Where did the Bible come from???

[OnlyAnEgg]

Unless, of course, you mean in some mystical sense where all existence (including the Bible) is a manifestation of Godhead or something. . .

heheh...well done

 

[melj7077]

There are plenty of sources as to where the Bible came from. All you have to do is watch History channel occassionally. I think what is more to the point is that you are not a believer while your family is. Don't worry about that. The bible is a fascinating read if you take it as poetry rather than historical fact. So is the Koran, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, The Egyptian Book of the Dead, The Gnostic Gospels, the Bagdavad Gita (A personal favorite), Plato's Dialogues, and the other great sacred texts of the world.

The issue is whether you are going to order your life through an outside source or from an internal source. The great sacred texts can give you clues as can the mythologies of the world. Get yourself a copy of Bill Moyer's interview with Joseph Campbell. It'll give you a great primer on Dr. Campbell's thoughts on mythology (myths are not deliberate fabrications).

Don't worry about being "saved". All gods love the brave and martial artists are the brave.

 

[burkspatrick]

Various men inspired by God. The Old Testement--5 books of Moses,the Histories from Joshua all the way to Eshter, then what's called the next division which in the Bible is called the Psalms which includes Job thru Song of Solomon, then the last division which is called the Prophets. There's 400 years of silence by any prophet till John the Baptist spoke paving the way for Jesus. Then you have the New Testament---the four Gospels, Acts-Pauline Epistles--Pastoral Epistles--then you have James, Peter and the John epistles last of all is the Revelation written by the Apostle John on the Isle of Patmos. All of the New Testament was written within a hundred years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The last writer was the Apostle John at about A.D. 96 who wrote the Revelation.
The New Testament was considered complete and canon way before the Council of Nicea. A good website to look up information is at http://www.biblicalstudies.info there's alot of good and professional information on this site. It also has alot of good and factual information on Biblical Archaeology. Another good website to look up on Biblical Archaeology, not the Hollywood version that's presented on History Channel, is at http://www.christiananswers.net/archaeology most information here is consise and for the regular person in mind. For more professional infromation on biblical archaeology you can go to http://www.biblicalarchaeolgy.net as well as http://www.bibarch.com
or you could go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page which is on online encyclopedia website and look up information.

 

[heretic888]

Then you have the New Testament---the four Gospels, Acts-Pauline Epistles--Pastoral Epistles--then you have James, Peter and the John epistles last of all is the Revelation written by the Apostle John on the Isle of Patmos. All of the New Testament was written within a hundred years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The last writer was the Apostle John at about A.D. 96 who wrote the Revelation.

This is incorrect.

The so-called Pastoral Letters date to sometime between 125 to 175 CE, as does the Acts of the Apostles. These texts are the work of 2nd century apologists that are trying to "silence" supposedly heretical and partisan views within the early Christian communities. The typical tactic among early apologists is to co-opt the identity of some early Christian leader (such as Paul) and then write one's text in "his name". It generally worked, as most Christians today still believe the Pastorals were authored by Paul.

Many of the Apostolic Letters were also written after the fact and attempt to paint a revisionist account of the early Chrisitan communities. The letters attributed to Peter, for example, attempt to paint companionship and harmony between Peter and Paul. Yet, in Paul's own accounts in his letters, he does not think very highly of Peter.

As for the Revelation of John, it is generally believed to have originally been a Jewish apocalypse that was co-opted and heavily revised by Christian scribes in the early 2nd century. It was definitely not written by "John".

The New Testament was considered complete and canon way before the Council of Nicea.

This is also incorrect.

The Revelation of John was disputed among various groups of Christians (including the Catholic Church) as recently as the 10th century. It was hardly "considered complete and canon". Even the official Church "historian" (re: propagandist) Eusebius, writing in the early 4th century, holds both Revelation and several of the Apostolic Letters to be disputed and spurious works.

The four canonical Gospels were generally accepted, if that's what you mean, as were most of Paul's letters. But the New Testament that we have today did not take its final form until the Middle Ages (at which point reading became outlawed and suddenly all such "scriptural debates" magically stopped).

Laterz.

 

[Samurai]

Not sure what sort of history lesson we have here but....

William Tyndale published the first Bible translation from the Greek and Hebrew manuscrupits in 1580 and presented his work to the Council of Worms. He was later killed as a heretic by the church. His work included the same 66 books we have today plus 4 "others" that are not even included in the Gnostic Gospels or the Apocropya (sp?)

Later King James of England (a nasty man in his own rights) comissioned the writing of the King James BIble. This version was completed in 1611. The original King James Bible inclued the 66 standard books and the apocropya (sp?). Reprints of other Tyndale and the 1611 version of the King JAmes are availible on Amazon.com. You can also get modules for a free Bible program called E-Sword (www.e-sword.net) of the Bishops Bible (1580) and the King James (1611 version). The King James version we have now did not come into fashion until about 1820.


--Jeremy Bays