The Bible As A Guide
We are told that the Bible is our God inspired, authoritative, non negotiable message , to be seriously respected. The challenge, as with all documents, is to separate in the Bible; the words between their meaning, when written and now, including the interpretations that translators have made over time as the Bible has been re-interpreted, the reasons at the point in time which portions of it were removed or added, and what we expect it to mean based on our personal biases. Finding what the Bible actually says is the important heart of understanding it.It would seem that Jesus never intended for today’s Christianity to harm or marginalize weak or vulnerable people. Yet often we see an understanding of Bible, passages or compositions, as the “word of God”, not possibly in error, being misinterpreted or inconsistent with core values which have stood the test of time that do harm. The Bible is a collection of messages and perspectives from various sources, each contributing a pillar of strength, on which spirituality is founded rather than the puzzle some look for or piece together. Humans have been provided with the ability to evaluate, weigh and decide. Even with the many things we do not know, the Bible and its perspectives, offer information that withstands consistency and purpose leading to a better life as we deal with the issues of greed, envy, depression and loneliness. Actually finding those threads of harmony, for yourself, is a powerful guide when founded on the ‘actual words’ rather than someone else’s belief from their interpretation of a reading done awhile ago. Others can and do hijack interpretations to reflect their interests, ambitions and values. Reading the text for yourself exposes potentially different meanings the author and interpreter from the original Greek potentially intended. The Bible has passages originating in different cultures, different times and different recorded perspectives of the same events, years after they occurred. Only the actual words can help you trust you have acquired the true message intention or point to seeking further confirmation in other passages.
The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)
The Jewish Scriptures were recognized in three stages, often referred to as the Tanakh (Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim).The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)
• c. 400 BCE: The Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy) – The Return from Exile. After returning from Babylon, Ezra the Scribe publicly read the Law, formalizing its status as the foundation of Jewish life.
• c. 200 BCE: The Prophets (Joshua–Malachi) – The Hellenistic Pressure. As Greek culture spread, Jewish leaders sought to preserve the “official” voices of their messengers to maintain national identity.
• c. 90–100 CE: The Writings (Psalms, Esther, etc.) – The Council of Jamnia (Yavne). After the Romans destroyed the Temple in 70 CE, Jewish scholars met to solidify their heritage. While not a formal “vote,” this period settled the status of debated books like Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes.
The New Testament
The New Testament took roughly 350 years to reach its final form. The catalyst was often the need to distinguish “truth” from “heresy.”
• The Early Recognition (c. 50–150 CE) – Books: Mark (~ 70 CE, Matthew ~80 CE, John and Luke ~100 CE. Paul’s letters to the churches 48 to 64 CE. The Death of the Apostles. As the eyewitnesses died, the church needed written records to ensure the oral tradition wasn’t lost or corrupted.
• The First “List” (c. 140 CE) – The Marcionite Heresy. A teacher named Marcion tried to throw out the Old Testament and most of the New Testament (keeping only a butchered Luke and Paul). This backfired and forced the mainstream Church to define exactly which books were authentic to counter Marcion’s “short list.”
• The Muratorian Fragment (c. 170 CE). – This is the oldest known list of New Testament books. It included 22 of the 27 books we have today, showing that a “core” was already universally accepted by the late 2nd century.
• The Gospels and Paul’s writings began to be considered scripture as the oral history of Christ’s words were replaced by the Bible’s content.
• The Council of Rome (AD 382) – The Athanasius Easter Letter (367 CE). Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria wrote a letter listing the 27 books of the New Testament exactly as we have them today. Under Pope Damasus I.who formalized the 73-book canon, was the first time the 27 books of the New Testament were officially listed together with the 46 books of the Old Testament (including the “Deuterocanonical” books like Tobit and Judith). This council’s list provided the “blueprint” for St. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate, which became the standard Bible for the next 1,000 years. The Councils of Hippo (393) & Carthage (397) reaffirmed the 73 books (46 OT, 27 NT) to ensure that all regional churches were reading the same scriptures during liturgy. They specifically stated that “nothing should be read in church under the name of divine scriptures” except these books.
The Reformation and the Deuterocanon
In the 16th century, the Bible’s contents were challenged again, leading to the different versions we see today (Catholic vs. Protestant).
• The Protestant Reformation (1517). Martin Luther moved the “Apocrypha” (books like Tobit and Maccabees) to a separate section, questioning their authority because they weren’t in the Hebrew Bible. Removed/Relegated: 7 Old Testament books (Tobit, Judith, 1 & 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, and Baruch) plus parts of Esther and Daniel. Luther initially questioned New Testament books like James, Jude, Hebrews, and Revelation, calling James an “epistle of straw,” though he eventually kept them. The “Hebrew Truth”: Reformers wanted to use the Hebrew Bible used by Jews at the time (the Masoretic Text), which did not include the 7 books written in Greek. Some of these books (like 2 Maccabees) supported doctrines the Reformers rejected, such as purgatory and prayers for the dead. The Luther Bible (German) and later the Geneva Bible and King James Version (which originally kept these books in a separate “Apocrypha” section before they were removed entirely by printing societies in the 1800s).
• The Council of Trent (1546). In response to Luther, the Catholic Church issued a definitive decree (the first “infallible” list for Catholics) confirming that the Deuterocanonical books were indeed fully inspired scripture. Dogmatically “locked” the 73-book canon. This was the first time the Church issued an infallible definition of the Bible’s contents, attaching an “anathema” (excommunication) to anyone who rejected these books. It opposed the Protestant removal of books and to clarify once and for all what constituted “Sacred Scripture” for Catholics. The Clementine Vulgate was the result (an updated, authoritative version of Jerome’s Vulgate).
• In 1826 the British Bible Society the removed “Apocrypha” section entirely resulting in the basis of the Protestant Bibles of today.
Conclusion
There is no one Bible. Further, it is made up of content from different languages, cultures and points in time. Jesus, a Jew throughout his life, a son of Palestine and Egypt, during a period of Roman occupation did not speak English. The original documents included Akkaddian, Hebrew, Greek, Latin and more and resulting translations of translations bring in question the words chosen to reflect meanings at the time of translation, before or after the translation. Yes the Bible is a collection of stories and thoughts at those points in time BUT its creation came well after the events it reflects, recorded from assorted oral and some documented recordings using languages and cultural implications much different than we have today. None the less, it has stood the test of time better than any other, as a guide for community and the functioning of religion as a governing body guiding daily behavior that has lasted for centuries.