Theological Term of the Week: Analogy of Faith

analogy of faith
A principle of Biblical interpretation that presumes that God is the ultimate source of all scripture, so we can view scripture as a unified whole, and thus no passage of Scripture can rightly be interpreted in a way that contradicts the rest of scripture, and clearer passages can be used in interpreting more obscure ones; also called analogia fidei or analogy of scripture.

• From the London Baptist Confession 1689, Chapter 1, Section 9:

The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself; and therefore when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it must be searched by other places that speak more clearly.

• From The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, III 3:

Inasmuch as all Scripture is the product of a single divine mind, interpretation must stay within the bounds of the analogy of Scripture and eschew hypotheses that would correct one Biblical passage by another, whether in the name of progressive revelation or of the imperfect enlightenment of the inspired writer’s mind.

Learn more:

1. Monergism.com: What does the term “analogy of faith” mean?
2. Theopedia: Analogy of Faith
3. Christian Research Institute: The Analogy of Faith: Does Scripture Interpret Scripture?

Related terms:

• inerrancy of scripture
• inspiration of scripture
• norma normans non normata
• perspicuity of scripture

Filed under Scripture

---

Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured as a Theological Term of the Week? Email your suggestion using the contact button in the navigation bar above. 

Clicking on the Theological Terms button above the header will take you to an alphabetical list of all the theological terms.