INERRANCY, BIBLICAL

If God is the author of Sacred Scripture, the truth of Scripture follows as a necessary consequence. Since all the judgments of the sacred writers are fortified by the divine light, they must necessarily be clothed with divine truth.

Inerrancy of Scripture. Negatively, this quality of Scripture is known as inerrancy. The inerrancy of Scripture has been the constant teaching of the Fathers, theologians, and recent popes in their encyclicals on Biblical studies (Leo XIII, Enchiridion biblicum 124–131; Benedict XV, Enchiridion biblicum 453–461; Pius XII, Enchiridion biblicum 560). It is nonetheless obvious that many Biblical statements are simply not true when judged according to modern knowledge of science and history. The Earth is not stationary (cf. Eccl 1.4); Darius the Mede did not succeed Belsassar (cf. Dn 5.30–6.1). Even in religious matters, the Old Testament testifies to an imperfect knowledge of morality and life after death (cf. Dt 24.1; Ps 6.6). leo xiii, appealing to St. Augustine, explained that it was not the purpose of the Biblical writers to teach us the intimate nature of the physical universe, for this knowledge was in no way profitable for salvation. Consequently, they spoke of the physical universe as it appeared to their senses, according to the custom of their day (Enchiridion biblicum 120–121). The pope asserted also that similar principles might be applied to matters of history (Enchiridion biblicum l123).

Following the directive of Leo XIII, some exegetes hastily sought to resolve particular difficulties by proposing theories that postulated implicit citations not approved by the author, history according to appearances, and a relative character for Biblical truth. These solutions failed to go to the root of the problem of Biblical inerrancy and hence occasioned new interventions of the magisterium. The truths of history are more intimately associated with our salvation than are the truths of science. The historical truth of Israel's history and of the life of Christ are an integral part of God's supernatural revelation. There is no doubt that the sacred writers have used sources without citing them, but it must be presumed that they have made this material their own, unless the contrary is quite clearly demonstrated (decree of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, Feb. 13, 1905; Enchiridion biblicum 160; on the force of such decrees. (See pontifi cal biblical commission).

Similarly, all narrative is not necessarily historical, but if a historical event is an integral part of the author's argument, it must correspond in substance to the facts; nonetheless, it may be presented according to those forms in which ancient peoples remembered their past (decree of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, June 23, 1905; Enchiridion biblicum 161; Benedict XV, Spiritus Paraclitus Enchiridion biblicum 456; Pius XII, Divino afflante Spiritu, Enchiridion biblicum 559). Moreover, profane matters are certainly treated in the Bible in the light of their religious significance, but positive affirmations in their regard cannot be excluded from the privilege of Biblical inerrancy. Nor is Biblical truth simply relative to its time and culture; its expression is conditioned by the culture of the time, but whatever is affirmed is thereby clothed with the truth of God (see spiritus paraclitus Enchiridion biblicum 454–455).

The total truth of the Scriptures can be appreciated only by trying to recapture the mind of the Biblical writers and to see the relationship of each part of Scripture to the whole. We must know the intention of the sacred author and the literary form that he is using if we are to determine what he intended to teach and what role he assigned to the various elements in his writing. This basic principle of all literary criticism is valid also for Sacred Scripture, once we recognize that God in His condescension deigned to entrust His revelation to the frail vessel of human language. When pius xii encouraged Catholic scholars to investigate Biblical literary genres or forms, he assured us that no ancient mode of expression need be excluded from the Scriptures, provided it does not contradict the holiness and truth of God (Enchiridion biblicum 559). These literary forms may be determined only by a careful and comparative study of ancient Near Eastern literature.

The investigation of literary forms has already provided a solution for many difficulties of the past, e.g., those connected with the primeval age in the bible and with the books of judith and jonah, but such studies alone will not remove all obscurities from the message of Scripture. For besides being far removed from us in time and culture, the sacred writers are trying to express in human language the fruit of their own personal encounter with God and the mystery of His saving plan, or to record what others have taught them of this ineffable mystery. Their affirmations are true insofar as they affirm; but they may also hesitate, grope, doubt, opine, or suspend judgment entirely (decree of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, June 18, 1915; Enchiridion biblicum 415). They may reflect the common opinions of their day without making them the object of their teaching. The exegete must, as a consequence, be sensitive to these varying degrees of human assertion and to the common psychology of human communication, if he is to evaluate correctly the teaching purpose of the sacred writers and to avoid taxing them with error in matters that are not the object of their teaching. (See form criticism, biblical; midrash).

Role of Scripture in the Church. Inerrancy, however, is not the only consequence of Biblical inspiration. Preoccupation with the so-called "Biblical question" has led to the neglect of other aspects of the Bible's role in the life of the Church. Theologians are now beginning to look more closely at these other effects of Biblical inspiration. In the first place, the Bible provides the Church with a written record of God's self-manifestation to men, which is itself a history of divine pedagogy. God did not reveal Himself completely in the beginning; He adapted His revelation to the cultural and religious condition of the men He visited; He tolerated their moral imperfections until such a time as He was able to educate their consciences; He led men by historical and moral experience to realize their need of His saving grace, which was fully revealed in Jesus Christ. The Apostles in turn used this record of Old Testment revelation to explain the full significance of the mystery of Christ. The knowledge of this divine pedagogy is itself a revelation of the mercy and gentleness of God from which the Church may profit.

Secondly, the Bible contains so manifold an expression of the word of God that all Christians may find in its pages spiritual nourishment adapted to their needs. In the Bible the chosen mediators of God's revelation teach us little by little what they have learned of the mystery of God. The written word of God thus mediates to us the personal experience of the Prophets and Apostles. Through them we may come in contact with God Himself. A privileged place of this mediation is the Church's liturgy of the word.

Finally, the Church is committed to continuing the work of Christ in the world. She must, therefore, preserve, explain, and safeguard the faith of the Apostles, for they were the privileged witnesses of the mystery of Christ. In the New Testament the Church finds the written record of Apostolic faith to which she always refers in fulfilling her divine mission. These other finalities of Sacred Scripture are the object of modern Biblical study. The Scriptures are not simply a code of dogmatic truths, but an integral part of God's self-communication to men. This self-communication was complete in the living person of Jesus Christ; it will be complete for the individual only in the beatific vision.

Bibliography: j. t. forestell, "The Limitation of Inerrancy," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 20 (1958) 9–18.

[j. t. forestell]