Christianity: Details about 'Infallibility Of The Church'
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The Infallibility of the Church is the belief that the Holy Spirit will not allow the Church to err in its belief or teaching under certain circumstances. This belief is held in a variety of forms by different Christian groups, including the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox churches. This idea can be distinguished from the idea of reliable sources, such as the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy (accepted by many different Christian groups) and the doctrine of the reliability of sacred Tradition (accepted by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches and some Anglo-Catholics), because these doctrines usually mean that certain sources were inspired by God, whereas infallibility refers to an assurance about how these sources are to be interpreted.
Different views on infallibilityThe following channels of infallibility are accepted by some Christian groups: Infallibility of all believersThe doctrine of the infallibility of all believers states that those issues of faith or morals accepted by all Christians (or all members of a specific church) are infallible. This doctrine refers to beliefs held in common by all; it does not say that each individual is infallible. This doctrine is held by the Roman Catholic Church. It is held by some or all Eastern Orthodox theologians. It has also been professed by some Protestant theologians, and was commonly taught by the reformers as an alternative infallibility to the more traditional Catholic forms (below), although it is not generally any longer regarded as part of the Protestant faiths. Today, Protestants almost never use the term "infallibility". Some Pentecostals and Charismatics (in various denominations) believe that each Christian possesses this ability to infallibly discern the answers to certain religious questions. This is not the same as the doctrine of the infallibility of all individuals; rather, this is related to the belief that the Holy Spirit will enable each Christian to discern the truth. Infallibility of the ordinary and universal magisteriumThe doctrine of the infallibility of the ordinary and universal magisterium was clearly described by the Second Vatican Council:
This doctrine has been part of Roman Catholic theology for many centuries. However, the exact details of how to determine which teachings qualify have never been officially spelled out by the magisterium, although the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium makes it clear that this form of infallibility extends to faith and morals, just as the other forms of infallibility do. As the authority here claimed is associated with the doctrine of apostolic succession and necessarily compels one to draw on scripture and tradition, it is also not entirely foreign to the Orthodox Churches. However, the Orthodox Church believes that the bishops are responsible for preserving the faith, the dogmatic truths and traditions. This does not equate however to them being ontologically infallible but that in consensus, in combined agreement, they are charged with the Universal faith. Thus the Orthodox churches, even though they may not use the same terminology, would generally accept the Roman Catholic views of the infallibility of bishops in an ecumenical council but not of the ordinary and universal magisterium. The Anglican Church at its origins claimed this type of authority over the people of England, but the idea is no longer popular within the Church, owing in particular to a lack of commonly accepted traditions and to disputes as to the doctrine of apostolic succession. It is still, however, accepted in some Anglo-catholic circles in a modified form. It is not otherwise found in the Protestant traditions. Infallibility of the Consensus PatrumConsensus Patrum is a Latin phrase used by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches to refer to the consensus of the Fathers of the Church. Many Christian churches see this as a source of revelation and wisdom, as Sacred Scripture is a source of revelation and wisdom. The Orthodox Churches view the consensus of the Church Fathers in a way that has many similarities to the Catholic doctrine of infallibility. Infallibility of ecumenical councilsThe doctrine of the infallibility of ecumenical councils states that definitive decrees of ecumenical councils, approved by the Pope, which concern faith or morals, and to which the whole Church must adhere are infallible. Such decrees are often labeled as 'Canons' and they often have an attached anathema, a penalty of excommunication, against those who refuse to believe the teaching. But neither of these things is an essential requirement. Vatican II chose not to issue any Canons or anathemas. The Roman Catholic Church holds this doctrine, as do most or all Eastern Orthodox theologians. However, the Orthodox churches accept only the first seven general councils as genuinely ecumenical, while Catholics accept twenty-one. Some Protestants believe in the infallibility of ecumenical councils, but they usually restrict this infallibility to the Christological statements of the first seven councils. While the Russian Orthodox Church does recognize the first seven ecumenical councils as valid, some Russian Orthodox theologians believe that the infallibility of these councils' statements derived from their acceptance by the faithful (and thus from the infallibility of all believers), and not from the acts of the councils themselves. This differs from the Greek Orthodox view, which accepts that an ecumenical council is itself infallible when pronouncing on a specific matter. Papal infallibility
The doctrine of papal infallibility states that when the Pope teaches 'ex cathedra' his teachings are infallible and irreformable. Such infallible papal decrees must be made by the Pope, in his role as leader of the whole Church, and they must be definitive decisions on matters of faith and morals which are binding on the whole Church. An infallible decree by a pope is often referred to as an ex cathedra statement. This doctrine is held by the Roman Catholic Church. It was definitively defined at the First Vatican Council in 1870, although belief in this doctrine pre-dated this council. The rejection of this doctrine is a common definitional element of Protestantism. In the Orthodox Churches, the doctrine is also not generally accepted, although the doctrine is not necessarily inconsistent with the beliefs of those Churches and consequently some Orthodox theologians have professed it. Some adherents and theologians who consider themselves Catholic but are not in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church have disputed or denied papal infallibity. CriticismThere are strong views against infallibility concerning any truth. The critical rationalist and German philosopher Hans Albert demonstrated that a proposition or a belief can be absolutely true, but from a purely logical point of view it is not possible to know that a belief or a proposition is true. Therefore and in this meaning fallibilism is ubiquitous and inevitable even in the fields of mathematics and logic. His demonstration of the impossibility to justify any alleged truth is easy to understand and well known as the Munchhausen-Trilemma. Consequences for ecumenismChristian churches are divided by their different views on infallibility. The ecumenical movement, which hopes to reunify all of Christianity, has found that this is one of the most divisive of issues between churches. This term unfortunately has often been misunderstood by most Christian denominations. Infallibility cannot be understood properly unless a sound comprehension of the administration and theology of each Christian group has firstly been understood. Footnotes
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