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Define and discuss revelation and inspiration.

The Bible is not like any other book on earth. For hundreds of years, various scholars and thinkers have tried to undermine the scriptures and reduce them to merely wise sayings of men throughout the ages. Some refuse to believe that these ancient writings were actually inspired by a God who loved His creation and used men to put His relation to mankind on record.

Through God's communication with man, He has revealed Himself and His ways and character. He has revealed Himself to man. However, these two, both "inspiration" and "revelation", are topics that still bring much debate.

A definition of inspiration can be difficult. There are many theories. "Ultimately, we are brought to the realisation that it is not possible to adequately define this concept, any more than it is possible to define life." (Roffe, 19??:1.1). Scripture itself helps to define inspiration. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction for righteousness, (17) that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (N.K.J.V.). In other words, inspiration is sharing with others that which God has revealed to a particular person, for example Isaiah, Daniel, Joel, John, Peter and many others mentioned in the Bible.

Within the area of inspiration, there are various theories concerning how the scripture came to be. Some have stated that each person receives a divine breath at birth. Those who stand out in the scriptures as heroes of the faith are regarded as being given a greater fill of divine breath at birth to enable them to carry out their divine mission. "In this sense the authors of the scripture came to be considered inspired." (Richardson and Bowden, 1983:303).

The Mechanical Theory is one where those who wrote down the original writings were like puppets. The were totally possessed by the Spirit of God, and He used them to write exactly what He wanted. There is no room for human input with this idea.

By simply reading the scriptures, you can see the individuality of each author. God did not use men as robots, but allowed their personality to come through. "God has given man certain powers, and a mechanical theory tends to reduce man to something less than human - a dictating machine." (Roffe, 19??:1.1)

The Dynamic Theory is another which has great problems. Here, it's exponents say that there is truth in scripture. The Women's Weekly has bible verses often quoted in it, therefore it too has God's Word in it. By saying that there is God's Word in the Bible is saying that it also contains material which is not God's Word. This leads to the problem of just what is and is not

God's truth, and who is to decide?

The Intuition Theory is one where those who wrote the scripture where highly gifted men. They where religious geniuses. "On this basis, the inspiration of the Scripture writers was essentially no different from that of other great religious and philosophical thinkers, such as Plato, Buddha, and others. The Bible than is great religious literature reflecting the spiritual experiences of the Hebrew people." (Erickson, 1985:207).

All of the above are unacceptable. In one extreme, we can pick what we think is truth, and the other has the writers used as dictating machines.

The most acceptable is the Plenary Theory. This theory accepts that all scripture is inspired. Holders of this theory say that scripture was kept from error due to the inspiration from God and all scripture is inspired. (Roffe, 19??)

Revelation is that which God directly reveals to man. "By 'revelation' is generally meant the disclosure of what was previously unknown or only uncertainly apprehended." (Richardson and Bowden, 1983:503). God has revealed His plans and purposes to man from his creation. Before the fall, God revealed His will to Adam and his wife. Genesis 1:28 says, "Then God blessed them and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" (N.K.J.V.).

McGrath puts the definition of revelation this way; "in it's developed sense, 'revelation' does not mean merely the transmission of a body of knowledge, but the personal disclosure of God within history." (McGrath, 1984:152). Revelation has itself taken several different forms. Creation itself reveals God as creator (Romans 1:20).Ultimately, God has revealed Himself to man in the person of Jesus. This is incredible when you think of the size of the cosmos, and that God is bigger than His creation. He wants a group of beings to know that He wants to fellowship with them and that He loves them. The greatest revelation that an individual can receive is that God loves them.

Revelation and Inspiration can be summed up by saying that revelation is from God to man, and inspiration from man to men. God has revealed Himself to man through personal encounters, example Abraham and Moses, by speaking through His prophets, by letting creation itself reveal God as creator, and ultimately in the Incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. God still reveals His will by His Spirit, through the Bible and history.

The Bible was written by normal men under inspiration of the Spirit of God. The wrote what they had revealed to them in the way that God led them to in their own words. Thus, the Bible's contents are the recorded events that show men and women living their lives and God's activity in their lives and in certain events in history.

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

*           Erickson, M. J., Christian Theology., (Grand Rapids, Baker Book House, [1983,1984], 1985)

*           McGrath, A. E,. Christian Theology., (Oxford, Blackwell Publishers, 1994.)

 *           Richardson, A., and Bowden, J., A New Dictionary of Christian Theology., (London, SCM Press, 1983)

 *           Roffe, D., Exegesis. - An Introduction to Literary Criticism of the Bible., (Tabor College, 19??)