What is the Bible?

This article appeared in the May 2009 edition of Broadway Christian Church's newspaper, The Harbinger:

Churches read from it every Sunday all over the world. It has been translated into more languages than any other written work and more has been written about it than any other subject. People have bought more copies of it than any other book ever written. When listing elements of popular culture, few if any aficionados on the matter would list the Bible, yet God’s Word has managed to reach people on a level that is second to none in the history of the world. Is it merely a coincidence that the Bible has merited and continues to merit so much attention? What makes the Bible so special?

Physically speaking the Bible is a collection of 66 books, likely written over a period spanning 1500 years by some 40 different authors on three different continents. From a literary standpoint the Bible consists of several distinctive literary genres. For example, there are books of history, prophecy, poetry and epistles. The Bible even has genres unique to itself such as the gospels. A scholar could list tens of different types literature found within God’s Word, but these are the basic categories.

Spiritually speaking there is significant debate over how much weight Scripture should be given in the contemporary world. Different churches hold the Bible at differing levels of esteem. Churches created out of the Protestant Reformation hold the view of sola Scriptura, which, when translated, reads “the Bible alone.” Protestants hold the Bible in the highest esteem, labeling it the inerrant and infallible Word of God. Inerrant means, “without error,” and infallible means, “incapable of error.” While these words are not used in Scripture, the principle for which they stand is sound.

Here at Broadway, we like to reference II Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) which says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Godbreathed is a better way of saying the words, “inspired by God.” While many Christians believe as we do, there are many who question the integrity of Scripture. These arguments come from many different fronts.

One such front is that the Bible was compiled by men, meaning that the books were selected by men. These naysayers argue that other period writings were left out of the biblical canon. The Bible, accepted by the Christians of today, came into being as a result of books being accepted as inspired by God over the early centuries of church history. Criteria that led to the finalization of the New Testament Canon include: apostolic authorship, doctrinal consistency, universal acceptance and a self -authenticating divine nature. More to come!