"As Wesley writes in his note on Scripture’s inspiration (2 Tim 3:16): “The Spirit of God not only once inspired those who wrote it, but continually inspires, supernaturally assists, those that read it with earnest prayer.”"
My personal view of Scripture and inspiration is very parallel to this. So I have always added a disclaimer in discussions with others about this that my view was not quite orthodox. Turns out, maybe I'm not a Baptist, but maybe a Methodist! 😁
Hey, Bruce, you're actually very much at home in the Protestant tradition if you want to affirm that we need the Holy Spirit to aid our understanding of Scripture—a view held by the magisterial Reformers and, indeed, by many in the early church. What distinguishes Wesley and Wesleyans, I think, would be the weight of emphasis we place on this notion of ongoing inspiration. As I wrote in the previous post, Wesley's interest centers on what the Spirit does through Scripture in readers and hearers (and their communities) who receive it in faith. An inerrancy framework, by contrast, tends to locate inspiration in the past event of composition, producing a text with certain formal properties. // On the widespread view that the aid of the Holy Spirit is needed fully to understand Scripture, see Leulseged Philemon, _Pneumatic Hermeneutics: The Role of the Holy Spirit in Theological Interpretation of Scripture_ (CPT Press, 2019).
Loving this series of posts - them you. And...
"As Wesley writes in his note on Scripture’s inspiration (2 Tim 3:16): “The Spirit of God not only once inspired those who wrote it, but continually inspires, supernaturally assists, those that read it with earnest prayer.”"
My personal view of Scripture and inspiration is very parallel to this. So I have always added a disclaimer in discussions with others about this that my view was not quite orthodox. Turns out, maybe I'm not a Baptist, but maybe a Methodist! 😁
Hey, Bruce, you're actually very much at home in the Protestant tradition if you want to affirm that we need the Holy Spirit to aid our understanding of Scripture—a view held by the magisterial Reformers and, indeed, by many in the early church. What distinguishes Wesley and Wesleyans, I think, would be the weight of emphasis we place on this notion of ongoing inspiration. As I wrote in the previous post, Wesley's interest centers on what the Spirit does through Scripture in readers and hearers (and their communities) who receive it in faith. An inerrancy framework, by contrast, tends to locate inspiration in the past event of composition, producing a text with certain formal properties. // On the widespread view that the aid of the Holy Spirit is needed fully to understand Scripture, see Leulseged Philemon, _Pneumatic Hermeneutics: The Role of the Holy Spirit in Theological Interpretation of Scripture_ (CPT Press, 2019).
Thanks for the reference - will acquire and devour.