B.-History of the Doctrine of Inspiration.

§ 58.

Theories of Inspiration moved partly in extremes, partly in unsatisfactory compromises, until modern theology made more comprehensive investigation into its premisses, and laid a secure basis for its demonstration.

1. The supranaturalistic defenders of inspiration usually fell into the same mistake as rationalistic opponents of the same, in so far as they omitted the distinction, without which this entire doctrine cannot be set in a clear light. Inspiration in the original sense, referring to persons, is one thing; inspiration in a secondary, mediate sense, referring to sacred writings, another. Supernaturalism treated the inspiration of Holy Scripture as the fundamental dogma, on which alone. everything else was to depend for stability. It treated Holy Scripture as the revelation itself, instead of as the memorial of the originally revealed, ideal and actual, truth; the consequence being that Holy Scripture was transformed into God's exclusive work, the human element was explained away, and the original living power thrust away behind the writing contained in letters. Faith ever draws its strength and decisive certainty from the original, eternally living power, to which Scripture is designed to lead. But when Scripture was regarded as the goal, and attestation was sought elsewhere than in the experience of faith through the presence of the truth in the spirit, then the Reformation-standpoint was abandoned, its so-called material principle violated, and it became easy for Rationalism to expose the contradictions in which the inquirers had thus involved themselves (see above, §§ 7, 76).

2. THE CHIEF FORMS OF THE INSPIRATION-THEORY.-The theory of pre-Christian Alexandrianism, especially of Philo, which supposed the human side to be suppressed by Inspiration, passed over into the Church in various forms. When the divine light rises, Philo thinks, the human sets; ecstasy, passivity is essential to inspiration, and in harmony partly

with the divine majesty, partly with the design of guarding against all disorders through the influence of human consciousness. However, morbid, fanatical phenomena, c.g. of Montanism, terrified many church teachers, who consequently postulated the continuance of human consciousness even for the state of inspiration. So especially Chrysostom. But it is especially worthy of note, how that extreme supernaturalistic view led over in a certain degree to its opposite. After a variety of meanings had been established in Holy Scripture by describing it as consisting of divine dictates of infinitely rich import, one had a bridge by which to pass over to a supposed higher sense, when the literal sense seemed difficult or inconceivable; and this being once acknowledged, an unconscious, rationalizing mode of thought in respect of the contents became an incentive to keep the extreme, supernatural theory of Inspiration at a high point. So to some extent in Origen's case, in modern days in Swedenborg's. In opposition to this, the Reformation indeed stood by the literal mode of exposition and the single sense of Holy Scripture. But whereas the Confessions of the Reformation laid down no definite theory of Inspiration, Luther, and to some extent Calvin, even favouring laxer views, both Evangelical Creeds during their scholastic period went to the farthest extreme of the pre-Christian theory above mentioned. While the state

of ecstasy was not accepted, the spiritual activity of the authors was none the less to be conceived as utterly suppressed. Spiritual passivity was conceived by Calov, Quenstedt, Buxtorf, in so absolute a form, that nothing was left to the sacred authors but mechanical activity in apprehending the words containing the matter, and in writing. Such overstraining of the divinity of the Holy Scriptures has for its obverse the denial of the Inspiration of the persons, of the holy men themselves, to whom all productive power of their own was refused, and whose own knowledge of the contents they wrote down was regarded as a matter of indifference, if not actually dangerous to the pure divinity of the contents. But as we saw the absolutely supernatural notion of miracle resulting in a collision between divine activity and conservation, so here also the effect was to degrade to passivity secondary causalities which yet cannot be dispensed with, if

Revelation is supposed to be given for the purpose of being assimilated and conserved by living acceptance. At the same time, by such moments of inspiration the continuity of life in the sacred authors, who yet were the possessors of faith and religious knowledge, would be severed, without the fruits of God's Spirit in their person exerting any influence upon their writings.

This, as well as the many critical and exegetical difficulties, to which such notions gave birth, was the reason why the absolutely supernatural idea of inspiration, which we may call the Docetic, was modified after the beginning of the last century. This was done, after George Calixtus's example,1 by the divine activity being limited to giving assistance to the human for the purpose of imparting to the latter what it had not of itself, or at least of guarding the products of human thought from error; or, finally, after the sacred authors had finished their work by purely human strength, of impressing upon it the seal of the divine ratification. But even here the relation of the divine agency to human activity is conceived in a purely external way. God and man in this case remain in mere juxtaposition.

But then the one-sided subjective mode of apprehension advanced still further in Rationalism, which, developing the element slumbering in the last-named theory, finds in inspiration nothing but a purely human exaltation by native internal strength. Certain as it is that Rationalism was right, when it protested against the suppression of the human aspect, it was itself destitute of a right idea of God and religion, nay, of the felt need of a living God and of intercourse with Him. When it says, that by such intimate association with the creaturely spirit wrong and dishonour would be done to the divine majesty, this seems to imply that it would be too great an honour for man. But, on the other hand, Rationalism does not find it in keeping with man's dignity to stand in need of such divine communications. And man is supposed

1 Calixtus's doctrine was held by Grotius, Baxter, Le Clerc, Clarke, Doddridge, Pfaff, Baumgarten, cf. Tholuck, ut supra.

Accordingly Wegscheider, Institutio, § 42, says: Everywhere faith in revelation may be traced back to myths and undeveloped notions. A barbarous age regards all unusual spiritual emotions as divine operations.

by it to stand higher, when he developes himself purely out of himself apart from God. Nature also, it is said, can subsist and develope itself without special divine assistance. But apart from this contradiction, in which the twofold possible form of forsaking the living God1 is seen to be involved, we have seen above that the idea of God, instead of condemning, requires the belief that He stands in an inner living relation to the world. And just so it is a mean view, to suppose of man that he loses in dignity by God's standing in an actively efficient relation to his development and progress, in a more intimate relation than He does to Nature. The latter may

develope itself with no other divine activity than that of conservation. But man has higher needs and duties, susceptibility for communion with God and His acts. But in the desire for such a mode of development as Nature possesses, Pelagianism, which professes to hold such lofty views of man's dignity, betrays its low conception of his essence and dignity. It overlooks his call to historical progress and advancing divine cominunion.

3. The conflict between these theories may teach us, that the only satisfactory theory of inspiration is one that supposes actual divine illumination, and therefore truth without mixture of error, to be imparted by Inspiration, but which, so far from needing to suppress human consciousness, employs human intelligence as an instrument, even as the existence of revelation can only be designed for spirit, while human intelligence is created for God.

C.-Dogmatic Doctrine of Inspiration.

§ 59.

In the most general sense, Inspiration is the form in which man obtains part in the spiritual purport of revelation under all its aspects. It is a spiritual miracle, and, because applying to the entire spirit, may apply also to will, enhancing its energy and purity, as well as to

1 Jer. xvii. 9.

feeling; but its more specific signification is as spiritual suggestion or illumination respecting the truth, with a view to founding abiding religious communion. Notwithstanding, of itself it is not the highest form of Revelation.

All

1. In the case of Inspiration as of Revelation, we must take as a starting-point a broader signification, in order in the next place by contracting to give the notion greater intensity of meaning. Inspiration refers to the spiritual side of man, and so far implies God's primordial causality. Even the granting of participation in the divine breath may be called Inspiration. To this point every subsequent divine communication joins on. But in the stricter sense, the word is in place where, for the first time in his life, a man is given higher insight into the divine world; and most in place, where, for the first time in the history of the race, higher religious intuition is imparted by divine communication, and thus a new and higher stage of development is reached. this, it is true, does not touch the sense in which the word Inspiration or suggestion is most commonly taken, namely, the Inspiration of sacred writings. But it is this very Inspiration which is left unexplained, nay rendered incomprehensible, by the Supernaturalism which dissolves the connection between the divine activity in the composition of such writings and Inspiration in the original sense, according to which not books but men are inspired. But the connection of the inspiration of persons with the ends of revelation is self-evident. It is with Inspiration as with miracles. The appearance of abruptness, of a breach of continuity, vanishes when the latter are referred to a preceding enhancement of freedom by God. In the same way the abruptness, which we are compelled to assume, in case Inspiration had to be referred merely to the moment of written composition, vanishes, when we take as our starting - point, as Holy Scripture does, the influence of the Holy Spirit on the persons, upon which, when the persons are filled with the Spirit, the composition of writings full of inspiration fol

1 Gen. ii. 7.

2 § 59.

31 Cor. vii. 40; Luke xxi. 15; Matt. x. 20; John xiv. 26.