Throughout the world, millions of individuals consider the Bible as the Word Of God. But the question of how and where the Bible originated has been debated more than any other literature: written by God or created?
This question touches the very soul of faith, inspiration and divine interaction with mankind.
Who Wrote The Bible: God Or Humans?
Divine Inspiration
The view of the Bible as divinely inspired is fundamental to all Christians.
This doesn’t mean that God dictated the Bible word-for-word. But, it means that God inspired the authors to write in such a way that divine truth was woven through their writings.
To see the importance of divine inspiration is to also understand how scripture was penned.
It was compiled over 1,500 years by more than 40 authors from different parts and walks of life—writers such as kings (David), prophets (Isaiah), and shepherds (Amos), to mention but just a few.
The Bible is a composite work but presents (regardless of the human authors who wrote it and when they wrote it) one unified message about God and man.
It is a unity in diversity that is used as evidence for divine inspiration.
How else could a text written by so many different, various individuals in myriad climates and eras produce such wordplay that coalesces endlessly?
This is inspiration at a level above mere human creativity or cooperation.
Yet the human side is not automatically null and void with divine influence.
The researchers wrote in their voices from the vantage points of being who they are. God’s inspiration did not deaden their individuality but hallowed it.
The Role of Humans
The Bible did not fall from the sky as a holy book in one volume.
It was penned by people who lived in certain times and places of history, which brings us to the issue of human agency in comprising the Bible.
What percentage of the Bible is human thought and culture compared to being from God?
This can be plainly seen in the hand of human authorship that wrote the various books since they each have a different literary style.
For example, the Psalms are often lyric and very personal; they are expressions of human emotion and experience.
The Gospels, however, are historical accounts of what Jesus did.
Nevertheless, the fact that humans participated in its making does not detract from the Bible’s divine authority.
Instead, He shows us how God reveals Himself through human history and experience.
The Bible is the very log of this divine-human encounter in which God speaks his eternal truth through a human cultural-historical filter.
The Canonization Process
One of the most crucial aspects that comes to mind when we consider the history of the Bible is canonization—which books made up what became known as our Bible, and why those specific writings made it in rather than other ones.
Analyzing the New Testament would certainly put in question whether or not this book is really Godțs word — or if they were just certain human writings that early religious leaders thought must be taken and observed as significant.
The process of making the Bible canonical was a long one.
The process was fairly webbed and took, however, numerous decades.
In the case of the Old Testament, the Hebrew Scriptures were basically settled by the time Jesus arrived (though there was still debate over certain books for some years).
The New Testament was even more diverse, with different Christian communities using various texts for a long time until some agreement emerged.
The main point of consideration was that all Scripture had apostolic authority.
Most people, however, accept that God led the early church leaders to identify only those books that were genuinely inspired.
Another view is that the canonization was not merely a human decision but part of God’s will.
The Bible was compiled, and God made sure that the books He wanted into His word were in before it was finalized.
The Transmission of the Biblical Texts
The Bible was copied and handed down from one generation to the other after it had been written and canonized.
The transmission of biblical texts is a remarkable process involving preservation, translation and interpretation.
How has the Bible managed to escape, and how much is it already subject, purely by human whim steeped over centuries?
The Bible is a miraculous thing how it has been held down for so long. Even though ancient transcription was difficult, the Bible has survived in remarkable form.
For example, the Dead Sea Scrolls found in the 20th century demonstrated that there had been very little change to even a thousand years-old Hebrew Bible.
This conservation itself is often taken as proof of the intervention of God in guarding His Word.
When Bibles were copied, the scribes took extreme care and good conscience into their labor.
That reverence for the text meant it was handed down over time, very carefully.
But the process of transmission did not come without its troubles.
Textual variants in the text do occur.
The above are discrepancies in the wording of various biblical manuscript copies.
Though many of these variants are inconsequential, such as variations in spelling or word order, some significantly affect the Bible’s meanings.
The Role of Translation
The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.
It needed to be translated into multiple languages in order for it to reach people around the world.
The very act of translation is intricate, throughout all its layers and stages, and requires not only practical knowledge in linguistics but also theological understanding.
How do translators ensure that they are transmitting God’s Word as it really is?
Translation is often said to walk a line between literally translating meaning and ensuring the text reads well.
Translators decide to go either word-for-word (formal equivalence) or thought-for-thought (dynamic equivalence).
Both of these strategies have some advantages and downsides.
The goal of formal equivalence is as strictly as possible to replicate the original text.
This can be useful for study and deep theological reflection, but it also makes the text hard to understand when you read in another language.
Dynamic equivalence, on the other hand tries to use modern-day language or context which makes sense for today’s readers.
This does help make scripture more accessible – however, sometimes the interpretations can… well, go “off course.”
Another experience of intersection is in the translation process, which takes a text set down by God and tries to make it understandable in written given human languages.
While translators labor to faithfully convey the Word of God in their work, they are also limited by vocabulary and meanings in their language.
The Ultimate Purpose of the Bible
The Bible is the record of who God is, what He has done and how he relates to humanity.
This disclosure is the purpose for which all of scripture exists and distinguishes it from any other work of religion or philosophy.
It is through the Bible that God reveals His holiness, love, justice and mercy.
It tells us how God has dealt with humanity from the beginning of time to the new creation he will bring about.
So when we read the Bible, it tells us about God´s covenant with Israel, but also of Jesus Christ coming and then the Church being formed.
The Bible is an unveiling of God’s purpose for mankind.
The basic theme of this plan is salvation through Jesus Christ.
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Bulgarea Anca is a devout Christian and the founder of Bible Wings, a comprehensive resource for Christians seeking to deepen their faith and understanding of the Bible. Raised within the Christian faith, Bulgarea Anca’s spirituality was nourished by her grandparents, who were cantors in their local church. Her Christian upbringing was further solidified by her education at a Christian school. Today, she uses her in-depth knowledge of the scripture to provide insightful and meaningful content through Bible Wings.