God authored the Bible, so how can it have error?

This is my final Shy Catholic column in The B.C. Catholic. Sadly, it may be my most controversial.

A key ecumenical stumbling block for many Protestants coming into the Church is the inerrancy of the Bible. For Evangelicals in particular, the authority of Scripture is non-negotiable, just as it is with Catholics. If they are misled into believing the Catholic Church teaches that Scripture contains error it would likely prevent them from even thinking about becoming Catholic.

The magnitude of the situation was driven home to me after one of my lectures several years ago when I was challenged by a man preparing for ordination to the permanent diaconate. I had been discerning a call to the same ministry in my own diocese. He assured me at the top of his voice in a crowded room that I wouldn’t “last a minute” in the discernment process holding the view of Scripture that I did.

My view? That Sacred Scripture is inerrant and contains no error of any kind!

Despite two millennia of constant teaching from the Church that Scripture is unerring, many today cite Scripture passages they claim contradict each other or seem to contain factual errors concerning history, science or some other discipline.

For example, there are places in Scripture where Jesus seems to suggest he will return to earth before some hearing him would die. Two thousand years later, many see this as obviously false, not realizing the apocalyptic language Jesus used was a reference to his coming in judgment against the Jewish leaders of his day who had rejected him, a judgment which would reach the height of its fulfillment in the Roman siege of Jerusalem and the consequent destruction of the Jewish temple in 70 AD.

But rather than argue case by case through various disputed texts (there are many excellent books that handle such difficulties well), let’s consider what authoritative, magisterial Church teaching has to say on this matter.

The controversy around this issue stems largely from the Second Vatican Council document, Dei Verbum, which states: “the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings for the sake of salvation.”

Some today contend that the phrase “for the sake of salvation” somehow limits the inerrancy of Scripture to matters directly pertaining to salvation, allowing for errors of history, science, or other disciplines as long as they do not bear on issues of salvation.

Here’s the immediate danger in such a view: which particular passages of Scripture pertain to salvation, and which do not? Who will decide such questions? Such a proposition would quickly descend into a quagmire of personal subjectivity.

More to the point, such a view forces an interpretation onto the document that is not in the document itself. The official teaching of the Church has never allowed for error of any kind in Scripture, and in fact it teaches the exact opposite, mincing no words.

Let’s start by looking at the context of the phrase. Dei Verbum states that since all Scripture has been written “under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it has God as its author.” It then clarifies the role of the inspired human authors: “God chose men and … acting … through them, they, as true authors, consigned to writing everything and only those things which He wanted.”

Dei Verbum confirms that “everything asserted by the inspired authors … must be held to be asserted by the Holy Spirit … all Scripture is divinely inspired.”

Since it’s impossible for the Holy Spirit to assert error, and since the authors wrote only what God wanted, how could error possibly enter into their writing?

With this in mind, the stage is set for our troublesome clause, “for the sake of salvation.”

Renowned Scripture scholar Dr. Scott Hahn wades into the debate by pointing out that, grammatically, the phrase “for the sake of salvation” does not even apply to, or attempt to limit, biblical inerrancy. It is simply a phrase that explains why God put these truths in writing for us: for the sake of our salvation.

Hahn then points out the obvious conclusion: if everything asserted by the human authors is likewise asserted by the Holy Spirit, any kind of error in Scripture would necessarily mean attributing that error to God himself.

Magisterial confirmation of this interpretation comes in a post-Vatican II doctrinal commentary from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which says “the absence of error in the inspired sacred texts” belong to the divinely and formally revealed articles of the Catholic faith – without any additional qualifiers such as the “sake of salvation” clause.

More confirmation of the unfailing truth of Scripture comes when we look at the magisterial sources cited in Dei Verbum, including quotes from the First Vatican Council and earlier papal encyclicals.

The quote about Scripture being written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit with God as author comes from the First Vatican Council (1869-1870). Two decades later, in his encyclical Providentissimus Deus, Pope Leo XIII answered the question unequivocally: “It is absolutely wrong and forbidden, either to narrow inspiration to certain parts only of Holy Scripture, or to admit that the sacred writer has erred …” 

All of Scripture is written wholly “at the dictation of the Holy Ghost,” he said, and inspiration is “incompatible with error.”

It is “impossible that God Himself, the supreme Truth, can utter that which is not true,” said Leo, concluding with a strong condemnation of anyone who would maintain that error is possible in Scripture, saying they “either pervert the Catholic notion of inspiration, or make God the author of such error.”

Pope Pius XII, in his 1943 encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu reiterated that rebuke, saying Leo XIII “justly and rightly condemned” those who tried to “restrict the truth of Sacred Scripture solely to matters of faith and morals.”

Similarly, in his 1950 encyclical Humani Generus, Pope Pius XII wrote forcefully: “some go so far as to pervert the sense of the Vatican Council’s definition that God is the author of Holy Scripture, and they put forward again the opinion, already often condemned, which asserts that immunity from error extends only to those parts of the Bible that treat of God or of moral and religious matters.”

What these magisterial references show, over and over, is that without question, God is the ultimate author of the Bible and attributing error of any kind to Scripture is attributing that error directly to God. By quoting these previous encyclicals and decrees, Dei Verbum clearly affirms these magisterial statements and is not trying to introduce a contradictory teaching.

Some may contend this concern over Scriptural inerrancy is simply not a big deal. Why does it even matter whether the Bible is inerrant or not?

This is actually a question of profound importance. If God erred in giving us his word, where else did he err? What else do we hold as true that isn’t true. How can we know where truth ends and error begins? If we are not careful, we may find ourselves descending to the depths of uncertainty presented to the very first man and woman: “Did God really say … ?” (Gen 3:1)

The great St. Thomas Aquinas emphasized this concern, authoritatively stating, “It is unlawful to hold that any false assertion is contained either in the Gospel or in any canonical Scripture, or that the writers thereof have told untruths, because faith would be deprived of its certitude which is based on the authority of Holy Writ.”

St. Augustine added his own warning: the biblical authors were “completely free from error,” and “most disastrous consequences must follow upon our believing that anything false is found in the sacred books.”

So how should we properly interpret those difficult passages of Scripture? Again, the Church helps us. Dei Verbum emphasizes that “the interpreter of Sacred Scripture, in order to see clearly what God wanted to communicate to us, should carefully investigate what meaning the sacred writers really intended … attention should be given … to ‘literary forms.’ For truth is … expressed differently in texts which are variously historical, prophetic, poetic, or of other forms of discourse.” 

The document concludes by reminding us that all Scriptural interpretation must then be subject “to the judgment of the Church.”

Humanly speaking, we may not always understand everything we read in Scripture. There may be times when we have to be humbly content with Augustine’s advice: “If we are perplexed by an apparent contradiction in Scripture, it is not allowable to say, The author of this book is mistaken … either the manuscript is faulty, or the translation is wrong, or you have not understood it.”

Pope Pius XII beautifully summarized the Church’s constant teaching on Scriptural inerrancy in his 1943 encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu: “For as the substantial Word of God became like to men in all things, ‘except sin,’ so the words of God, expressed in human language, are made like to human speech in every respect, except error.” 

Amen, Amen!

It has been a great blessing to me to be able to share, explain, and defend the truths of our Catholic faith with you over the past 14 years. I hope I have encouraged and strengthened you in your faith, maybe even challenged you to go deeper. As the persecution of Christianity grows, it will be more important than ever that Christians grow together in unity. That has always been the primary intention of my column. But this unity cannot come at the price of truth. In John 17, Jesus prayed for “perfect” Christian unity so the world would know the Father sent him. This is the heart of evangelization. If we are to evangelize the world, Catholics must be able to faithfully, courageously share the fullness of the truth – the Catholic faith – with everyone, and especially our separated brothers and sisters in Christ. With the help of the Holy Spirit, I am certain that we will change the world. Jesus started with 12 plus his Mom and Dad. It is never about numbers – but apart from him, we can do nothing (Jn15:5). So seek first the kingdom. You are all in my prayers — Graham. 

Follow Graham Osborne on his Shy Catholic site, theshycatholic.com.