New Reminders: Inspiration
by Ardith Hoff
People talk about inspiration as though it comes to us, like a flash of lightning, out of nowhere. And, in some cases, it seems to, but the word literally means that ideas come from “the spirit within us.” A dictionary definition is “the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative. “
An experienced poet will draw upon their knowledge of poetic language and use metaphors and/or imagery to write something that presents a phenomenon in new, clever, or more beautiful ways, than normal prose, to create a poem. A composer relies on his or her ability to imagine how sounds can come together in new ways to create a piece of music. As a poet, I can tell you that, with enough experience, the writing sometimes takes on a life of its own and seems to suggest a next line. It feels like it is being directed by spirits rather than my own intellect. In like manner, Bible writers felt the inspiration (the entering of the holy spirit into them) to direct their writing. That is why we say that the bible was inspired by God through the intervention of the Holy Spirit. Whether that is literally true, is a matter of faith.
Whether some passages might have been corrupted by the prevailing customs of the times and what might have been lost in translation, is up for debate. I know from taking a class from a man who helped translate the Dead Sea Scrolls, that the art of translation is tricky, and we have to take the word of the translators as to whether it is even possible to have an exact translation, since some words do not have a direct correlation from one language to another. Ordinary people had to decide how best to represent a certain concept. Like the poet or composer, Bible writers were experienced in their craft and their interpretations may have felt divinely inspired, and for all I know, it was.
According to 2 Timothy 3:16-17 the words of Scripture are "God breathed" or inspired. This implies that God is the source, or origin, of what is recorded in Scripture. God, through the Holy Spirit, used human authors to write what He revealed. Whether they always got it down perfectly or whether a certain translation is more perfect than another will be debated everywhere and for all time. Whether we are capable of understanding the exact meaning will also be debatable. The important thing is that the Bible is our best guide for moral behavior and we can only rely on those who have studied it to help us get what we need from it.