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Types of inspiration

The concept of divine inspiration was extant in the ancient world, notably in Egypt and Greece, where the revelations of gods were addressed to humanity through "inspired" intermediaries. The Old Testament considers that the Spirit of God acts on those who exercise complex responsibilities, such as kings, judges or prophets, to such an extent that prophetic words are often preceded by the formula "thus saith YHWH".

Verbal plenary inspiration and verbal dictation

The doctrine of verbal inspiration was developed in the 17th century within Lutheran orthodoxy in order to secure the Protestant principle of writing (sola scriptura) against the teaching of Catholic theology, according to which not only the Bible but also church traditions are authoritative for believers. The verbal inspiration approach posits that the Holy Spirit gave the authors of the books of the Bible a desire to write (impulsus ad scribendum), then dictated the facts to be written (suggestio rerum), and also the precise wording (suggestio verborum). In this understanding of Scripture, called verbal plenary inspiration, God actually becomes the author of the Bible, who only used its author as a writing instrument.

A similar understanding of Scripture can be found in the writings of Augustine. It entered Catholic theology as part of neo-scholasticism, but today is mainly represented by parts of the evangelical movement and, to a limited extent, by Jehovah's Witnesses and other Christian religious communities.