Inspiration

Inspiration is the traditional concept used by Christians and Jews to define the divine authorship of their sacred texts.

According to Jewish and Christian traditions, the Bible was not "written" or "dictated" but "inspired" by God. The idea of "inspiration" implies that the sacred scriptures were a result of a synergy between God and the human authors who were ultimately responsible for the writing, being influenced by the historical, scientific, cultural and ethical knowledges of their time.

The majority of Christian and Jewish denominations today would agree with the statement of the Second Vatican Council that Scriptures are the "Word of God" in the sense that "they solidly, faithfully and without error teach that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings for the sake of salvation", but that "God spoke in Sacred Scripture through men in human fashion." In other words, God revealed himself through human history, "accepting" the limitations and influences of human culture. Hence, Scriptures do not have to be taken "literally" but understood in re

The idea that everything in the Bible must be historically, scientifically, culturally and ethically perfect and unchangeable is not a traditional idea but a modern concept born in some Christian circles in the last two centuries as a reaction to biblical criticism and scientific research.