So I didn't get a chance to finish this part last night, and thus decided to publish this afternoon in preparation for tomorrow and the start of our journey through the Bible.
So you might have always wondered, "Where did the Bible come from? What is it's history?" On one level, it seems odd to ask the history behind a book that records salvation history; on another level, however, knowing the story of the Bible's writing and collection enables us to understand the place of Scripture and what relevance it holds for us today.
Now, it is important for Christians to realize that the Bible did not fall out of heaven in it's current form. It was not revealed to one person in its current form. What we now call the Bible was written over a period of several thousand years by those who "spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (1 Peter 1:21). Thus, we profess with the Apostle Paul that Scripture is "God-breathed" (2 Tim. 3:16), that is to say, it is inspired by God through the work of the Holy Spirit - from it's writing, to it's collection, to it's translation, to our reading. This is what makes the Scriptures authoritative for us - by the power of the Holy Spirit, they convey God's Word to us and to the Church.
So where did it come from? Well, there's a bit of a story behind it. But to understand that, let's first establish what the Bible looks like. First, let us recall that the Protestant version of the Bible is made of 66 books. The first 39 are the Hebrew Scriptures, also called the Old Testament (or "Old Covenant") which are still used by the Jewish religion today. The last 27 are the New Testament ("New Covenant"), which were written by the Apostles or their students. In Roman Catholic, Orthodox and some Anglican circles, there are another group of books called the Apocrypha (meaning "hidden books") that appear in the Old Testament. Although not a part of the original Hebrew Scriptures, these books depict God's work among the Jewish people during the 400 years between the close of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament. Although Protestants do not consider them "inspired" like the Old and New Testaments and thus not authoritative, these books are of great devotional and historical value to Christians (more about this later in the year).
As for how the Old Testament came together, it took a long time for this to happen. Books or parts of the books were written, studied, and used by the Israelites over the years; but what finally developed were three distinct parts: the Torah ("the law;" Genesis-Deuteronomy), the Nevi'im (the Prophets; which includes Joshua-Kings as well as the Major and Minor Prophets from Isaiah through Malachi), and the Ketuvim (the "writings;" which includes the Poetry of Psalms, Proverbs, and Job, as well as the "Five scrolls" of Ruth, Esther, Ezra-Nehemiah, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon).
Many of what are now these books developed over a period of time in various ways. Much of it was probably passed down through oral tradition, which means one generation told it to another, rather than committed to writing (at least at first). Other parts of it, we know, were handed down to people like Moses (such as the Ten Commandments, the laws, etc.). Even other parts may have been written in books or by other sources that are now lost to us. Whatever the case, these books began to be compiled in the time of Ezra the priest (see Nehemiah chs. 8-9), as well as in the time of Judas Maccabeus (see the Apocrypha, 1 & 2 Maccabees). However, there is no scholarly consensus on exactly when the Old Testament as we have it was set "in stone" (and thus unable to be changed), except that it happened somewhere between 200 BC and 200 AD. (see "Development of the Jewish Bible canon" at Wikipedia - and I apologize for using Wikipedia as a source).
The New Testament was written by various authors in the years following the death of Jesus of Nazareth, thus between AD 33 and c. AD 150. There are 27 books, which include 4 Gospels (that describe the life, death and resurrection of Jesus), 1 historical book (Acts), and 22 Epistles/Letters (Romans-Revelation). These books were more or less in circulation for the two hundred years that followed their writing. During that same time, other letters and books emerged that were often written in the names of the Apostles, or that were used for teaching in the church. Some of these also rose to prominence in the church, and there were often debates about which one were authoritative Scriptures and which ones were not. Over time, many of the "Church Fathers" (prominent teachers and clergymen) would offer their own wisdom based on the tradition surrounding these books that had been handed down through the centuries. It was not until the Roman Synod of AD 382 that we believe the New Testament was first officially set down in Western Christianity. It was reasserted by Pope Innocent I in AD 401, and the Council of Florence in 1439-43. (with apologies to Glenn Davis, check out his website on this topic: http://www.ntcanon.org/).
By the way, it is important to note that this process of "setting the Bible in stone" is called establishing the canon. The word canon comes from an ancient word called a "measuring stick." Thus, a "measuring stick" or "canon" was set which served as a filter to determine which books were in and which ones were not. In the New Testament, the criteria was if the writing held "Apostolic authority" (that is, which books authentically represented the Apostles' testimony or teaching), and how widely it was accepted by the Church as a whole.
So that is a general overview of the origin of the Scriptures. Now, you might be thinking, "So what?" Well, the point in telling you this is to help us all realize that the Scriptures really are a product of the Holy Spirit, who has worked and continues to work in the hearts and minds of men and women to reveal God's purpose to us. This long process and history tells us that the Church did not just invent the Bible, but prayerfully received and transmitted the Bible by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures, therefore, remain the written revelation of what God has done and is doing in the world, passed down from generation to generation, pointing to the Word of God in human flesh and the revelation of God's glory on earth, Jesus Christ. He is the exact representation and expression of God's glory, and the Lord of all the earth, to whom alone we bow. Thus, when we read the Scriptures today, God continues to reveal Himself to us by the power of the Holy Spirit, God enables us to have a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ, and God reveals to us the kind of transformed life He is working to bring about in us by the power of the Spirit.
If you have any further questions or challenges to what I've written, feel free to comment. In part II, I will talk about how we read the Scriptures and what role they play in our lives.
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