Reading comments on this forum makes me think about so many facets in understanding God's word and how he works. I was very puzzled as to why DJeggnog had so much trouble in trying to explain the difference between being guided by God's holy spirit and being inspired. He stopped posting when he was cornered on this.
Is it a problem with the english language again that there are possibly different meanings to what 'inspired' actually means? In our common usage term we are all inspired by one thing or another. It is often something that we see, hear or think that will motivate us in our actions and we could say that our actions were inspired by some thing.
To be inspired by God should not mean that we become infaliable or that what we do or say is perfect but it would motivate us to do what is right in the eyes of God. Why would any of us (believers in God) want to say that we are not inspired by God? Yet the GB say this. To be moved or guided by his holy spirit would be the same thing.
To say that God's holy spirit is operating among us and directing us may be a different matter. For his actual power or force to be in operation resulting in a particular outcome is entirely different. How we can actually identify it in a particular situation today is not so clear. The WTs often relate an experience with the suggestion that God has had his hand in a particular situation. Possibly a bit presumptuos but it is also accepted that as good works have resulted it must have been so. Certainly where we see the flow of 'fruits of the spirit' we can be more confident that God's spirit is shining.
The JWs would have us believe that it is simply because the bible is inspired by God that it is infallible but I am wondering if they are misrepresenting the term inspiration here. It is clear (to those that have faith that the bible is God's word) that it is accurate because God 'spoke' directly to those that wrote it. Whether that was through visions, dreams or physically. That is what makes it infallible, by the operation of God's holy spirit to work miracously in directly providing information to the bible writers.
Why the GB would want to claim that they are not inspired by God is a bit of a revelation.
Acknowledging that the bible writers were given special gifts from God in order for his word to reach us and for it to be infallible is accepted by many. That these gifts no longer exist then brings up the question of how is it that the Canon exists as it is today and could it possibly be incorrect or incomplete? Generally it is not accepted as being so. I understand the Canon as being formulated in the 2nd Century and by people who the JWs reject as being 'God's people', yet without the miraculous gifts no longer in operation how was God's holy spirit able to ensure that his message was not corrupted? If we accept that it wasn't then God's holy spirit operates in ways that we do not understand (in physical terms)- or at least I am trying to understand. I don't doubt that God has protected his message and preserved it down to this day. If that is the case then what is he doing for the JWs in protecting their interpretation of the bible and the messages that they forumalte together in their publications that aren't worth preserving or protecting as they keep changing? It would appear that God's holy spirit has no 'physical' application for them even though it was in relation to the bible canon.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.