Where Did the Bible Come From?

The Bible.

It’s the holy book of Christianity, and the single most influential work of literature the world has ever known.

An impressive resume, to say the least.

Nowadays, we take the existence of such a book for granted.

So much so that I think we rarely ask…

…where did the Bible even come from?

The Bible Didn’t Just Appear

Let’s get one thing straight.

The Bible didn’t just appear out of thin air.

Its creation was a long and laborious process.

Emphasis on long.

In fact, for the first few centuries of Church history, there was no general consensus on what exactly the Bible was.

By and large, the Church recognized the importance of what we’d today call the Old Testament - the Pentateuch (the first five books), the Psalms, and the Prophets, to name a few.

Of course, the Gospels were widely recognized, too; that’s a given.

The writings of Paul also held great importance, as did writings attributed to other apostles.

But which writings specifically? That’s where the debate comes in.

For example, the inclusion of books like Revelation and James was challenged as recently as 500 years ago.

And, if we look across denominations, we’ll notice that there are still disagreements. 

Protestants, for instance, have a 66-book Bible while Catholics have 73.

All of this goes to show that the Bible developed, and that development branched out in different directions.

History of the Bible

This week on Theophilus, we’re going to explore that development as we look at the history of the Bible.

In doing so, we’ll summarize how the world’s most famous book came to be.

And since Theophilus is run by sneaky, schismatic Protestants, we’re going to focus specifically on the development of the 66-book Bible (but not exclusively).

By understanding the formation of this incredibly important book, my hope is that we’ll gain a deeper appreciation not only for how God works through history but also for the faith we profess.

We’ll start tomorrow, “in the beginning.”

For now, be blessed.

Jon,

Theophilus Newsletter