870.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "infallibility." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "infallibility." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-infallibility.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "infallibility." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-infallibility.html |
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