Editing Impeccability

{{Short description|Absence of sin}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=July 2023}}
{{Attributes of God}}
'''Impeccability''' is an inability to [[sin]], while '''sinlessness''' refers to an absence of actual sin. [[Christianity|Christian doctrine]] teaches impeccability to be an [[Attributes of God in Christianity|attribute of God]] (logically God cannot sin: it would mean that God would act against God's own will and nature) and therefore it is also attributed to [[Christ]]. The [[Letter to the Hebrews]] asserts that Christ "did not sin".<ref name=heb>{{bibleverse|Hebrews|4:15|NIV}}: [[New International Version]]</ref>

==Biblical and apocryphal writings==
In the [[New Testament]], the Letter to the Hebrews asserts that Jesus Christ "did not sin".<ref name=heb />

The writer of the [[apocrypha]]l [[Prayer of Manasseh]] states that [[Abraham]], [[Isaac]] and [[Jacob]] did not sin against God.<ref>[[New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition]], [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Prayer%20of%20Manasseh%201&version=NRSVUE Prayer of Manasseh, verse 8], accessed on 27 May 2025</ref>

==Roman Catholic teachings ==
=== The Virgin Mary ===
The Roman [[Catholic Church]] teaches that [[Mary, mother of Jesus]] was, by a special [[divine grace|grace]] of God, without sin throughout her life. This included the [[Immaculate Conception|moment of her conception]], so Mary was even miraculously preserved from [[original sin]] and its effects. Some theologians have asserted this special grace extended to impeccability (understood in this context as the inability to sin); others argue this could not be so: as a natural human being, she would have had [[Free will in theology|free will]] and therefore the ''ability'' to sin but through her cooperation avoided it.  

=== Papacy ===
Impeccability is sometimes confused with [[infallibility]], especially in discussions of [[papal infallibility]]. Impeccability is an attribute ''not'' claimed by the [[pope]], and few would deny that there have been bad popes: [[Saint Peter]] himself denied Jesus three times. On the other hand, [[Pope Gregory VII]], intellectual progenitor of the [[Ultramontanes]] and nemesis of the lay faction in the [[investiture controversy]], voiced an assertion of papal prerogative beyond even the strongest of modern apologists:

{{quote|
The pope can be judged by no one; the Roman church has never erred and never will err till the end of time; the Roman church was founded by Christ alone; the pope alone can depose and restore bishops; he alone can make new laws, set up new bishoprics and divide old ones. ... He alone can call general councils and authorize canon laws; his legates ... have precedence over all bishops. ... A duly ordained pope is undoubtedly made a [[saint]] by the merits of St. Peter.<ref>Robert McClory (1997). ''Power and the Papacy''. Triumph. {{ISBN|0-7648-0141-4}}. p. 19.</ref>}}
<!-- Future editors please note the context behind Gregory VII, probably the single most extreme proponent of papal power per se still in good historical graces; also consider pointing out that in the context of the time the assertion of sainthood was such that it declared a belief that legitimate ordination as Pope essentially punched anyone's celestial ticket right away, a sort of bald claim of direct divine agency corresponding to the traditional view of Chinese emperors. -->
Nevertheless, in Catholic thought, the exemption of the [[Holy See|See of Rome]] from all error extends only to its definitive teachings on faith and morals, not to its historical judgments. Similarly, papal sainthood does not suggest that popes are free from sin. Quite the contrary, popes frequent the sacrament of Reconciliation (confession and penance) for the forgiveness of their sins, as all Catholics are required to do. While occupying the papal office, [[Pope Benedict XVI]] confessed his sins weekly.<ref>David Willey (10 March 2008). [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7287071.stm "Fewer confessions and new sins"]. ''BBC News''. Accessed 11 May 2025.</ref>

=== Afterlife ===
[[Early Christianity|Early Christians]] questioned whether the victorious saints in heaven could sin. [[Church Fathers|Church Father]] and theologian [[Origen|Origen of Alexandria]] maintained that they could; official Roman [[Catholic theology|Catholic doctrine]] holds that they cannot. Although Catholics believe in the gift of [[free will]], saints in heaven already see God face to face and are incapable of sinning (see [[Pope Benedict XII]] and [[beatific vision]]), i.e., they will necessarily remain in God. The ''[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]'' states (emphasis added):

{{quote|1045 For man, this consummation will be the final realization of the unity of the human race, which God willed from creation and of which the pilgrim Church has been "in the nature of sacrament." Those who are united with Christ will form the community of the redeemed, 'the holy city' of God, "the Bride, the wife of the Lamb". She will ''not be wounded any longer by sin'', stains, self-love, that destroy or wound the earthly community. The beatific vision, in which God opens himself in an inexhaustible way to the elect, will be the ever-flowing well-spring of happiness, peace, and mutual communion.

1060 At the end of time, the [[Kingdom of God]] will come in its fullness. Then the just will reign with Christ ''forever'', glorified in body and soul, and the material universe itself will be transformed. God will then be "all in all" (⇒ 1 Cor 15:28), in eternal life.}}

[[Thomas Aquinas]] taught that souls in [[Purgatory]] cannot sin (''[[Summa Theologica]]'', Second Part of the Second Part, Question 83, Article 11, Reply to Objection 3), let alone the saints in heaven. This is the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, although there are different opinions on the reasons for the impossibility to sin.

==Protestant teaching==
Evangelical writer [[Donald Macleod (theologian)|Donald Macleod]] suggests that the sinless nature of Jesus Christ involves two elements. "First, Christ was free of actual sin."<ref name="macleod220">[[Donald Macleod (theologian)|Donald Macleod]], ''The Person of Christ'' ([[InterVarsity Press]], 1998), 220.</ref> Studying the gospels there is no reference to Jesus praying for the forgiveness of sin, nor confessing sin. The assertion is that Jesus did not commit sin, nor could he be proven guilty of sin; he had no vices. In fact, he is quoted as asking, "Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?" in [[John 8]]:46. Secondly, he was free from inherent sin ("original sin" or "[[ancestral sin]]").<ref name="macleod220" />

Protestant Christian theology holds that Jesus died for sins, even those of his mother.{{clarify|date=August 2021}}

==Pelagianism==
According to [[Pelagianism]], sin arises from free choice rather than being an inevitable consequence of man's fallen nature. Therefore, it is theoretically possible, although unusual, for anyone to live a sinless life.{{sfn|Puchniak|2008|p=123}}{{sfn|Visotzky|2009|p=48}}

==See also==
*[[Christian perfection]]
*[[Gnomic will]]
*[[Infallibility of the Church]]
*[[Monothelitism]]
*[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]
*[[Summa Theologica]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Works cited===
* {{cite book |last1=Puchniak |first1=Robert |editor1-last=Stewart |editor1-first=Jon Bartley |editor1-link=Jon Stewart (philosopher) |title=Kierkegaard and the Patristic and Medieval Traditions |date=2008 |publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing]] |location=Farnham |isbn=978-0-7546-6391-1 |language=en |chapter=Pelagius: Kierkegaard's use of Pelagius and Pelagianism}}
* {{cite book |last1=Visotzky |first1=Burton L. |editor1-last=Grypeou |editor1-first=Emmanouela |editor2-last=Spurling |editor2-first=Helen |title=The Exegetical Encounter Between Jews and Christians in Late Antiquity |date=2009 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=978-90-04-17727-7 |pages=43–62 |language=en |chapter=Will and Grace: Aspects of Judaising in Pelagianism in Light of Rabbinic and Patristic Exegesis of Genesis |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eRX2ft6Q2D4C&pg=PA43 }}

==External links==
*[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM Catechism of the Catholic Church] from the official website of the Vatican
*[http://www.newadvent.org/summa/ Summa Theologica] from NewAdvent website

[[Category:Christian hamartiology]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Marian dogmas]]
[[Category:Attributes of God in Christian theology]]
[[Category:Nature of Jesus Christ]]