Defining the Bible

The Bible is a theological polemic, accepted by Christians as inspired by God. Indeed myriad verses through the sacrament testify to its divine origin Genesis 6:9-13, Exodus 20:1-17, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Revelation 1:1-2) and reflect the diverse cultural backgrounds and personalities of those who authored it. Much of the Bible was at first written as innumerable letters rather than Scripture and are a personal record of views on historical events ( Luke 1:1-4) and opinion. (1 Corinthians 7:12).

The Old Testament and Olden Times

The Bible is divided into two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament, the former being sacrosanct Jewish scripture compiled between 1000 BC and 100 BC. It is inclusive of tales being passed down the centuries in oral tradition. Originally written in Hebrew, some parts are also found to be scripted in Aramaic as well. Around 100 AD, Jewish rabbis established an official canon of Judaism, excluding books that did not find a place in Hebrew verses or Scripture. Thus arises the difference between Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox versions of the Old Testament. Nonetheless, Jesus Christ, the Son of God was born a Jew and extolled the Jewish faith during his life on earth. The Jewish scripture, which had prophesied the coming of the Messiah, is thus regarded by Christians as part and parcel of the Bible.

For more details: What is the difference between Protestant and Catholic Bibles?

The OT. The story of a nation.

The OT testifies the story of God's chosen, the Hebrews, or Jews as they later came to be known. Around 1800 BC, God made a pact with Abraham promising him a future lineage which would comprise a great nation. Indeed, in time, this came to be and a few of Abraham's descendants migrated to Egypt to escape famine. A few generations later, Moses was sent to lead Abraham's descendants, who now numbered many, out of enslavement to their Egyptian masters and into the Promised Land. During their 40 years in the desert, God invoked the Ten Commandments, which, together with other instruction found in the OT, proved to be a law for everyday life for both Jew and Gentile alike. Although the Israelites often tended to lapse into immorality, God, through prophets such as Elijah, Samuel, and Jonah, lead them back to the correct path, proving his love for his people time and again.

For more details: The Ten Commandments, Abraham

The New Testament And Newer Times

The NT is a compilation of literature unique to Christianity.
The collection of books we know as the New Testament emerged in the late second century, A.D. and was formally adopted by the Synod of Carthage in 397 A.D.

The New Testament speaks of Jesus life here on earth, His ministry , Crucifixion and Resurrection. Jesus traveled , teaching love among all men, obedience to God, the defeat of evil and spoke of his Resurrection. He healed the ailing and promised eternal life after death to all those who placed their faith in God and His commandments.

Contrary to popular Jewish belief which held that holiness could be achieved by strict adherence to the 10 Commandments, Jesus preached that love of God and love of fellow human beings are the two greatest commandments which would lead man to eternal life after death. Jesus ruled a spiritual kingdom rather than worldly and taught the path of victory as through love, humility and service to mankind. He failed the belief of Jews who believed the Messiah would be an all powerful worldly ruler, someone who would defeat Israel's enemies and thus many Jews rejected Christ and His teachings. Further, Christ's claim of divine authority and His refusal to follow many a tenet of Judaism lent to the rulers that were the belief the Christ was usurping their authority over the people. This led to Christ's Crucifixion just three years after he had commenced His ministry on earth.

Nonetheless, Christ's Resurrection just three days after being crucified on the Cross convinced people that he was truly the Messiah and the Saviour of the world. Thus came the birth of Christianity and Jesus' former disciples came to the forefront. Nonetheless, they suffered much at the hand of non-believers and faced much prosecution. However, the conversion of Saul, one of the fiercest prosecutors of Christians into Paul, one of the most zealous Christian missionaries known to mankind, is proof of God's almighty power and Paul went on to extend Christianity outside of Judaism ,founding many Christian communities in the Gentile world, preaching his belief in Christ and chastising people for lapses in their duty to God. He stated that the path to eternal salvation was through faith in Christ and not through obedience to OT Laws, may of which were thus disregarded as binding.

For more details: The Birth of Jesus, Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, The Greatest Commandment and the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Good Friday - The Crucifixion of Jesus, Easter - The Resurrection of Jesus.

Unity in Diversity

Despite the diverse background of the many books found in the Bible and the time lapses between them, the following dicta pertain to the Bible as one whole:

• There is only one true God and he loves all his creation. 
• God loves all his people irrespective of creed, colour or race and demands their love in return.
• Man can distinguish between good and evil and must resist evil in order to attain the final kingdom. 
• God seeks the salvation of all people. The teachings of Jesus and the prophets sent to earth lead  all believers towards eternal life.

Reading the Bible's Inner Thoughts

Mostly throughout the Christian era, Bible reading and interpretation were confined to religious professionals in accordance with church beliefs and traditions. Little effort was made to determine to original meanings of scripture .Scientific discoveries circa the 17th century and pertaining to the interpretation of Galileo and Darwin , led to .The L.the birth of the fundamentalist movement which posited that everything in the Bible must be absolutely, literally and scientifically true and anything conflicting between the Bible and other streams such as arts, science and history should be resolved in favor of the Bible due to its divine origin came to be. In today' s world, hermeneutics is the key of all biblical studies. Dealing with Biblical languages, phrases and cultures, hermeneutics tends to draw no parallel to the original meaning of the Bible which it seeks to determine.

For more details: How to Study the Bible, Should the Bible be interpreted literally?

Bible Translations: A Universal language of Love.

In 405, a Latin translation of the Old and New Testaments was completed. Known as the Vulgate, this edition found company with the first English version of the Vulgate as translated by John Wycliffe in 1348. Several other English versions followed, and the beloved King James Version was published in 1611.

Newer versions are translated , however, from the best available ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, rather than from the King James version or the Latin Vulgate.

For more details: Bible Translations, Which Bible version is best?

OT Books

*Included in Catholic and Orthodox Bibles but not in most Protestant editions.

NT Books