Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

INSPIRATION

A term derived from Lat. inspirare (lit., “to breathe into”), referring to the claim that oral or written discourse is prompted by the Spirit. In both the biblical and nonbiblical worlds prophetic or ecstatic utterance was seen to be the result of spirit activity. For example, Balaam, the Babylonian diviner, proclaims his oracles after “the Spirit of God came upon him” (Num. 24:2-3). Philo frequently reflects the Jewish claim that all the prophets, and Moses most of all, were inspired by the Spirit of God (Life of Moses 1.281; 2.187-91). Postexilic Judaism believed that prophetic inspiration had ceased (Zech. 13:2-6), later to be replaced by the teaching authority of the rabbis.

Early Christian tradition saw the outpouring of the Spirit in the whole community as the fulfillment of the promise for the end time (Joel 2:28-29[MT 3:1-2]; Acts 2:16-18). Moreover, this spirit-inspired activity and speech extended to a whole host of spiritual and pastoral ministries (1 Cor. 12:8-30). Competing “spirits,” however, must be “tested” to discern their truth or falsehood (1 John 4:1-3).

Beginning with both Philo and Josephus we find the belief that the Jewish Scriptures themselves had been inspired by God (Philo Life of Moses 2.292; Josephus Ant. 10.10.4). Christians accepted the belief that the Spirit spoke through the Scriptures, both in the prophetic tradition and elsewhere (2 Pet. 1:19-21; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).

From the patristic period onward Christians have sought to define precisely how, and in what manner, the inspiration of Scripture occurs. By the middle of the 2nd century, the Christian Scriptures were considered by Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen to be equally inspired along with the Jewish biblical texts. Various patristic analogies and metaphors were employed to explain the process of inspiration, such as playing a musical instrument or giving dictation. The human author was seen as merely the instrument of the voice of God, which had to be modulated and intoned in accord with the limits of the instrument.

Scholastic claims concerning the literal and verbal inspiration of Scripture gradually gave way to the belief in “limited inspiration,” which was understood to mean divine assistance to avoid errors. Yet theories of biblical inerrancy remain firm in many fundamentalist and evangelical traditions. Contemporary hermeneutics, however, wrestles with social and historical issues of the communal character and formulation of biblical traditions and how to accommodate a theory of inspiration within such a framework. Literary critical theory, furthermore, recognizes that not just the writing of the text but also the reading and interpretation of the text are performed within the context of the spirit-inspired faith community. Such a view requires a broader and more nuanced theory of inspiration than has been formulated in the Church to date.

Barbara E. Bowe

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

INSPIRATION

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)