What Is the Bible?

We continue our occasional series answering questions about the Christian faith for all who are curious and/or seeking a faith of their own. Today, we delve into the Bible, that library of 66 books covering multiple genres (including Law, History, Wisdom, Poetry, Gospel, Epistles, Prophecy, and Apocalyptic Literature) that is the foundational document of our faith. This will be a fairly long blog post as the Bible is many things.

• • The Bible, comprised of the Old and New Testament canons, is at the core of Christian belief.
  • Through the scriptures, God speaks to us most directly.
  • At times a passage, enlivened by the Holy Spirit, will speak to us in a way it never has before.
  • Reading and rereading scripture also provides valuable insights as to our place in God’s plan.
  • With these insights, we are changed from individuals seeking our personal interests into God’s servants, more concerned with our neighbors than ourselves. 
   Is that all?
  • No, there's more ...
  • It is through Scripture we learn most fully who God is and what God has done in the long history of humanity.
  • In the Old Testament, we learn God created from the small tribe of Israel a missionary people destined to show what it means to be followers of the one true God and to strive to honor God in both actions and beliefs.
  • In the New Testament, we learn of God’s great mercy and saving grace from the narrative of Jesus’ entry into human history. We learn of Jesus’ fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
  • In the New Testament, we also gain an understanding of the struggles of the early Christian church and the ultimate destiny of humanity.
  • God’s revelation of God’s-self through the written Word. 
  • Through Jesus we best know God and through the Bible we best know Jesus.
  • The Bible must be used in its entirety to be understood well ... both Old and New Testaments are needed. 
  • God is moving throughout the Bible, from beginning to end. John opens by telling us Jesus “the Word” was there at the beginning and everything was created through Jesus. God’s Holy Spirit makes an appearance in creation, guides Jesus through his life, and upon Jesus’ ascension begins the Christian church by filling the apostles with Spirit. The Holy Spirit also inspired every Bible writer. Today, through Scripture we know we all have access to the same Spirit, to salvation through Jesus, and to God the creator who is personal and continues to work in our lives. All of this is captured in Scripture.   
  I've heard some Bible texts are contradictory to each other. Is that true? No, and here's why:
  
  • Each and every author in the Bible is writing for a particular people in a particular time facing a particular set of issues.
  • No two authors will ever approach the same material in the same way.
  • Each will choose to stress different aspects of a story to make the point that author needs to make for that author’s particular readership.
  • Also, each author will speak in the language and using the references of his/her age. 
  Finally, the Bible is a miracle.

• The chief archaeologist of Colonial Williamsburg for many years, Ivor Noel Hume, states that 90% of everything created by humanity in the last 300 years has been destroyed. In that light, the Bible, whose first books were written roughly 4000 years ago (c. 2000 BC), have survived against staggering odds. That is miraculous.