biblical authority
Divine written word
Biblical authority is the doctrine that the Bible holds supreme power to guide belief and conduct.
For those who accept it, scripture settles disputes about faith, morals, and sometimes science or history: The pastor appealed to biblical authority on the matter.
The concept is central to Protestant Christianity, where it often stands against church tradition or human reason as the final arbiter of truth.
- inerrancyTotal freedom from mistakes
- divine inspirationGuidance from the sacred
- Word of GodSacred religious text
- hermeneuticsStudy of interpretation methods
- reformationProcess of improving institutions
infallibility · sacred text · canonization · revelation · creeds · exegesis · literal interpretation · literalism · councils · church fathers · scripture · King James · chapter and verse · orthodoxy · perspicuity · doctrine · contextualism · allegory
- scriptureBible, New Testament, Old Testament, verses, passages
- Baptist beliefsreligious liberty, separation of church and state, adult baptism, local church, Lord's Supper
- Bible studiesHebrew Bible, textual analysis, redaction criticism, ancient manuscripts, Dead Sea Scrolls
- biblical literalisminerrancy, infallibility, literal reading, young earth, creationism
- creationismcreation, creator, young earth, creation science, creation story
- Protestant theologyfaith alone, grace alone, Calvinism, Lutheranism, predestination
biblical authoritypapal authority
Pope's ruling capacity
church tradition · natural law · personal revelation · lived experience
biblical authorityempirical evidence
Proof from measurable observation
secular humanism · rationalism · naturalism · materialism · skepticism
biblical authoritypapal infallibility
Pontiff's error-free teaching authority
biblical, biblically, author, authority, authorities, authoritative, authoritatively, authorize, authorized