Editing Dei verbum (section)

==Biblical infallibility and inerrancy==
{{see also|Catholic theology of Scripture}}
The [[Catechism of the Catholic Church|Catechism]] states that "the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures."<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p1s1c2a3.htm Catechism of the Catholic Church – Sacred Scripture]</ref>

Nevertheless, the Catechism clearly states that "the Christian faith is not a 'religion of the book.' Christianity is the religion of the 'Word' of God, a word which is 'not a written and mute word, but the Word is incarnate and living'. If the Scriptures are not to remain a dead letter, Christ, the eternal Word of the living God, must, through the Holy Spirit, 'open [our] minds to understand the Scriptures.'"<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p1s1c2a3.htm Catechism of the Catholic Church – Sacred Scripture]</ref>

The Catechism goes on to state that "In Sacred Scripture, God speaks to man in a human way. To interpret Scripture correctly, the reader must be attentive to what the human authors truly wanted to affirm, and to what God wanted to reveal to us by their words."<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p1s1c2a3.htm Catechism of the Catholic Church – Sacred Scripture]</ref>

"But since Sacred Scripture is inspired, there is another and no less important principle of correct interpretation, without which Scripture would remain a dead letter. 'Sacred Scripture must be read and interpreted in the light of the same Spirit by whom it was written.'"
<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p1s1c2a3.htm Catechism of the Catholic Church – Sacred Scripture]</ref>

There was a controversy during the Council on whether the [[Roman Catholic Church]] taught [[biblical infallibility]] or [[biblical inerrancy]].<ref>[http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=8441 The Inerrancy of Scripture and the Second Vatican Council]</ref> Some have interpreted ''Dei verbum'' as teaching the infallibility position, while others note that the conciliar document often quotes previous documents such as ''[[Providentissimus Deus]]'' and ''[[Divino afflante Spiritu]]'' that suggest inerrancy.<ref>[http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/octoberweb-only/143-11.0.html Rome's Battle for the Bible]</ref>