Rule of Faith

The rule of faith (Latin: "regula fidei") or analogy of faith ("analogia fidei"), is a phrase first found in Tertullian, i.e.:

Let our "seeking," therefore be in that which is our own, and from those who are our own, and concerning that which is our own, - that, and only that, which can become an object of inquiry without impairing the rule of faith. (Tertullian, "On Prescription Against Heretics", 12: see also chapter 13: "Ante-Nicene Fathers", vol. 3, eds. Roberts and Donaldson, 1976, p. 249)

The rule of faith 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, [cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05766b.htm|title=The Rule of Faith|work=Catholic Encyclopedia |accessdate=2007-02-18] as among Catholics; reason alone, as among rationalists; the inner light of the spirit, as among mystics.

The word "rule" actually only shows up once in the Christian New Testament at Galatians 6:16 in the following passage:

May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! As for those who will follow this rule (κανόνι) — peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. (Gal 6:14-16, NRSV Anglicized Version)

As one can see, Paul is using the word in a fairly occasional sense here, hence follow this rule. As noted, some 120 years after Paul, Tertullian uses the phrase "rule of faith," and reading this in its "On Prescription Against Heretics" context will at least lead you to the meaning Tertullian was giving the phrase. Of course, the fact that he was eventually a controversial figure to the dominant Church of his day is likely the reason you do not see his name often associated with the phrase, even though he was likely the one to first use it. The same could be said of Tertullian pertaining to the idea of Trinity, because he was the first one to use that word as well.

The Church generally has preferred to look to Irenaeus to define the phrase rule of faith, although he likely never used the phrase himself. Passages in "Against Heresies" such as Book 1.1.1, or Book 3.2.2 are both excellent examples of Irenaeus both describing the Christian fundamental beliefs and also emphasizing the importance of being united to apostolic teachings versus all others.

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. [ [http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/encyc09/htm/iv.vii.cxix.htm "Regula Fidei"] The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. IX: Petri - Reuchlin] 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. [ [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/hodge/theology1.iii.v.i.html "Roman Catholic Doctrine Concerning the Rule of Faith"] , chapter 5 of the introduction to Charles Hodge's "Systematic Theology"] [ [http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p1s1c2a3.htm#III Catechism of the Catholic Church] Sec.1, Chapter 2, Art. 3 SACRED SCRIPTURE, "III. THE HOLY SPIRIT, INTERPRETER OF SCRIPTURE", esp. 114.3]

In conservative Protestantism, the Bible alone is considered the word of God and the only infallible standard for judging faith and practice. [ [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/hodge/theology1.iii.vi.html "The Protestant Rule of Faith"] , chapter 6 of the introduction to Charles Hodge's "Systematic Theology"] 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. [ [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/aquinas/nature_grace.v.html#v-p10.1 Introduction] to "Nature and Grace: Selections from the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas", Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1954, p. 28.]

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