The Subjective Theory of Inspiration [pp. 192-204]

7THE PRINCE TON RE VIEW.
consists in a gracious influence from God acting upon the religious consciousness.
III. That is inspired which "finds" a man, or lays hold on
his religious consciousness.
The discussion of these propositions now claims our attet
tion.
I. Those who hold that inspiration belongs to the sphere of
the natural intelligence make it the result of the exercise of the
mental faculties. Moses was inspired as Solon was inspired,
David as Burns, Solomon as Shakespeare, Isaiah as Milton, and
Paul as Bishop Butler. In other words, inspiration is nothing
more than genius, or an illumination of the rational conscious
ness. Those who deny the supernatural are, of course, shut up
to this view. But does it explain all the facts of the case?
When it is affirmed that Isaiah was inspired, do we understand
by the affirmation that he had merely exalted genius? that he
possessed merely a highly illuminated rational consciousness?
These are both true; but they do not express the whole truth
The belief of the church has always been that he and all the
writers of the Old and New Testaments were supernaturally inspired; and its belief is supported by good and substantial
reasons.
I. Tho the term inspiration is sometimes used in a vague,
loose sense, yet, as applied to the Holy Scriptures, it haalways been employed to distinguish them from all other writings. Hence they have been called the Holy Scriptures, the
Divine Instrument, the Sacred Digest, the Divine Oracles. St
Paul uses the phrase ypaqv,67rvEvaro; (god-breathed Scripture)
(2 Tim. iii. I6). St. Peter, speaking of prophecy, says men
spoke fromn God, Vr6o 7tve/a0ro; ayzov iep6uevoZ (borne onward
by the Holy Ghost) (2 Pet. i. 2 I). Josephus expresses the same
idea by the phrase rc5 Oe,co zr,vtYv'xarz,,,o. Our Lordct
asks: ico, ovv tJauzd'v re v,uar ialE, etc. (Matt. xxii. 43)
Gregory of Nyssa commenting on this passage says: "Hence
those of the saints who by the power of the Spirit are full of
God are inspired, and therefore all Scripture is called 0o6r0'evUtro, because the instruction is by divine inspiration."
These passages and many others that might be cited fix the.
idea of inspiration. It is not "an illumination of the rationial
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