📖 Biblical Definition
The analogy of faith (Latin analogia fidei) is the hermeneutical principle that obscure passages of Scripture should be interpreted in light of clear passages, and no interpretation should contradict the rule of faith (the central body of doctrine). The principle assumes Scripture's unity: one Author, one consistent truth, no real contradictions. Romans 12:6 (according to the proportion of faith) is sometimes cited as biblical warrant.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
(Latin: analogia fidei.) Obscure passages interpreted by clear; Scripture interprets Scripture.
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The principle is closely related to Scripture interprets Scripture (analogia scripturae) but distinct: analogia fidei stays within the body of received doctrine; analogia scripturae works passage by passage.
Reformed theology especially honors the principle. The Westminster Confession 1.9: 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 and known by other places that speak more clearly.
📖 Key Scripture
Romans 12:6 — "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith."
2 Peter 1:20 — "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation."
1 Corinthians 14:32 — "And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets."
Acts 17:11 — "Searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern Christianity often pits one verse against another (proof-texting wars); the analogy of faith subordinates obscure passages to clear ones, and no single text to the whole canon.
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Without the analogy of faith, every difficult text becomes a battleground for interpretive innovation. With it, the church reads with the cumulative wisdom of two millennia and the internal coherence of Scripture itself.
The household's practical application: when stuck on a hard passage, ask what other clearer passages teach on the same theme. Read the harder in light of the clearer. Refuse interpretations that overturn the central body of received Christian doctrine.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Latin analogia fidei.
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Latin analogia — proportion, ratio, agreement.
Latin fides — faith; here the body of received doctrine.
Usage
"When stuck on a hard passage, ask what other clearer passages teach."
"Refuse interpretations that overturn central doctrine."
"Scripture interprets Scripture."