La Verdad en La Biblia
La Verdad en La Biblia
pertaining to salvation?
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Full Question
I read a book by a Scripture scholar who said the Bible is inerrant only in religious
matters that pertain to our salvation. He quoted Vatican II as the source of this
"limited inerrancy" doctrine.
Answer
The documents of Vatican II dont limit biblical inerrancy to religious truths necessary
for salvation or even to religious matters in general.
The Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum), states, "Therefore, since
everything asserted by the inspired authors or sacred writers must be held to be
asserted by the Holy Spirit, it follows that the books of Scripture must be
acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully, and without error that truth which God
wanted put into the sacred writings for the sake of our salvation" (11).
Proponents of "limited inerrancy" claim this last clause is restrictive: Inerrancy extends
only to things pertaining to our salvation. Whether or not this is the case (such a
reading isnt required by the Latin), the "limited inerrancy" position is still weak.
First, even granting (though not conceding) that Dei Verbum restricts inerrancy to
matters of salvation, this isnt the same as limiting it to religious or moral truths.
Historical or scientific assertions made "for the sake of our salvation" would be inerrant
too.
Second, the theological commission at the Council stated that the termsalutaris ("for
the sake of our salvation") doesnt mean that only the salvific truths of the Bible are
inspired or that the Bible as a whole isnt the Word of God. (See A. Grillmeiers "The
Divine Inspiration and Interpretation of Sacred Scripture" in H. Vorgrimler,
ed., Commentary on the Documents of Vatican II, vol. III, p. 213.)
If the whole of Scripture is inspired, and if what the biblical writer asserts the Holy
Spirit asserts, then, unless error is to be attributed to the Holy Spirit or unless the
biblical authors assert only religious truths (which isnt the case--some make historical
assertions, such as the historical existence of Jesus), inerrancy cant be limited to
religious truths.
Third, the language of Dei Verbum 11 is taken directly from previous conciliar and
papal teaching on the subject. The footnotes to this section refer to Leo
XIIIs Providentissimus Deus and Pius XIIs Divino Afflante Spiritu, documents which
reject the idea that inerrancy is limited to religious matters. It seems unlikely the
Council would be teaching a position contrary to these documents.
Although inerrancy isnt limited to religious truths which pertain to salvation but may
include non-religious assertions by the biblical authors, this doesnt mean Scripture is
an inspired textbook of science or history. Inerrancy extends to what the biblical
writers intend to teach, not necessarily to what they assume or presuppose or what
isnt integral to what they assert. In order to distinguish these things, scholars must
examine the kind of writing or literary genre the biblical writers employ.