Infallible

Infallibility is the inability to be wrong. Its importance and meaning is debated in epistemology and major religions.

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 the philosophical school.

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.

Because of the complexity in defining infallibility, some Protestant and non-denominational views confuse infallibility and impeccability, as if the Pope were immune from sin, but that is not the Roman Catholic Church's doctrine. In Roman Catholic theology, only the actual act of teaching may properly be called "infallible". According to the First Vatican Council (1869–71) and as reaffirmed at Vatican II (1962–1965) the Pope is infallible when speaking ex cathedra on matters of faith and morals.

The notion of infallibility in Judaism as it relates to the Tannaim and Amoraim of the Talmud, as well as the Rishonim, Achronim and modern day Gedolim is one surrounded by debate.

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