Infallibility

Infallibility is a term with a variety of meanings related to knowing truth with certainty.

Definitions of 'infallible' differ widely. In common speech, 'infallibility' can refer to a person (or a group of persons), to an act of teaching by these persons, or to the information being taught. Infallibility can refer to the both 'absence of error' or to the 'inability to err'. Although these definitions are similar, they are philosophically distinct; it is theoretically possible for a person to live their entire life without erring, even though they had the ability (and potential) to do that. A person who never commits an immoral act or speaks a false sentence by choice would thus qualify for 'absence of error' without being qualified for 'inability to err'.

Infallibility is sometimes used to refer to someone's ability to 'learn' something with certainty. For example, a careful researcher might study a hundred books, each of which contains a few errors, and after carefully judging the statements in these books might deduce the complete, error-free truth. This is referred to as 'learning infallibly' or 'knowing infallibly'. However, this meaning is rarely used.

Epistemology, a branch of philosophy, 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 which philosophical school is receiving the question.

Human involvement in the revelatory process is very important because God has no choice but to communicate in human language through human agents. But if this must be so, God can at least be expected to prevent human weakness and shortcoming from marring this divine process. If our sources of knowledge are not infallible, then who is going to decide what to accept and what to reject? The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church defines infallibility as "Inability to err in teaching revealed truth". Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church theology claim that the Church is infallible, but disagree as to where infallibility exists, whether in doctrines, scripture, or church authorities.

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 Roman 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.

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