Invention of the Inspired Text

John C. Poirier examines the theopneustic nature of the Scripture as a response to the view that inspiration lies at the heart of most contemporary Christian theology. In contrast to the traditional rendering of the Greek word <i>theopneustos</i> as God-inspired in 2 Tim 3:16 Poirier argues that a close look at first- and second-century uses of <i>theopneustos</i> reveals that the traditional inspirationist understanding of the term did not arise until the time of Origen in the early third century CE and that in every pre-Origen use of <i>theopneustos</i> the word instead means life-giving.<br/><br/>Poirier thus conducts a detailed investigation of <i>theopneustos</i> as it appears in the fifth <i>Sibylline Oracle</i> the <i>Testament of Abraham</i> Vettius Valens Pseudo-Plutarch (<i>Placita Philosophorum</i>) and Pseudo-Phocylides all of whom understand the word to mean life-giving. He also studies the use of the cognate term <i>theopnous</i> in Numenius the <i>Corpus Hermeticum</i> on an inscription at the Great Sphinx of Giza and on an inscription at a nymphaeum at Laodicea on the Lycus. Poirier argues that a rendering of life-giving also fits better within the context of 2 Tim 3:16 and that this meaning survived late enough to figure in a fifth-century work by Nonnus of Panopolis. He further traces the pre-Origen use of <i>theopneustos</i> among the Church Fathers. Poirier concludes by addressing the implication of rethinking the traditional understanding of Scripture stressing that the lack of God-inspired scripture ultimately does not affect the truth status of the gospel as preached by the apostles.