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Infallibility refers to an inability to be wrong. It can be applied within a specific domain, or it can be used as a more general adjective. The term has significance in both epistemology and theology, and its meaning and significance in both fields is the subject of continued debate.


In philosophy

Epistemology, a branch of
philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
, is concerned with the question of what, if anything, humans can know. The answer to the issue of whether or not a human can be infallible depends on the philosophical school. *Advocates of philosophical skepticism claim that one cannot know anything with certainty, much less be infallible. * Infallibilists hold that knowledge requires absolute certainty, in the sense that if one knows that something is true, it is impossible that it could have turned out to be false. *Advocates of subjectivism claim that there is no objective reality or truth, and therefore anyone can be considered infallible, since whatever is within a person's consciousness ''is'' considered the real and the true. *Advocates of reason and
rationality Rationality is the quality of being guided by or based on reasons. In this regard, a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for what they do or a belief is rational if it is based on strong evidence. This quality can apply to an abil ...
claim that one ''can'' gain certainty of knowledge, through a process of extreme refinement measures unlikely to be perfected enough for someone to assurably say "certainty of this knowledge is absolute", yet also assume by chance that one could land on the objective without the knowledge being confidently described as "universally certain", thus as a result, advocates tend to avoid this altogether and instead rely upon
Occam's Razor Occam's razor, Ockham's razor, or Ocham's razor ( la, novacula Occami), also known as the principle of parsimony or the law of parsimony ( la, lex parsimoniae), is the problem-solving principle that "entities should not be multiplied beyond neces ...
as a suitable means for obtaining knowledge.


In theology


Christianity

''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' defines infallibility as "Inability to err in teaching revealed truth". Catholic and Eastern Orthodox theology claim that the Church is infallible, but disagree as to where infallibility exists, whether in doctrines, scripture, or church authorities. In Catholic theology, Jesus, who is the Truth, is infallible, but only a special act of teaching by the church's bishops may properly be called "infallible". According to the
First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This, the twentieth ecu ...
(1869–71) and as reaffirmed at Vatican II (1962–1965), the earthly head of the Catholic Church,
the Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
, is infallible when speaking '' ex cathedra'' on matters of faith and morals (that is, when he explicitly intends to use his papal office to teach the whole Church definitively and irreformably on matters which deal directly with faith and morals). However, papal infallibility does not extend beyond such cases, thus making it possible for a Pope to sin and to be incorrect. Papal infallibility also belongs to the body of bishops as a whole, when, in doctrinal unity with the pope, they solemnly teach a doctrine as true. In contrast, Protestant and non-denominational Christian churches believe that the Christian Church is indeed fallible, as evidenced by the requirement of Christ's sacrifice on the cross to pay for the sins of the world, including those of his Church, and that only God's word in scripture is infallible. They also completely reject the Catholic claim regarding papal infallibility, citing not just scriptural reasons, but also the many times popes have contradicted each other and the history of mistakes committed by many popes throughout Roman Catholic Church history. Because of the complexity in defining infallibility, some Protestant and non-denominational views confuse papal infallibility with impeccability, as if the Pope were immune from sin. This is not the Catholic Church's doctrine, which concedes that Popes can sin and may even contradict one another's personal theological opinions. It is evident that the Pope can sin (which every Pope explicitly states in the Confiteor, and whenever he receives the Sacrament of Penance) and a Pope may even succumb to heresy, as suggested in the condemnation by the Third Council of Constantinople (13th and 16th session) which anathematized Pope Honorius I for supporting the heresy of Monothelitism, and which
Pope John XXII Pope John XXII ( la, Ioannes PP. XXII; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Pope, elected by ...
admitted when he retracted his views on the Beatific vision.


Islam


Universal teachings

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
teaches that the teachings and guidance by the Prophets with regard to bringing the message of the One true God is infallible. Islam also teaches that the Quran is an infallible text.


Additional Shi'a teachings

In
Shi'a Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
theology, the belief is that the
Ahl al-Bayt Ahl al-Bayt ( ar, أَهْل ٱلْبَيْت, ) refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, but the term has also been extended in Sunni Islam to apply to all descendants of the Banu Hashim (Muhammad's clan) and even to all Muslims. ...
, including Muhammad, his daughter Fatima Zahra and
Shi'a Imams In Shia Islam, the Imamah ( ar, إمامة) is a doctrine which asserts that certain individuals from the lineage of the Islamic prophet Muhammad are to be accepted as leaders and guides of the ummah after the death of Muhammad. Imamah further ...
are all infallible. It is believed that they are infallible in the sense that all statements or teachings made by them can be relied on to be certainly true, that all information believed by themselves is true, and that they have complete knowledge about right and wrong and never intend to disobey God. It is also held by Shi'as that there were 124,000 Prophets, beginning with
Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
and ending with Muhammad - with all, including the last, being infallible in the same sense as the Ahl al-Bayt.


Judaism

The notion of infallibility in Judaism as it relates to the Tannaim and
Amoraim ''Amoraim'' (Aramaic language, Aramaic: plural or , singular ''Amora'' or ''Amoray''; "those who say" or "those who speak over the people", or "spokesmen") refers to Jewish scholars of the period from about 200 to 500 Common Era, CE, who "sai ...
of the Talmud, as well as the Rishonim,
Achronim In Jewish law and history, ''Acharonim'' (; he, אחרונים ''Aḥaronim''; sing. , ''Aḥaron''; lit. "last ones") are the leading rabbis and poskim (Jewish legal decisors) living from roughly the 16th century to the present, and more specifi ...
and modern day
Gedolim ''Gadol'' or ''godol'' (, plural: ''gedolim'' ) (literally "big" or "great" in Hebrew ) is used by religious Jews to refer to the most revered rabbis of the generation. Usage The term ''gadol hador'' refers to the "great/est (one of) the generati ...
is one surrounded by debate. Some who reject infallibility cite the Talmud, Pesachim 94b: The words of the Mishnah are commented on by numerous commentators, and Judah Halevi argues that evidence mounts that the Geonim and Maimonides perceived that the sages of the Talmud "erred in a matter of astronomy". Maimonides wrote that the great sages are not expected to advocate positions perfectly in-line with modern science because they were "scholars of that generation," often basing their assessments of what "they learned from the scholars of the era." In the
Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
tradition, however, infallibility is taught in the Chabad tradition in connection with a rebbe.


Vaishnavism (Hinduism)

In the
Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...
, Krishna explains to
Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...
(Bg 15.16 to 15.20):


Baháʼí Faith

The Baháʼí Faith teaches the doctrine of the Most Great Infallibility (''al-'ismah al-kubra'') which applies to the Manifestations of God who founded the world's major religions, including Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, as well as the Báb (1819–1850) and
Baháʼu'lláh Baháʼu'lláh (born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Persia, and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Bábí Faith. In 1863, in I ...
(1817–1892), the prophet-founder of the faith. Infallibility also extends to
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian language, Persian: ‎, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás ( fa, عباس), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh and served as head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 until 1921. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was later C ...
(1844–1921), the son of the faith's founder; to the Guardian of the faith Shoghi Effendi (1897–1957); and to the Universal House of Justice, the faith's nine-member supreme ruling body. In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the central religious text of the faith, Baháʼu'lláh describes himself as having "no partner in the Most Great Infallibility". He later expounds on the doctrine in the ʼIs͟hráqát, a tablet written circa 1885 to a believer from Azerbaijan. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá described infallibility as being of two kinds: the "essential infallibility" of the Manifestations of God, and the "acquired infallibility" of the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice. In the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, he describes both the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice as being "under the care and protection of the Abhá Beauty, under the shelter and unerring guidance of the Exalted One":
Whatsoever they decide is of God. Whoso obeyeth him not, neither obeyeth them, hath not obeyed God; whoso rebelleth against him and against them hath rebelled against God; whoso opposeth him hath opposed God; whoso contendeth with them hath contended with God; whoso disputeth with him hath disputed with God; whoso denieth him hath denied God; whoso disbelieveth in him hath disbelieved in God; whoso deviateth, separateth himself and turneth aside from him hath in truth deviated, separated himself and turned aside from God. May the wrath, the fierce indignation, the vengeance of God rest upon him!
Shoghi Effendi describes the limits of the Guardian's infallibility as such:
The infallibility of the Guardian is confined to matters which are related strictly to the Cause and interpretation of the teachings; he is not an infallible authority on other subjects, such as economics, science, etc. When he feels that a certain thing is essential for the protection of the Cause, even if it is something that affects a person personally, he must be obeyed, but when he gives advice, such as that he gave you in a previous letter about your future, it is not binding; you are free to follow it or not as you please.


References


External links

*{{wiktionary-inline, infallibility
Benjamin Brown, 'Jewish Political Theology - The Doctrine of Da'at Torah as a Case Study'
Catholic theology and doctrine Concepts in epistemology Doubt Error