Christian theology

===Biblical inspiration===
{{Main|Biblical inspiration}}
[[File:The Evangelist Matthew Inspired by an Angel.jpg|thumb|left|upright| [[Rembrandt]]'s ''The Evangelist Matthew Inspired by an Angel'', 1661]]
The [[Bible]] contains many passages in which the authors claim divine inspiration for their message or report the effects of such inspiration on others. Besides the direct accounts of written [[revelation]] (such as [[Moses]] receiving the [[Ten Commandments]] inscribed on tablets of stone), the [[Prophet]]s of the [[Old Testament]] frequently claimed that their message was of divine origin by prefacing the revelation using the following phrase: "Thus says the LORD" (for example, [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=IKings+12:22-24;IChronicles+17:3-4;Jeremiah+35:13;Ezekiel+2:4;Zechariah+7:9 1 Kgs 12:22–24;1 Chr 17:3–4; Jer 35:13; Ezek 2:4; Zech 7:9]; etc.). The [[Second Epistle of Peter]] claims that "no prophecy of Scripture ... was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit"<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2Peter+1:20-21 2 Pet 1:20–21] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411011340/http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2Peter+1:20-21 |date=11 April 2021 }}.</ref> The Second Epistle of Peter also implies that Paul's writings are inspired ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2Peter+3:16 2 Pet 3:16]).

Many{{quantify|date=September 2020}} Christians cite a verse in Paul's letter to Timothy, 2 Timothy 3:16–17, as evidence that "all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable ..." Here St. Paul is referring to the Old Testament, since the scriptures have been known by Timothy from "infancy" (verse 15). Others offer an alternative reading for the passage; for example, theologian [[C. H. Dodd]] suggests that it "is probably to be rendered" as: "Every inspired scripture is also useful..."<ref name="dodd p25">{{cite book | last = Dodd | first = Charles Harold | author-link = C. H. Dodd | title = The Authority of the Bible | publisher = Collins | year = 1978 | location= London | isbn= 0-00-625195-1 |page=25}}</ref> A similar translation appears in the [[New English Bible]], in the [[Revised English Bible]], and (as a footnoted alternative) in the [[New Revised Standard Version]]. The Latin [[Vulgate]] can be so read.<ref>The [[Douay–Rheims Bible]], relying on the Vulgate, has "All scripture, inspired of God, is profitable to teach ...". See the comment in the [[New Jerusalem Bible]] study edition - footnote 'e', page 1967, Darton Longman Todd, 1985. {{ISBN|0-232-52077-1}}, but with the caution "less probably".</ref> Yet others defend the "traditional" interpretation; [[Daniel B. Wallace]] calls the alternative "probably not the best translation."<ref>
{{cite book
| author= Daniel B. Wallace
| author-link1 = Daniel B. Wallace
| title= Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament
| location= Grand Rapids, Michigan|publisher= Zondervan|year= 1996
| isbn= 0-310-21895-0|pages= 313–314
| quote = Many scholars feel that the translation should be: 'Every inspired scripture is also profitable.' This is probably not the best translation, however, for the following reasons: (1) Contextually [...] (2) Grammatically [...]
}}
</ref>

Some modern English versions of the Bible renders ''theopneustos'' with "God-breathed" ([[NIV]]) or "breathed out by God" ([[English Standard Version|ESV]]), avoiding the word ''inspiration'', which has the Latin root ''inspīrāre'' - "to blow or breathe into".<ref>{{oed | inspire }}</ref>