Question 31 – What is the Bible and who wrote it?
The word "Bible" loosely translates to "books." It is a collection of 66 books, written over approximately 1,500 years by around 40 authors with diverse educational backgrounds and social standings, primarily in the Middle East, but also across various regions, in different locations, and in multiple languages. The entire Bible is divided into two main parts—the Old Testament and the New Testament. More precisely, it represents the old and new covenants between God and humanity.
From the above description, it is clear that the Bible is not a book that "fell from the sky" or was written or dictated by God Himself. It was penned by fallible human beings. As Christians, we believe that God inspired those individuals chosen by Him to record their experiences with Him, with His people, or directly to write down God's words. Fallible people were thus guided by an infallible God to create an infallible work.
How did this "inspiration" occur?
In truth, we don't know exactly how this inspiration happened; we have an understanding about how it was likely but not a concrete technique. We were not present, and we didn't hear any of the biblical authors discuss it. However, we believe that God somehow guided and ensured the process. It certainly was not, in most cases, any sort of literal dictation. Across the spectrum of biblical books, we can observe various styles and forms of writing corresponding to the level and skills of each writer. This indicates that the authors had some degree of freedom in expressing themselves in a way that was natural to them. However, the content (historical, factual, and theological accuracy) was directed, or breathed, by God's Spirit. God employed the individual differences of diverse people to create a work rich in variation, yet with an unmistakably identifiable theme and internally consistent message.
What is the Bible About?
Allow me to compare it to an instruction manual. When you purchase a very complex product, you generally cannot do without the manual. Such a manual typically contains information about the purpose of the product, how we are to use it, and what we should never do to avoid damaging it or the people around it. The Bible is somewhat similar. On its pages, we find information about who we are, what happens after death, how we should treat each other, who God is, and ultimately—how our lost relationship with Him can be restored. It can also be seen as a love letter from a loving Father to His estranged children.
And what is the core message of this letter? It is primarily about a loving and forgiving but just God (who must punish sin) who reaches out to rebellious humanity and offers grace, forgiveness, and a new life in a relationship with Him. All this unfolds in the context of painful human history and the stories of ordinary people and nations. People like you and me.
In reality, even after thousands of years, we have not changed at all, and as humanity, we remain the same. The main characters experienced the same feelings as we do. They experienced love, rejection, fear, hatred, and forgiveness. Biblical figures also love, hate, lie, are involved in intrigue, and long for power, money, and sex. External knowledge and circumstances may have changed, but human hearts have not.
How did the Bible take its present form?
Over 2,000 years ago, the Bible did not exist in its current form. There were texts of the Old Testament that circulated during Jesus' time in the form of various scrolls. He referred to them as authoritative divine revelation and also demonstrated that the entire Old Testament was written about Himself as the coming Messiah. With His coming, death, and resurrection, Jesus did not abolish the old covenant but fulfilled it and brought a new covenant. Many of Jesus' words, His teachings, and deeds were recorded by His disciples in what are called the Gospels, which now form a substantial part of the New Testament. Another important section is the Acts of the Apostles, which details the beginning of the spread of Christianity. The last section and most numerous of the New Testament books consists of letters written by the apostles as responses to numerous issues that various church congregations were facing across the ancient world.
During the early Church period, individual "books" of the New Testament were circulated among church congregations as standalone texts. The so-called canonization, when the Bible took its current form, occurred about 300 years later at a church council (in 382 A.D.). Based on this, some people believe that a specific church created the Bible. Formally, yes, but not factually [1, p. 83]. The canonization process also came about because there was a need to respond to growing heresies and false teachings being introduced into the churches. It was merely an official confirmation of what the majority of Christians since the time of Jesus Christ had already recognized as authoritative texts. The vast majority of New Testament writings had their own authority, and there was no dispute about them (the first informal list, almost identical to our Bible, was created around 170 A.D., according to some sources, and was called the "Muratorian Canon"). The Bible, therefore, in its present content form (as we know it now) began to exist only after 382 A.D. However, the Bible as God's word (i.e., biblical texts) existed and fulfilled its role from its inception.
Summation
The Bible is the primary source of Christian faith, referred to as the "Word of God." It was written by many authors across centuries, with surprisingly unified and internally consistent messaging. For many centuries, the biblical texts were used individually. They were canonized into their present form at the end of the 4th century.