Encyclopedia of sacred theology - pagina 373

Chap.

THE OPERATION OF THIS PKINX'IITUM

II]

349

In the Holy Scripture and notldny else, another group asserts that the apocryphal books as well, and tradition, yea, the papal inspiration also, claim our attention affirms

:

;

those

who

mystically inclined tend

are

Scriptures by personal inspiration

der

off

yet farther point you to a

supersede the

to

and minds that wan-

;

Word

of

God

in nature,

in history, in the conscience, or in the ideal disposition of

your heart. Two things must be carefully distinguished. There is, on the one hand, the question whether by sin the self-revelation of God is compelled to take a temporary side-road, in order, when sin shall have been entirely overcome, to resume again its original way, or whether in the sinner, also, the internal address of God is still heard in This touches the relation of natsufficiently clear accents. ural theology to specially revealed theology, and can pass into the question whether natural theology is not sufficient for the sinner a matter which in turn is connected with ;

If the reality of sin is finally denied,

the doctrine of sin.

by dissolving

its antithetic

character and by viewing

a stage in a continuous process of development, then

evident that there

is

it

it

as is

no longer any question of the darkenGod by sin. This, however, is not

ing of our knowledge of the point that

is

in order in this section.

therefore, that the reality of sin

is

Here we assume,

acknowledged, that the

darkening of our knowledge of God by sin is confessed, so that without a special revelation no sufficient knowledge

God

of

for

the sinner

accepted, then viz.

how

we come

is

deemed

obtainable.

If

this is

to face an entirely different question:

this special revelation is to be conceived.

The most general conception under tations can be grasped

is

wiiich these represen-

that of inspiration,

God upon

the

only qualitatively; in which case

it is

i.e.

of an inwork-

mind and heart of the sinner, by which God makes Himself known to him, and communicates His will or His thoughts. For the present we pass by the quantitive element in this inspiration we take it now

ing of the Spirit of

;

it is

clear that fundamentally

one and the same conception, whether

I

speak of theop-

ueusty in the prophets and apostles, of an internal light in

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