View source for Religion:Biblical inspiration

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{{Short description|Doctrine in Christian theology}}
[[File:The Evangelist Matthew Inspired by an Angel.jpg|thumb|Rembrandt's ''The Evangelist Matthew Inspired by an Angel'' (1661)]]

'''Biblical inspiration''' is the doctrine in [[Religion:Christian theology|Christian theology]] that the human writers and [[Religion:Biblical canon#Christian canons|canonizers]] of the [[Religion:Bible|Bible]] were [[Religion:Divine inspiration|led by God]] with the result that their writings may be designated in some sense the word of [[Religion:God in Christianity|God]].<ref name="MetzgerCoogan2001">{{cite book|author1=Bruce Manning Metzger|author2=Michael David Coogan|title=The Oxford Guide to Ideas & Issues of the Bible|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aml3tEWoOVEC&pg=PA216|date=20 December 2001|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|isbn=978-0-19-514917-3|pages=216–}}</ref> This belief is traditionally associated with concepts of the [[Religion:Biblical infallibility|biblical infallibility]] and the [[Religion:Internal consistency of the Bible|internal consistency of the Bible]].<ref>Gerhard Maier: ''Biblische Hermeneutik'' (= ''TVG Monographien und Studienbücher.'' Band 355). 7. Auflage. R. Brockhaus, Wuppertal 2011, ISBN 978-3-417-29355-5, S. 94.</ref>

== ''Theopneustos'' ==
At 2 Tim 3:16 (NRSV), it is written: "All scripture is inspired by God [''theopneustos''] and is useful for teaching".<ref>{{cite web |title=2 Timothy 3:16 – New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition |url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2Ti+3%3A16&version=NRSV |website=Bible Gateway |language=en}}</ref>

When [[Biography:Jerome|Jerome]] translated the Greek text of the Bible into the language of the [[Religion:Vulgate|Vulgate]], he translated the Greek ''theopneustos'' (θεόπνευστος<ref>{{Cite web |title=2 Timothy 3:16 Interlinear: every Writing is God-breathed, and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for setting aright, for instruction that is in righteousness |url=https://www.biblehub.com/interlinear/2_timothy/3-16.htm |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=www.biblehub.com}}</ref>) of 2 Timothy 3:16 as ''divinitus inspirata'' ("divinely breathed into").<ref>{{Cite web |title=Read the Bible text :: academic-bible.com |url=https://www.academic-bible.com/en/online-bibles/biblia-sacra-vulgata/read-the-bible-text/bibel/text/lesen/stelle/65/30001/39999/ch/cffbd2f698553d8a27c01e4a170dbaf8/ |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=www.academic-bible.com}}</ref>

Some modern [[Social:English language|English]] translations opt for "God-breathed" (NIV) or "breathed out by God" (ESV). The -tos ending in the Greek ''theopneustos'' also designates a passive construct whereby the subject God is breathing out the object (scripture).

Theologian C. H. Dodd suggests that it is "probably to be rendered" as: "Every inspired Scripture is also useful".<ref name="dodd p15">{{cite book | last = Dodd | first = Charles Harold | author-link = C. H. Dodd | title = The Authority of the Bible | url=https://archive.org/details/MN41598ucmf_7 | year=1929
| publisher = Harper and Brothers |series=Library of constructive theology | location= London | isbn= 0-00-625195-1 |oclc=559048103 |page=15}}</ref>

Daniel B. Wallace states that numerous scholars believe that the proper translation should be: "Every inspired scripture is also profitable". Wallace, however, criticises this translation; he proposes the translation "every scripture is inspired and profitable".<ref>
{{cite book |author=Daniel B. Wallace |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XlqoTVsk2wcC&pg=PR7 |title=Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament |publisher=Zondervan |year=1996 |isbn=0-310-21895-0 |location=Grand Rapids, Michigan |pages=313–314 |chapter=Part I: Syntax of Nouns and Nominals — Adjectives III. – The Relation of Adjective to Noun – 4. Some Exegetically and Theologically Significant Passages |quote=Many scholars feel that the translation should be: 'Every inspired scripture is also profitable.' This is probably not the best translation, however |}}
</ref>

==Evangelical viewpoint==
[[Religion:Evangelicalism|Evangelicals]] view the [[Religion:Bible|Bible]] as superintended by the [[Religion:Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]], preserving the writers' works from error without eliminating their specific concerns, situation, or style.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ryrie|first=C.C.|title=A survey of Bible doctrines|year=1972|publisher=Moody|location=Chicago IL}}</ref> This divine involvement, they say, allowed the biblical writers to communicate without corrupting [[Religion:God in Christianity|God]]'s own message both to the immediate recipients of the writings and to those who would come after. Some Evangelicals have labelled the conservative or traditional view as "verbal, plenary inspiration of the original manuscripts", by which they mean that each word (not just the overarching ideas or concepts) was meaningfully chosen under the superintendence of God.<ref>{{cite book|last=Young|first=Edward Joseph|title=Thy Word Is Truth|year=1957|publisher=Eerdmans |location=Grand Rapids MI|page=27}}</ref>

Evangelicals acknowledge the existence of textual variations between biblical accounts of apparently identical events and speeches. They see these as complementary, not contradictory, and explain them as the differing viewpoints of different writers. For instance, the Gospel of Matthew was intended to communicate the Gospel to Jews, the Gospel of Luke to Greeks, and the Gospel of Mark to Romans. Evangelical apologists such as John W. Haley in his book ''Alleged Discrepancies in the Bible''<ref>{{cite book|last= Haley|first= John W|title= Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible|year=1874|publisher= W.F. Draper|url= https://archive.org/details/examinationof00hale}}</ref> and [[Biography:Norman Geisler|Norman Geisler]] in ''When Critics Ask''<ref>{{cite book|last= Geisler|first= Norman|title= When Critics Ask|year= 1992|publisher= Victor Books|location= Wheaton IL|isbn= 0896936988|pages= 604}}</ref> have proposed answers to hundreds of claimed contradictions. Some discrepancies are accounted for by changes from the master manuscripts (which are alleged to contain very nearly the original text and) that these alterations were introduced as copies were made (maybe of copies themselves), either deliberately or accidentally.

Three basic approaches to inspiration are often described when the evangelical approach to scripture is discussed:<ref name="Lea & Griffen 1992">{{cite book | last1 = Lea| first1 = Thomas Dale | last2=Griffin | first2=Hayne Preston Jr. |title = The New American Commentary (1, 2 Timothy, Titus), VOL. 34 | year = 1992| publisher = Broadman & Holman Publishers | location = Nashville TN | isbn = 0805401342}}</ref>{{rp|239}}
* Verbal plenary inspiration: This view gives a greater role to the human writers of the Bible while maintaining a belief that God preserved the integrity of the words of the Bible. The effect of inspiration was to move the writers so as to produce the words God wanted.<ref name="Lea & Griffen 1992"/> In this view the human writers' "individual backgrounds, personal traits, and literary styles were authentically theirs, but had been providentially prepared by God for use as his instrument in producing Scripture".<ref name="EBD: Inspiration">{{cite dictionary |last=Myers |first=A.C. |dictionary=Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible |year=1987|entry=Inspiration |publisher=Eerdmans |location=Grand Rapids MI|page=27}}</ref> However, the theory nuances that "God so mysteriously superintended the process that every word written was also the exact word he wanted to be written—free from all error".<ref>{{Cite book|title=40 questions about interpreting the Bible|last=Plummer, Robert L. |date=2010|publisher=Kregel Publications|isbn=978-0-8254-3498-3|location=Grand Rapids MI|pages=32|oclc=435422984}}</ref>
* Verbal dictation theory: The dictation theory claims that God dictated the books of the Bible word by word, suggesting the writers were no more than tools used to communicate God's precisely intended message.<ref name="Lea & Griffen 1992"/> 
* Dynamic inspiration: The thoughts contained in the Bible are inspired, but the words used were left to the individual writers.<ref name="Lea & Griffen 1992"/> This suggests the underlying message of the Scriptures are inspired, while the exact wording is ''dynamic''.
* Partial inspiration: the Bible is infallible in matters of faith and practice/morals, yet it could have errors in history or science (e.g. the [[Astronomy:Big Bang|Big Bang]] could be true, and the Genesis creation account is more allegorical than historical).<ref name = Huffman/>
* Intuition theory: The authors of the Scriptures were merely wise men, so the Bible is inspired by human insight.<ref name=Huffman>{{Cite web|url=http://www.baptistbiblehour.org/resources/article/the-inspiration-of-scripture/|title=The Inspiration of Scripture|last=Huffman|first=Justin|date=July 18, 2017|website=Baptist Bible Hour|access-date=December 18, 2017|archive-date=September 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925131956/http://www.baptistbiblehour.org/resources/article/the-inspiration-of-scripture/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Theories seeing only parts of the Bible as inspired ("partial inspiration")<ref>
For example:
{{cite book
| year = 1984
| chapter = Verbal Inspiration
| editor1-last = Elwell
| editor1-first = Walter A.
| title = Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yu846j61u0wC
| series = Baker Reference Library
| edition = 2
| location = Grand Rapids MI
| publisher = Baker Academic
| publication-date = 2001
| page = 1242
| isbn = 9780801020759
| access-date = 2017-08-29
| quote = The spirit of the Renaissance, developments in philology and textual criticism, the emergence of ideas of the partial inspiration of the Bible in some quarters, and the initial expression of philosophical views that would find their culmination in the Enlightenment - all helped to stimulate theological reflection. And the refinement of plenary and then verbal inspiration were among the consequences.
}}
</ref> meet with insistent emphasis on plenary inspiration on the part of its proponents.

=== Criticism ===
The ''New American Commentary'' by T.D. Lea and H.P. Griffen says "[n]o respected Evangelicals maintain that God dictated the words of Scripture".<ref name="Lea & Griffen 1992" /> By this, Lea & Griffen were referring to the entirety of the Scriptures, i.e. every single word in the Bible. Lea & Griffen meant that they advocated verbal plenary inspiration as fact, instead of the verbal dictation theory.

The Evangelical position was criticized as being [[Begging the question|circular]] by [[Organization:Catholic Answers|Catholic Answers]]. They claimed that the Bible can only be used to prove doctrines of biblical inspiration if the doctrine is assumed to begin with.<ref name="proving" /> Some defenders of the evangelical doctrine such as B. B. Warfield and [[Biography:Charles Hodge|Charles Hodge]], however, moved away from a circular argument and "committed themselves to the legitimacy of external verification" to [[Philosophy:Inductive reasoning|inductively]] prove the doctrine, though they placed some restrictions on the evidences that could be considered.<ref>
{{cite journal |last=Coleman |first=Richard J. |date=January 1975 |title=Biblical Inerrancy: Are We Going Anywhere? |url=http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/jan1975/v31-4-article2.htm |journal=Theology Today |volume=31 |issue=4 |pages=295–303 |doi=10.1177/004057367503100404 |oclc=60620600 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020503212827/http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/jan1975/v31-4-article2.htm |archive-date=2002-05-03 |access-date=2008-07-01 |s2cid=170389190}}</ref>

==Lutheran and Reformed viewpoint==

The [[Religion:Apology of the Augsburg Confession|Apology of the Augsburg Confession]] identifies Holy Scripture with the Word of God<ref>"God's Word, or Holy Scripture" is a phrase in the [https://bookofconcord.org/apology-of-the-augsburg-confession/article-ii/ Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Art. II: "Of Original Sin"]</ref> and calls the Holy Spirit the author of the Bible.<ref>"the Scripture of the Holy Ghost". [https://bookofconcord.org/apology-of-the-augsburg-confession/preface/ Apology to the Augsburg Confession, Greeting, ¶ 9]</ref>

According to Frederic Farrar, [[Biography:Martin Luther|Martin Luther]] did not understand inspiration to mean that the scriptures were dictated in a purely mechanical manner. Instead, Luther "held that they were not dictated by the Holy Spirit, but that His illumination produced in the minds of their writers the knowledge of salvation, so that divine truth had been expressed in human form, and the knowledge of God had become a personal possession of man. The actual writing was a human not a supernatural act".<ref>{{cite book|last=Farrar|first= F. W.|date =1886|title =History of interpretation |page= [https://archive.org/details/historyinterpre02farrgoog/page/n399 339] |location= London|publisher= Macmillan and Co.|url = https://archive.org/details/historyinterpre02farrgoog}}</ref> [[Biography:John Calvin|John Calvin]] also rejected the verbal dictation theory.<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Frederic Farrar|last=Farrar|first= F. W.|date =1886|title =History of interpretation |page= [https://archive.org/details/historyinterpre02farrgoog/page/n405 345] |location= London|publisher= Macmillan and Co.|url = https://archive.org/details/historyinterpre02farrgoog}}</ref>

Luther asserted that "He [the pious Christian] should not doubt that however simple they [the Scriptures] may seem, these are the very words, deeds, judgments, and history of the high majesty and wisdom of God; for this is the Scripture 
which makes fools out of all the wise".<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.christforus.org/Papers/Content/Luther%20and%20Biblical%20Infallibility.pdf 
|title=Inerrancy and the Church |last=Hannah |first=John D. |publisher=Moody Publishers |year=1984 |isbn=9780802403278 |location=The University of Michigan |page=113}}</ref>

The doctrine of ''[[Religion:Sola scriptura|sola scriptura]]'' was one of the central teachings during the Protestant Reformation. It teaches that the Bible is the final authority for moral, spiritual, and for some, civil matters. As Luther said, "The true rule is this: God's Word shall establish articles of faith, and no one else, not even an angel can do so".<ref>Martin Luther, Smalcald Articles II, 15.</ref>

==Catholic viewpoint==
[[File:Hildegard von Bingen.jpg|thumb|[[Biography:Hildegard of Bingen|Hildegard of Bingen]] receiving divine inspiration (illustration in the Rupertsberger Codex, c. 1180)]]

The ''[[Religion:Catechism of the Catholic Church|Catechism of the Catholic Church]]'' alleges that the Bible's human writers were "consigned to writing whatever he wanted written, and no more".<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__PP.HTM |title = Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture, §&nbsp;106 |website = The Vatican |date = 4 Nov 2003 |orig-year = 1993}}</ref> The ''Catechism'' also claims that the Bible "without error teach that truth which [[Religion:God in Christianity|God]], for the sake of our [[Religion:Salvation in Christianity|salvation]], wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures".<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__PP.HTM |title = Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture, §107 |website = The Vatican |date = 4 Nov 2003 |orig-year = 1993}}</ref> The [[Organization:Catholic Church|Catholic Church]] holds the Bible as inspired by God, but that it does not view God as the direct author of the Bible, in the sense that he does not put a 'ready-made' book in the mind of the inspired person.<ref name = "Catholic Encyclopedia">{{cite encyclopedia |first= Alfred |last= Durand |year= 1910 |title= Inspiration of the Bible |encyclopedia= The Catholic Encyclopedia |location= New York |publisher= Robert Appleton Company |url= http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08045a.htm}}</ref>

[[Biography:Pope Benedict XVI|Pope Benedict XVI]] gave the following explanation in 2007:<ref name="Ratzinger">
{{cite book | last = Ratzinger | first = Joseph |  translator = A. J. Walker | title = Jesus of Nazareth | publisher = Bloomsbury | year = 2007 | location = London | page = xx }}</ref>
<blockquote>
The Scripture emerged from within the heart of a living subject — the pilgrim [[Religion:People of God|people of God]] — and lives within this same subject. [...] [T]he individual author or group of authors [...] are not autonomous [...] they form part of [...] the "people of God," [...] the deeper "author" of the Scriptures. [...] [L]ikewise, this people [...] knows that it is led, and spoken to, by God himself, who — through men and their humanity — is at the deepest level the one speaking.
</blockquote>

The Catholic view of biblical inspiration stems from the belief in the historical authenticity of the foundation of an [[Religion:Infallibility of the Church|infallible Church]], and Jesus' grant of [[Religion:Magisterium|teaching authority]] to that church through his [[Religion:Apostles in the New Testament|Apostles]]. Because the Catholic Church designated the [[Religion:Biblical canon|biblical canon]] through its tradition, its authority to identify the inspired books is accepted, rather than any self-contained or inherent claims of the Scriptures themselves.<ref name="proving">{{cite web 
 |title=[Tract] Proving Inspiration
|url=https://www.catholic.com/tract/proving-inspiration
 |date=August 10, 2004
 |editor-last=Brom
 |editor-first=Robert Henry
 |editor2-last=Carr
 |editor2-first=Bernadeane
 |editor3-last=Keating 
 |editor3-first=Karl
 |publisher=Catholic Answers [Magazine]. When Brom was Bishop of San Diego, he gave his official imprimatur to this tract. Before she retired from being Director of the Diocesan Institute, Ms. Carr gave her official nihil obstat to this tract. Keating was the founder of the Catholic group behind this magazine. Any anonymous author can submit a piece
}}</ref><ref name="Scripture and Tradition">{{cite web|url = https://www.catholic.com/tract/scripture-and-tradition |title = Scripture and Tradition |website = Catholic Answers |date = 19 November 2018}}</ref><ref name="Catholic Encyclopedia"/>

==Liberal Christian viewpoint==
The typical view within [[Philosophy:Liberal Christianity|Liberal Christianity]] and [[Philosophy:Progressive Christianity|Progressive Christianity]] rejects the idea that the Bible is divinely inspired{{fact|date=February 2023}}. Some advocates of higher criticism who espouse this view even go so far as to regard the Bible as purely a product of human invention. However, most [[Religion:Form criticism|form critics]], such as Rudolf Bultmann (1884–1976) and Walter Brueggemann (1933– ), still regard the Bible as a sacred text, just not a text that communicates the unaltered word of God.<ref name="BrueggemannPlacher2002">{{cite book|author1=Walter Brueggemann|author2=William Carl Placher|author3=Brian K. Blount|title=Struggling with Scripture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r-7MO2W0v1YC&pg=PP7|date= 2002|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|isbn=978-0-664-22485-1|pages=7–}}</ref>

==Neo-orthodox viewpoint==
[[Biography:Emil Brunner|Emil Brunner]] (1889–1966) was one of the primary advocates of Neo-orthodoxy. He wrote: "[T]he Christian Church believes the [[Religion:Bible|Bible]] to be the Word of God", and that "Christian faith is Bible faith".<ref>{{cite book|last=Brunner|first=Emil|title=Our Faith|year=1936 |publisher=Chapter 2. Is the Bible the word of God?|url= 
https://archive.org/details/MN40294ucmf_3|page=7}}</ref> He also wrote: "Yes, [[Religion:God in Christianity|God]] has made known the secret of His will through the Prophets and Apostles in the Holy Scriptures".<ref>{{cite book|last=Brunner|first=Emil|title=Our Faith|year=1936 |publisher=Chapter 2. Is the Bible the word of God?|url= 
https://archive.org/details/MN40294ucmf_3|page=8}}</ref> Brunner rhetorically asked, "Is the whole Bible God's Word then?"; Brunner answered, "Yes, insofar as it speaks of that which is 'here' in Christ".<ref>{{cite book|last=Brunner|first=Emil|title=Our Faith|year=1936 |publisher=Chapter 2. Is the Bible the word of God?|url= 
https://archive.org/details/MN40294ucmf_3|page=9}}</ref> Brunner's illustration, relying on the name of the label His Master's Voice, was: "If you buy a phonograph record you are told that you will hear the Master Caruso. Is that true? Of course! But really his voice? Certainly! And yet—there are some noises made by the machine which are not the Master's voice". Brunner adds: "[T]he Bible[...] makes the real Master's voice audible,&mdash;really his voice, his words, what he wants to say". Brunner ultimately concludes: "Only a fool listens to the incidental noises when he might listen to his Master's voice!".<ref>{{cite book|last=Brunner|first=Emil|title=Our Faith|year=1936 |publisher=Chapter 2. Is the Bible the word of God?|url= 
https://archive.org/details/MN40294ucmf_3|page=10}}</ref>

==Other viewpoints==
A 2011 Gallup survey reports, "A 49% plurality of Americans say the Bible is the inspired word of God but that it should not be taken [[Religion:Biblical literalism|literally]], consistently the most common view in Gallup's nearly 40-year history of this question".<ref name="gallup">{{cite web |url= http://www.gallup.com/poll/148427/say-bible-literally.aspx |title= In U.S., 3 in 10 Say They Take the Bible Literally |last= Jones |first= Jeffrey M. |publisher= Gallup |date= July 8, 2011}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Religion:Biblical inerrancy|Biblical inerrancy]]
* [[Religion:Biblical infallibility|Biblical infallibility]]
* Clarity of Scripture
* [[Religion:Internal consistency of the Bible|Internal consistency of the Bible]]
* [[Unsolved:General revelation|General revelation]]
* [[Religion:Progressive revelation (Christianity)|Progressive revelation (Christianity)]]
* Thought inspiration
* ''[[Religion:Verbum Domini|Verbum Domini]]'' – apostolic exhortation of the [[Biography:Pope Benedict XVI|Pope Benedict XVI]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book |first=Lewis Sperry |last=Chafer |year=1993 |orig-year=1947 |chapter=Inspiration |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZFCoSSKTffcC&pg=PA61 |title=Systematic Theology |location=Grand Rapids |publisher=Kregel |pages=61–88 |isbn=978-0-8254-2340-6}}

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050405231834/http://homepage.mac.com/shanerosenthal/reformationink/bbwauthority.htm "The Authority & Inspiration of the Scriptures"] by B. B. Warfield
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041204093809/http://www.aomin.org/THEOPNEU.html "God-Inspired Scripture"] by B. B. Warfield
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180409220733/http://www.reformed.org/bible/boettner/index.html ''The Inspiration Of Scripture''] by Loraine Boettner
* [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/pink/inspiration.toc.html ''The Divine Inspiration of the Bible''] by Arthur Pink
* [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/hodge/theology1.iii.vi.html "The Protestant Rule of Faith"], chapter 6 of the introduction from [[Biography:Charles Hodge|Charles Hodge]]'s ''Systematic Theology'', which argues for the traditional doctrine over and against the Modernist doctrine.
* [http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/inspiration.php Bibliography for and on-line articles about inspiration]
* [http://essays.wisluthsem.org:8080/handle/123456789/1 Scholarly articles on Biblical Inspiration from the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Library]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10415a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia, Modernism]

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