© Rev. Lance Carrithers, all rights reserved.  Permission required to copy any portion of this message by any means. Email for permission: lance@firstchurchdc.com

Questions of Faith #5  How Did the Bible Come to Be and How Do We Read It?

Psalm 119: 105-114

 The kids got to sing it—it’s our turn:  "The B-i-b-l-e, yes that’s the book for me, I stand upon the word of God, the  B-i-b-l-e!" 

            The Bible is our book.   When we want to trump an argument, we turn to the Bible—“But the Bible says…” 

          There were many questions about the Bible among the cards you turned in when we asked for your questions about faith, the Bible, church, and living as a Christian. 

Here are some:

·   “Will the Bible ever be updated?”

·   “Why is reading the Bible so difficult?”

·   “Did God write the Bible or man?”

·   “What are the missing books of the Bible?”

And this question:

·   “Why do the powers that be in the church feel the Bible needs “interpreted” and a new version printed?   Each time this is done the Bible changed—until I wonder just how much of the original Bible is left?”

           This question gets at so many things…that I think it would be best if we understood how the Bible we read today came to be, and how it has been interpreted, revised and updated throughout thousands of years.

             First, the word bible comes from a Greek word that literally means “books.”   “Bible” describes what we have in this bound volume—a compilation of books.   The writing and assembling of these books occurred over 60 generations, about 1600 years.  That’s a long, long time!

            Who wrote it?   Despite some who might believe God dictated word for word the document we have today—the truth is there are some 40 authors of the words of the Bible.  They include kings, scholars, fishermen and peasants. 

            The question I read earlier wondered just how much of the original Bible is left?    I’m not sure what the person meant by the original Bible.   The Bible was written in three ancient languages…Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.   Rare is it that most Christians read the Bible in it’s original language.

            So, as we read the Bible today, we must interpret.   We cannot read without interpreting, because first of all, we live some 2000 years beyond the last words written in this document, and some 3600 years after some of the earliest words written in the Bible.   We live in a different time and space.   
           Secondly, we live in a different place—the Bible is the product of the Middle East, the people and cultures that live there…the occupying forces that waged war there…the history and the geography of that area of the world.  

            Thirdly, we speak a different language.  Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic are not our native tongues.  And the ancient forms of these languages are stranger still.   For example, written Hebrew contains no vowels, so pronunciation includes so much guesswork. 

           Finally, we have hand-copied ancient scrolls in varying degrees of deterioration that has given translators an additional burden.   In the 1950’s the discovery of the dead sea scrolls provided some earlier scrolls than had previously been available that shed new light on the Prophet Isaiah for example.  

            All of this must be overcome as we read the Bible, in English, in the 21^st century and try to apply it to our modern lives.   To do so involves interpretation.   And we must find those who have made it their life’s work to gain the expertise in this process to help us.

            Each new translation of the Bible, I believe, tries to clarify these ancient passages for a new generation.   Tries to help make the ink on paper come alive to significantly reveal to us God’s character, nature, will and purpose.   That’s why we read the book after all, isn’t it?

            Now then, I mentioned that the Bible was written over a span of 1600 years by some 40 authors.   That begs the questions, “Who decided what is included and what is not included in the Bible?”

            Our Jewish brothers and sisters compiled the Hebrew Scriptures, what we call the Old Testament.  The first five books, the Pentateuch or Torah were given prominence as the law of God delivered through Moses.   There are also the historical books such as Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles and the like.   The Hebrew Scriptures also gathered together the writings…books of poetry and Philosophy such as the Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes.    And finally, the prophets…Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, and Micah to name a few.

            This was the Scripture of the People of God during the Time of Christ.   Christians have organized it a bit differently, but the books primarily are the same.  

            The New Testament as we know it came through a process whereby fourth century bishops and church leaders council together, arguing and eventually voting on what would be included in the Holy Scriptures.   Eventually, they divided the Hebrew Scripture into 39 books, and add 27 new Christian books— four gospels, one book of history, a large grouping of letters, and a final revelation to the Christian church.   And they canonized the Scripture—that is, set is as the standard authoritative writings for the Christian church.

            There were books that some wanted included, but didn’t get the necessary votes: The Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, the Letters of Clement, or the Shepherd of Hermas.     In fact, the Shepherd of Hermas almost made it into the Bible, in fact, for it met the criteria: It was considered to be of sound doctrine, and had widespread usage among Christian communities.  However, it failed finally because it was not associated with an Apostle.  By the same token, Revelation almost didn’t make it into the canon.   By contrast, it was associated with the Apostle John, but many argued that its strange, difficult imagery made it too difficult to understand.  The canon, the official list, was closed around the end of the fourth century.   No new writings have been added since.

           There are some Deuterocanonical books, that is, important writings that came after the canon was closed, that the Roman Catholic church has named as revealing and informative, but not a part of the canon.  They consist mostly of intertestamentary writings, the time between the prophets of the Old Testament and the Gospels of the new.   You’ll find them in Roman Catholic Bibles, but not often in protestant ones.    Books like Tobit, 1 & 2 Maccabees, Baruch and the Letter of Jeremiah.

            So let’s review.   The Bible was written by 40 different persons, over 1600 years in ancient languages such as Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic.  It was finally voted upon by an early church council in the fourth century, and set as the authoritative writings for the church.

            Does any of that make a difference for you?   Perhaps, if your faith depends upon believing that the King James Bible is the first and last final word of God.   But if one believes that God continues to speak and reveal God’s nature and character and will and purpose through these writings, then one might believe that the process by which these writings are made more clear and more understandable for a modern generation is also in God’s hand.   

            I think this is what we mean when we say the Bible is the “inspired Word of God.”   The words on paper reveal God to us, and God’s relationship with human beings, and God’s desire and will for humans in that relationship.  That they continue to do so even today is what I think we mean when we say the Bible is the “living Word of God.”   It lives and grows and relates to us, in a new way each time we come to it.   Each time we read the words on paper.  

            The Bible is not our God.   God is our God.   The Bible is the gift, the grace, God provides through the many who wrote it, the many more who canonized it, and the many many more who translated it.   God’s gift, God’s grace that we might know God…know God’s nature and character and God’s will and purpose for us.   Today.  In this time and space.  In our culture.   In our language.   In our personality.   Only a living word could accomplish this.   By the grace of God.

            I had a Sunday school teacher once who asked the class of 3^rd graders I was in this question.  “Class, how do you dust a Bible?”   We guessed and guessed.  Some thought it best to get a clean cloth and gently wipe the dust off.  Others thought it best to blow the dust off.   Some of us thought a feather duster would be the most gentle way to remove the dust.   Finally the teacher provided her answer…the right answer.   “Class, why would your Bibles be dusty, if you read them each day as God wants you to?” 

            There is truth in her words…but there is something else.   There is the view that the Bible itself, the words on the paper, bound in leather or paperboard, is the object of worship.   Never.   The same idea pervades the church today…people who bring us tattered old Bibles because they believe it sinful to throw them away.   The object itself has become sacred.

            We may have great affection for the word of God, but our worship must be reserved for God and God alone.   The Bible reveals God to us.   The Bible reveals ourselves in relationship to God.   The Bible is our messenger.   But we must never make the mistake that the Bible is our God.

            All of you with questions about the Bible, get to reading.  Don’t rely on me or anyone else to tell you what is in it.   If we are the people of God, then it makes sense we would want to know a much about God as these books can reveal to us.   We would want to know as much about ourselves in relationship with God as these books can reveal to us.   We would want to know as much about God’s will and purpose for our lives as these books can reveal to us.   Don’t revere your Bible.   Read it.  One of the primary practices of our faith.  

            Next week:  We return to one of the questions some of you asked about the hard stuff of life as it relates to our faith.  Dr. Godbey will talk about the questions of human forgiveness.