The Inspiration of Scripture: Problems and Proposals

by Paul J. Achtemeier

Christians generally agree that the Scriptures are inspired and that this doctrine is of basic importance. But how is the doctrine of inspiration to be understood and what does it mean for our Christian faith? Paul Achtemeier shows how recent knowledge of the way the Scriptures were formed raises problems in regard to the traditional understanding of inspiration. In response, he presents possibilities for a new approach to inspiration that is compatible with recent critical discoveries and allows the Bible to continue to play a meaningful role. He deals with "liberal" and "conservative" views, specific contradictions in the Bible, and what the Bible says about itself. A perceptive study, "The Inspiration of Scripture" proposes a view of inspiration that makes sense for today and probes its implications for the believer and the believing community.

Genres: Theology

Paperback

First published November 1, 1998

Reviews

[Josh Welker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fantastic. Achtemeier's thesis is that the inspiration of Scripture is in the work of the Holy Spirit through the Church throughout the whole historical process of canonizing and reinterpreting the text. Achtemeier says that the contemporary evangelical approach to inerrancy and verbal inspiration are not accurate to the way the Church has historically used the Bible, the way the Bible was constructed, or the way biblical figures refer back to previous biblical literature.

That's not to say that Achtemeier's thesis is without problems. He gives extremely high importance to the role of the "community" of Scripture without ever really defining what that community is. Today and throughout history there have been many disparate groups built around the authority of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. Achtemeier gives no way of reconciling these opposing viewpoints when they are all claiming the authority of the Holy Spirit. If anything, Achtemeier seems to be an implicit call to ecumenism in the Church, because his thesis really only makes sense in the context of there being one united community of believers.

Still, Achtemeier's theory of inspiration is a breath of fresh air to anyone who is fed up with the dominate verbal/inerrant conservative view of Scripture but still seeks a way to respect and understand the authority and inspiration of Scripture, without abandoning those ideas like very liberal Christians tend to do.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book explores the nature and origin of Scripture, and explains the author’s view of Biblical hermeneutics.