Morgan County republican., 1913-09-04
Published by request.
Inspiration.

eStss Sss~ss'
In former article tried to say what
inspiration was not, rather than define
il. shall now attempt to say what il is
as | understand it. In this effort to
clear the subject of difficulties, to one
who accepts the old and the new testa-
ments as the 1r,itdbh' av,1 of God,
have no notion that ! shall succeed,
but to an open minded individual
who is able to hold all questions open at
the top-th-re is always hope Of being
OF some benefit
1t has been the effort of every com.
mentation of the old school, since the
time OF Martin Luther. to find theory
that would account for the supposed in.
errancy of the scriptures; taking it for
granted that what was written was ab.
solutely true, and no word Of criticism
was to be considered Since the rise of
higher criticism, however, there has
come change in the minds of scholars,
and the subject of "Inspiration" has as.
sumed very different aspect. 1t woulo
take me too far afeld to discuss these
many theories, invented to explain the
innumerable difficulties that face us,
when we proceed on the hypothesis of an
infallible dictation by the divine mind
must insist we are not to suppose su-
pernatural agency necessary until the
facts demand it.
One of the chief difficulties in giving
definition to "inspiration," has been in
supposing that inspiration gave the facts
in history, that the writer's were wholly
under the power Of S0mr 1hai, not
themselves, that communicated these
facts, without the necessity Of research
Moreover, that revelation is the product
OF inspiration, rather than inspiration
the product Of revelation. In other
words that inspiration gave the ideas in.
stead OF the ideas inspiring the writer's.
1t is fact beyond d,controversy, that ideas
inspire the possessor. but it is not fact
that inspiration gives the inspired the
facts. Facts must reach tue mind
through cognition by the senses, hence
whatever inspiration may be, 1t must be
the result of the cognition of facts ad.
dressed to the human understanding
Just here we note the fact that falsehood
will inspire--if believed to be truth--as
well as the truth. Inspiration has moth
ing to do in discerning the truth or false
hood OF any writer. Reason alone can
90 th's' Tor there is no other court tc
which this question of truth can b.
brought, but the court of understanding
Is conceded that there are thing,
written in the bible that are beyond til,
understanding OF the writer, and assuu,
ing that they are true, how are we TO ac
count for them? When we assume tina
they are true, and try to account, 70
them by an invented theory OF inspira
tion, we are reasoning in a circle, an,
fail to note our assumption that they ar
true because we find then! in the bible
hut If they were I'm some other writin,
like the Greek fables-our reaso,
would reject them, In this We show W
are assuming, without the proof, tina
whatever is written in the bible is true
snd are thereby handicapped from reach
lug rational conclusion. Again, in as
suming the supernatural as an explain
alton of these things, we are again il
the field beyond our understanding an,
can not know whereof we affirm, becaus
we have no knowledge of the supernatur
al. It is begging the question and viz
tually deceiving our ignorance.
suspect it will be found that tn
facts are not supernatural but normal
aud within the range Of the normal mine