Final answer:
The infallibility of the Bible was mainly challenged by scientific discoveries during the Scientific Revolution, which led to the use of historical-critical methods to study the Bible as a historical document.
Step-by-step explanation:
The challenges to the infallibility of the Bible, leading to a study of the Bible as a text of history, were scientific discoveries. This process began during the period known as the Scientific Revolution, as education spread beyond the milieu of religious, legal, and medical communities, and the old biblical concepts, such as the earth being the center of the universe, were questioned. As more empirical knowledge was gained and methodologies for studying history evolved, it became clearer that the textual integrity of sacred texts could be subject to human manipulation and might not always be direct witnesses to historical events. Moreover, the psychological understanding that people can exaggerate or distort tales over time further influenced the questioning of biblical narratives as accurate descriptions of historic events.
Through the application of historical and critical methods, scholars and thinkers began to research the historical context in which these texts were written, examining things like the political, socio-economic, and cultural environments of the time. Such analysis made it increasingly apparent that the Bible, like any other historical document, reflected its human authors and the historical moment of its composition, which was subject to selective inclusion and exclusion of content by those in power.
Conflicts arose between the religious authorities and proponents of scientific reasoning, leading to periods of persecution such as the Inquisition. Political and religious disputes often centered around whether to base governance and authority on human reason or religious texts. As the authority of religious texts like the Bible was questioned, some religious institutions like the Catholic Church responded by asserting doctrines like papal infallibility, although this occurred relatively late in the history of the Church.