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Instrumentality is a theological theory that falls under the broader category of the prophetic model of biblical inspiration.[1] Those who espouse the prophetic model consider the authors of all the books of the bible to have been inspired in the same way prophets have been inspired by God to preach. Although, as Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange notes, a prophet can act based on direct revelation from God or from inspiration.[2]
The latter is what is relevant when it comes to biblical interpretation. This model of biblical inspiration played a dominant role in the Early Church and was fully and systematically explained by medieval theologians like Thomas Aquinas. Thomas discusses prophesy in Questions 171-174 of the Second Part of the Second Part of the Summa Theologica. Thomas uses earlier theologians, namely Augustine of Hippo and Pope Gregory the Great, to support his argument. Jewish theologians such as Maimonides also defended this model.
- ^ Raymond Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1990): 65:32.
- ^ Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., "Charismatic Graces", Reality: A Synthesis of Thomistic Thought, (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012): Chapter 53. [1] Accessed on April 15, 2013.