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As my inquiry progressed, however, I have become concerned that whatever

bridge might have been created in this matter will be counter-balanced by a barrier that
has less to do with divine action and more to imply about societal authoritarianism and
cultural imperialism. The idea of divine inspiration behind the Moslems' holy book
appears to differ significantly from those of conservative Jewish and Christian scriptures.
The consequences of these differences are disconcerting.

Though I am not a scholar of Islamic doctrine or history, I have sought to

understand some of the essentials this religion offers its adherents. I have proceeded
cautiously but confidently under the assumption that an inquirer about a religion should
be able to apprehend its tenets. Moslems who have energetically, sometimes even
winsomely, attempted to evangelize me during travels around the Middle East repeatedly
assure me that theirs is a religion for the world. They suggest as have their sacred
scriptures that a common spirit animates our respective traditions and that Christians
(as "People of the Book") are within reach of Islam.

So I ask in response: Do our religions really share a common ground on the

origins of our respective scriptures? My conclusions will necessarily remain tentative,
but it is my hope that this beginning investigation of the doctrine of inspiration may help
us formulate an appropriate Christian response to Islam and its jihad, whether
emblematically or literally construed.

CHRISTIAN VIEWS OF INSPIRATION

Given the constituency of this conference and the explicit statement of faith

signed annually by all members of the Evangelical Theological Society, I shall assume
the concept of the "inerrancy of the autographa" of scripture to be a given. Furthermore,
for the sake of time and space, I shall limit myself in this portion of the paper to an
evangelical understanding of why scripture has been regarded as it has.

This inquiry starts with divine authorship and how truth was conveyed to and

through human minds, mouths and hands what is the nature of divine inspiration ?
The very word can be misleading when one moves between modern English meanings of
the word to what traditionally has been intended by theologians who apply it to the
Jewish or Christian scriptures. In order to move away from current nuances, such as "to
excite" or "to move deeply," evangelicals cite a variety of pertinent matters. These
include: the Old Testament prophetic formula, "thus says the Lord"; the crucial Greek
word animating II Tim.3:16-17, theopneustos `God-breathed"; the word prophet that
identifies he is `speaking for' God; the clarification of II Pet.1:20-21 that it is not the will
of man but the movement of God that drives divine inspiration. With these and like
passages, we aim to clarify that more important than any in-breathing done by men is the
ex-halation first performed by God.

But what was it that God breathed out, and to what degree did that breath

constrain the mind, tongue or stylus of the prophets and apostles who received and