Inspiration and the Freewill Defense Revisited

Abstract

The Christian Church has traditionally held that the inspiration of Holy Scripture is verbal, plenary, and confluent. But such an affirmation may seem to be incoherent. For if Scripture is the product of both divine and human free agency, then it seems impossible that God should have sufficient control of the various authors of Scripture so as to produce a Word that is verbally and plenarily his. A Molinist theory of divine middle knowledge can help us to break this deadlock and craft a doctrine of inspiration that is both orthodox and coherent.