Rule of Faith

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The rule of faith (Latin: regula fidei) or analogy of faith (analogia fidei), a phrase found in Romans 12:6 (Greek: αναλογίαν της πίστεως), is the name given to the ultimate authority or standard in religious belief, such as the Bible alone, as among Protestants; the Bible and tradition,^[1] as among Catholics; reason alone, as among rationalists; the inner light of the spirit, as among mystics. In Christian theology, it is a principle which evaluates religious life and theological opinions by testing them for consistency against what has been firmly believed.^[2] The original rule of faith in the Early Christian Church as Irenaeus knew it, included the following:

… this faith: in one God, the Father Almighty, who made the heaven and the earth and the seas and all the things that are in them; and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who was made flesh for our salvation; and in the Holy Spirit, who made known through the prophets the plan of salvation, and the coming, and the birth from a virgin, and the passion, and the resurrection from the dead, and the bodily ascension into heaven of the beloved Christ Jesus, our Lord, and his future appearing from heaven in the glory of the Father to sum up all things and to raise anew all flesh of the whole human race … :

In the Roman Catholic Church, the Bible and Sacred Tradition (that is, things believed to have been taught by Jesus and the apostles that were not recorded in the Bible but were transmitted through the church) are considered a rule for all believers for judging faith and practice.^[3][4]

In conservative Protestantism, the Bible alone is considered the word of God and the only infallible standard for judging faith and practice.^[5] Hence, for conservative Protestantism, the analogy of faith is equivalent to the analogy of scripture – that is, opinions are tested for their consistency with scripture, and scripture is interpreted by the Holy Spirit speaking in scripture (compare sola scriptura).

The analogy of faith, which was advanced by St. Augustine, is sometimes contrasted with the analogy of being (Latin: analogia entis), which, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, allows one to know God through analogy with his creation.^[6]

[edit] Notes

1. ^ The Rule of Faith. Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
2. ^ "Regula Fidei" The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. IX: Petri - Reuchlin
3. ^ "Roman Catholic Doctrine Concerning the Rule of Faith", chapter 5 of the introduction to Charles Hodge's Systematic Theology
4. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church Sec.1, Chapter 2, Art. 3 SACRED SCRIPTURE, III. THE HOLY SPIRIT, INTERPRETER OF SCRIPTURE, esp. 114.3
5. ^ "The Protestant Rule of Faith", chapter 6 of the introduction to Charles Hodge's Systematic Theology
6. ^ Introduction to Nature and Grace: Selections from the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas, Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1954, p. 28.

[edit] References

1. ^ The Rule of Faith. Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
2. ^ "Regula Fidei" The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. IX: Petri - Reuchlin
3. ^ "Roman Catholic Doctrine Concerning the Rule of Faith", chapter 5 of the introduction to Charles Hodge's Systematic Theology
4. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church Sec.1, Chapter 2, Art. 3 SACRED SCRIPTURE, III. THE HOLY SPIRIT, INTERPRETER OF SCRIPTURE, esp. 114.3
5. ^ "The Protestant Rule of Faith", chapter 6 of the introduction to Charles Hodge's Systematic Theology
6. ^ Introduction to Nature and Grace: Selections from the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas, Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1954, p. 28.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia.