The Baha'i Studies Listserv
Gilberto Simpson wrote:
>>Sorry for nit-picking but isn't the second category non-plenary
inerrancy? In other others, the "verbal" part is a little bit redundant
since we are talking about a scripture which consists of words. The
distinction is whether you want to say that text is completely inerrant
in everything it expresses (plenary inspiration) or is it only inerrant
in some aspects but not necessarily in others (non-plenary).<<
Hi, Gilberto:
The doctrine is called nonverbal plenary inerrancy because it does not
assume that the words (verbal) are plenarily (entirely) inerrant. In
other words, the emphasis in this doctrine is on the ideas or concepts,
not on the words.
>>Although if you are talking about the Bahai faith I suppose the
adjective "verbal" becomes more important since I've heard some suggest
that the "infallibility" or ismat of the UHJ was not so much a matter of
all their verbal statements being true but more a matter of them being
sinless / correct /appropriate /guided in their actions.<<
Yes, IMO, any "inerrancy" is axiological (ethical), not propositional.
(Both verbal and nonverbal plenary inerrancy presume propositional
inerrancy.)
--
Mark A. Foster, Ph.D. * 25 domains: www.markfoster.net SED: www.neurelitism.com
"... the modern challenge is how to live with uncertainty. The basic fault lines
today are not between people with different beliefs but between people who hold
these beliefs with an element of uncertainty and people who hold these beliefs
with a pretense of certitude." — Peter L. Berger, sociologist
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