Neo-orthodox Inspiration

                                                                                                                            Vol. XX, No. 5, May 2007

One prime example of this redefining of orthodox terms is the neoorthodox version of the doctrine of divine inspiration. For the believer, all Scripture is given by inspiration from God. The neoorthodox theologian also uses the word inspiration, but, alas, with the meaning stripped away. To the neoorthodox theologian inspiration is not what happens when God gives the Word, but rather what happens when the Word impacts upon the human spirit. Therefore, it is proper to say that the neoorthodox view is not that the Bible "is" the Word of God but that it "contains" the Word of God. More correctly, the Bible "becomes" the Word of God when the Scripture interacts within the questing soul. Inspiration is, therefore, an experience for a believer, rather than a definition of the provenance of Holy Scripture. (p 220)

     Dave Breese in Seven Men Who Rule the World from the Grave, Moody Press, 1990