Lesson 2 Flashcards
Which are some recognized theories of inspiration of the Bible?
The Intuition Theory
The Illumination Theory
The Dynamic Theory
The Dictation Theory
The Intuition Theory. According to this view, the writers of the Bible exhibit a natural religious intuition that is also found in other great philosophical or religious thinkers, such as Confucius or Plato. Obviously, the absolute truth claims of Scripture are denied by those holding this view of inspiration.
The Illumination Theory. This view holds that the Spirit of God in some way objectively impressed himself upon the consciousness of the biblical writers but not in a way that is essentially different from the way the Spirit communicates with all humanity. Only in degree is the Spirit’s influence different, not in kind.
The Dynamic Theory. This view asserts that God gave definite, specific impressions or concepts to the biblical authors but that he allowed the writers to communicate those concepts in their own words. That is, the exact phrasing of Scripture is due to human choice, while the main tenor of the content is determined by God.
The Dictation Theory. This view holds that God dictated the exact words to the human authors. Like court stenographers, the authors of Scripture exercised no human volition in the composition of their writings. Sometimes those holding the verbal plenary theory (see below) are wrongly accused of believing in such mechanical dictation.
The Verbal Plenary Theory. This view (the biblical one, I believe) asserts that there is a dual authorship to the Scriptures. While the authors of the Bible wrote as thinking, feeling human beings, God so mysteriously superintended the process that every word written was also the exact word he wanted to be written—free from all error. Labeling this view the “verbal plenary” theory recognizes that it affirms the full (“plenary”) divine superintendence of every word in Scripture. (Verbum means “word” in Latin.) This view is sometimes called the verbal theory. It will be explored in greater detail in the following sections.2
The name of the evangelical theologian from whom Plummer derives the summary if the five theories of Biblical Inspiration?
Millard Erikson
What are some valid implications of Dual Athorship of the Bible?
- The conscious purpose of the human author is a good place to start in understanding the text
- God included patterns of forshadowing of which the human authors were not fully aware
Christian scholars have argued about potential errors in the Bible for about:
Since the 1600’s about 400 years
The claim that the bible is completely truthful in all things that the Biblical authors assert is called __________
Inerrancy
What are the qualifications of inerrancy?
- Inerrancy applies only to the autographs (original copies of
Scripture). - Inerrancy respects the authorial intent of the passage and the literary
conventions under which the author wrote. - Inerrancy allows for partial reporting, paraphrasing, and summarizing.
The words of a speaker, for example, might be summarized or
paraphrased rather than given verbatim. As long as the meaning of
the speaker is accurately conveyed, this reporting is completely
truthful.
4. Inerrancy allows for phenomenological language (that is, the
description of phenomena as they are observed and experienced).
5. Inerrancy allows the reporting of speech without the endorsement of
the truthfulness of that speech (or the implication that everything else
said by that person is truthful). - Inerrancy does not mean that the Bible provides definitive or
exhaustive information on every topic. - Inerrancy is not invalidated by colloquial or nonstandard grammar or
spelling.
What are some recommendations for dealing with a difficult text?
- Be sure that you are interacting with real texts.
- Approach the text in trust, not as a skeptic.
3. Pray about a difficult text.
4. Keep in mind the “Qualifications of Inerrancy” when dealing with
difficult texts
5. Seek counsel when dealing with difficult texts.
6. Be willing to set a text aside for further consideration rather than
force harmonization.
Neo-orthodoxy is a theological movement supported by theologians such as __________
Karl Barth, Emil Brunner
Much of the Bible comes to us as ____________
Situational Literature
Investigating the truth of the bible is to be encouraged. The jealous. The jealous distrustful behavior of Herod the Great is presented in the Gospel of Matthew is supported by the ancient historian ___________
Josephus
True or False. The Bible does not make claims about its truthfulness.
F
True or False. Papias says that the events recorded in the Gospels are not in chronological order.
T
True or False. The Dynamic Theory of Inspiration says that God gave definite, specific impressions to the biblical authors but allowed those authors to communicate those concepts in their own words.
T
True or False. The Domino Theory of Inspiration says that God dictated the exact words to the human authors.
F
True or False. In the Bible God is shown to present himself through repeated, consistent, and anticipatory ways.
T
