Inspiration: Author, book, reader-listener as inspired. Theological implications

Abstract

This article aims to show how the concept of Biblical inspiration encompasses the action of the Spirit of God: a) upon the books’ authors; b) in the books themselves, insofar as they are received by the Church as inspired books, and c) upon the readerslisteners of those books as Sacred Scripture and Word of God. In this sense, the orientations of Dei Verbum, the Pontifical Biblical Commission’s document on The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church (1993) and some contributions of recent authors are taken into account. The conclusion is that the action of the Holy Spirit in the three aforementioned moments enters within the process of Biblical inspiration. This inspiration is geared towards the communication of God’s word through a written text which becomes a living voice in the present time. The comprehension and actualization of the Bible at different moments form part of the word of God which is transmitted in Tradition together with Scripture.