Oriental Orthodoxy and Biblical Infallibility

[Severian]

So I know that we OO believe the Bible is infallible on matters of faith, practice, and salvation. But is it also infallible/inerrant on matters of science, history, and geography? It has been said before that some Fathers said that God purposely placed contradictions in the Biblical text so that the believer can search for the greater spiritual meaning behind it. Is this the view accepted by the entire Church?

As much as possible, I would like primary references from either modern OO Theologians or ancient Patristics.

Thanks

[sheenj]

So I know that we OO believe the Bible is infallible on matters of faith, practice, and salvation. But is it also infallible/inerrant on matters of science, history, and geography? It has been said before that some Fathers said that God purposely placed contradictions in the Biblical text so that the believer can search for the greater spiritual meaning behind it. Is this the view accepted by the entire Church?

As much as possible, I would like primary references from either modern OO Theologians or ancient Patristics.

Thanks

I'm still not convinced the very concept of infallibility is Orthodox...

[Severian]

So I know that we OO believe the Bible is infallible on matters of faith, practice, and salvation. But is it also infallible/inerrant on matters of science, history, and geography? It has been said before that some Fathers said that God purposely placed contradictions in the Biblical text so that the believer can search for the greater spiritual meaning behind it. Is this the view accepted by the entire Church?

As much as possible, I would like primary references from either modern OO Theologians or ancient Patristics.

Thanks

[dzheremi]

I'm just some guy, but I've never heard that. Maybe a better question to ask is does it matter if it is infallible in matters outside of faith, practice, and salvation? I mean, even those things which point to it being right in matters of geography or anthropology (such as the decipherment of the Hitite language) are not really matters of faith, but advancements in those particular fields which help us understand a bit more of the societal context of the Bible. I don't know about you, but I believe in the witness of the Gospels and the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning Jesus Christ our Lord because He did indeed fulfill the same, and did indeed come and save us, not because Paran is where they said it was, or some archaeologists found some Edomite coins or something. If none of that had happened, it wouldn't change what has.

[NicholasMyra]

I'm still not convinced the very concept of infallibility is Orthodox...

Ditto

[Father Peter]

Nor me

[Warda]

Hello,

I'm new to this forum. I have been checking out the threads from time to time for the past few weeks, but this one caught my attention. Could someone please clarify what is meant by "I'm not sure the concept of infallibility is Orthodox"? What is the correct Orthodox view of the Bible?

Thanks

[Salpy]

Welcome to the forum!

[mabsoota]

welcome too, warda, what a cute name!
(in arabic it means 'flower')

what it means is that we don't find a fixed interpretation of something and then say
'we will always interpret verse X to mean Y for all time and in all places'.
it means there is often a deeper meaning (definitely NOT deliberately hidden),
for example in isaiah 7, there are prophecies about the exile of israel intertwined with the prophecy about Jesus;
'the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son'.
so, if someone interpreted it at different times in history, they would understand different parts of the prophecy.

as for the original question, i don't have any specific quotes, but i know that there is nothing dodgy in the Bible,
just a lot of stuff that is difficult to understand, so we need the help of the church to get it right 

[Warda]

Thank you Mabsoota,

I like your name as well.

What I understand from your post is that the Bible shouldn't be interpreted literally, at least not always. But that's not exactly what infallibility is about..

[mabsoota]

انا مبسوطه انك تحب اسمي
(it means 'happy' in arabic)
i agree with yr point, although when defining 'infallible', the definition of 'literal' is also needed.
it is late in my time zone and i'm no expert, so i'll leave it for others to comment.
(planning to go to church tomorrow so need to sleep!)
 

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