“Why pluck one string when you can strum the guitar!” –Aaron Weis of mewithoutYou

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (KJV) -2 Timothy 3:16

My friend Matthew Barlow and I recently had a conversation about Divine Inspiration and how people think about this concept in relation to the bible. After our awesome talk we got the great idea to do a collaborative blog post based on our conversation. To make it more interesting (and to make it seem more like a conversation) we colored the text to show who was thinking and writing what. Matthew’s ideas are in the green color and mine our the orange color. Enjoy!

2 Timothy 3:16 has probably done more to shape modern Christianity’s understanding of the origin of the Bible than any other passage in Scripture. The phrase, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” has been interpreted as meaning that God created the Bible. Does “inspiration,” as used in this verse, connote some kind of Divine Possession? Did God float down into the bodies of the biblical writers, effectively using their bodies as avatars to write down exactly what he wanted us all to read? Is that what inspiration means?

The words of mewithoutYou’s Aaron Weis are remarkably applicable here. It is a useful metaphor for the way many people insist on reading texts like the Bible. Imagine holding in your hand a six string guitar but only plucking one string, producing one note. What kind of song would that be?!? There would be no room for improvisation because to improvise would demean the authority of God’s “word”: the Bible. We could only perform exactly what is written.

But, what if this inspiration referred to in 2 Timothy does not relate to the origin of scripture but to how it affects and is received by the reader? This radically redefines how we approach the Bible. Inspiration is something that is essential to the creative process. It can be thought of simply as an animating action or influence. For example, it was the rolling Provencial Landscapes of France that Inspired Cezanne to paint his masterpieces, and we all know that it is the lover who inspires and drives the musician to write that beautiful love song. From a musician or artist’s point of view, the divine inspiration talked about in the bible verse above, is not unfamiliar.

The Bible is a library of songs – created by authors/poets/prophets inspired of God through their experiences with God. However, this library is not complete, for our own experiences and relationships with God add to an ongoing narrative. Therefore, we approach the Bible not as some all-encompassing encyclopedia where we turn for answers, but we approach it as a diary, a record of past human experiences with God so that in turn, as we hear and listen to Scripture, it acts as inspiration of God for us. Experience breathing into experience. Experience inspiring experience. In fact this animating, creative spirit is the life force which calls all creation to action and is experienced everywhere the creative process happens. It is this Divine Inspiration at work in the world that is constantly calling us all to a better way. It is a call the beckons us, that whispers to our hearts and longs to be heard, recognized and responded to.

Are you inspired?

Painting: Pablo Picasso, Guitar, 1913, pasted paper, charcoal, ink, and chalk on blue paper, mounted on ragboard, 66.4 x 49.6 cm, Museum of Modern Art, NY.

Tags:divine inspirationhermeneuticsmewithoutYoumusicthe bible