This is a summary from Milton Terry's book on the Divine Inspiration of the Scriptures. It will most likely seem inadequate to the modern reader (Terry's writing is 120 years old) as he is not addressing, necessarily, a postmodern mind. Neverthess, some points are useful. It seemed to me his main audience was Christians and therefore the chapter not really polemical.
Those who approach the Bible as a work of Divine origin will certainly take its sacred pages in hand with care and reverence. When we speak of inspiration regarding Holy Scripture we must not think of this as the term is used today of an inspired song or work of poetry. Nor should the inspiration of the Scriptures be thought of as some emotional or ecstatic rapture of the soul. All such thoughts only show the origin to be from man. The Bible does not have it its origin from man, but from God through holy men. God has spoken “…by the mouth of all his prophets…” (Acts 3:8) and the Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ did not teach words which originated from themselves but taught such things “…taught by the Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2:13).
With such an affirmation there is implied the recognition of the Divine and human components. The human element is evident in passages such as Luke’s Gospel in which is written, “It seemed good to me also…” (Luke 1:3) or in the style and wordage of the writers. Statements of affection for certain persons and greetings to individuals also show the human element in the Word of God. Differences in the wording of a parable or event also bring to light that it was indeed holy men who wrote. The Christian must not shrink from recognizing this fact anymore than we should shrink from the reality that God was manifest in the flesh. The devout Muslim looks with contempt upon the idea that God condescended to humble Himself and take on the nature of Adam. Should then the Christian meet the Holy Scriptures with an atheistic contempt because the Holy Spirit was pleased to speak by the mouth of His Apostles and Prophets?
Yet it is a mere assertion that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are Divine that makes it so? It is certainly true that the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets attest to the Divine origin of the written Word. The Apostle Paul declares that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, or God-breathed, and Peter declared that holy men spoke as they “…were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21). The Old Testament Scriptures frequently announce their words with “Thus saith the Lord” or “The Word of the Lord came unto him saying.” The Bible does stand as its own witness, not in a well-crafted argument defending its Divine origin, but in simple kingly declaration so as to say, “This is My Book.”
A few considerations in additional to the Bible’s own declaration may be helpful in affirming the Divine origin of Scripture. Throughout the Old Testament and the New it is seen that God intended from the beginning to communicate to His people and the world by Scripture. The purpose would be that the man of God would be furnished with all that he needed and quipped for every good work. It is through the comfort of the Scriptures that the Lord intended to give His people hope. (Romans 15:4). God indeed spoke in times past by the prophets to the fathers at many times and different ways, and in these last days has spoken to us in His Son Jesus Christ. It may also help the one who trusts in Christ to take note of the difference between revelation and inspiration. Divine revelation consists of what God reveals to man that is otherwise impossible to know. The inspiration of the biblical authors consisted of Divine superintendence to record what they saw or knew whether by revelation or otherwise. Visions, dreams, prophesy, and the knowledge of the origin of the universe all consisted of divine revelation. The record of the Acts of the Apostles by Luke is most certainly inspired of God yet was not revealed to him apart from his own knowledge of the events. The Lord who commanded both Moses and the Apostle John to write would certainly by an act of singular care and Providence preserve the Holy Scriptures precisely as we have them today. This providence extended to the very words and forms found in Holy Scripture. The God who does not allow the small sparrow to fall to the ground apart from His will certainly does not allow a single word of the sacred Scriptures to be lost to mankind.
Of course, various arguments against the inspiration of Holy Scripture have been put forth. It has been suggested that a divine inspiration of men to write the Bible would negate the free agency or actions of men turning them into automatons. However, it does not follow that the mind that is so influenced by the Spirit of God that the will is overtaken. To suppose this would also presuppose the Word could not become flesh and dwell among us in the Person of Christ. Others have asserted that verbal differences in giving the account of some event disprove the Divine Author of Scripture or else betray a corruption. This reasoning presupposes that the Divine purpose to be to furnish uniformity to prove divinity. Why can it not be supposed that unity seen in Scripture’s diversity the purpose for different details? Without the knowledge of the divine purpose in the plenary differences it cannot be concluded that they are a mark of non-inspiration. Even after one hundred and twenty years since the written of Milton Terry’s book, skeptics and scoffers are still alleging discrepancies, contradictions, and errors in the Bible. And the answer to such remains the same: No real errors can be shown.
With such an affirmation there is implied the recognition of the Divine and human components. The human element is evident in passages such as Luke’s Gospel in which is written, “It seemed good to me also…” (Luke 1:3) or in the style and wordage of the writers. Statements of affection for certain persons and greetings to individuals also show the human element in the Word of God. Differences in the wording of a parable or event also bring to light that it was indeed holy men who wrote. The Christian must not shrink from recognizing this fact anymore than we should shrink from the reality that God was manifest in the flesh. The devout Muslim looks with contempt upon the idea that God condescended to humble Himself and take on the nature of Adam. Should then the Christian meet the Holy Scriptures with an atheistic contempt because the Holy Spirit was pleased to speak by the mouth of His Apostles and Prophets?
Yet it is a mere assertion that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are Divine that makes it so? It is certainly true that the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets attest to the Divine origin of the written Word. The Apostle Paul declares that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, or God-breathed, and Peter declared that holy men spoke as they “…were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21). The Old Testament Scriptures frequently announce their words with “Thus saith the Lord” or “The Word of the Lord came unto him saying.” The Bible does stand as its own witness, not in a well-crafted argument defending its Divine origin, but in simple kingly declaration so as to say, “This is My Book.”
A few considerations in additional to the Bible’s own declaration may be helpful in affirming the Divine origin of Scripture. Throughout the Old Testament and the New it is seen that God intended from the beginning to communicate to His people and the world by Scripture. The purpose would be that the man of God would be furnished with all that he needed and quipped for every good work. It is through the comfort of the Scriptures that the Lord intended to give His people hope. (Romans 15:4). God indeed spoke in times past by the prophets to the fathers at many times and different ways, and in these last days has spoken to us in His Son Jesus Christ. It may also help the one who trusts in Christ to take note of the difference between revelation and inspiration. Divine revelation consists of what God reveals to man that is otherwise impossible to know. The inspiration of the biblical authors consisted of Divine superintendence to record what they saw or knew whether by revelation or otherwise. Visions, dreams, prophesy, and the knowledge of the origin of the universe all consisted of divine revelation. The record of the Acts of the Apostles by Luke is most certainly inspired of God yet was not revealed to him apart from his own knowledge of the events. The Lord who commanded both Moses and the Apostle John to write would certainly by an act of singular care and Providence preserve the Holy Scriptures precisely as we have them today. This providence extended to the very words and forms found in Holy Scripture. The God who does not allow the small sparrow to fall to the ground apart from His will certainly does not allow a single word of the sacred Scriptures to be lost to mankind.
Of course, various arguments against the inspiration of Holy Scripture have been put forth. It has been suggested that a divine inspiration of men to write the Bible would negate the free agency or actions of men turning them into automatons. However, it does not follow that the mind that is so influenced by the Spirit of God that the will is overtaken. To suppose this would also presuppose the Word could not become flesh and dwell among us in the Person of Christ. Others have asserted that verbal differences in giving the account of some event disprove the Divine Author of Scripture or else betray a corruption. This reasoning presupposes that the Divine purpose to be to furnish uniformity to prove divinity. Why can it not be supposed that unity seen in Scripture’s diversity the purpose for different details? Without the knowledge of the divine purpose in the plenary differences it cannot be concluded that they are a mark of non-inspiration. Even after one hundred and twenty years since the written of Milton Terry’s book, skeptics and scoffers are still alleging discrepancies, contradictions, and errors in the Bible. And the answer to such remains the same: No real errors can be shown.
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