Chapter One THE BIBLE AS IT IS

THE BIBLE IN CHRISTIAN BELIEF

To Christians, the Bible is the word of God. All accept the authority of the Bible in one way or another. Baptists, Presbyterians, Pentecostals and Methodists accept the Bible as the sole religious authority. All the solutions to problems of theology, morals and even day to day living are to be found in the Bible. Anglicans, too, accept the sole authority of the Bible. However its interpretation is subject to the traditional Anglican statements of faith. The position of the Lutheran Churches is similar to the Anglican one: the Bible is the sole authority but subject to the interpretation based on traditional Lutheran statements of faith. The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches recognize the traditional church councils as authoritative alongside the Bible. Catholics, in addition, treat certain pronouncements of the pope as equally binding.1 The meaning of this authority varies considerably. The strict fundamentalist says that the Bible is literally true and is without any error whatsoever. Where allegory is intended, the context is made clear. Thus if the Bible makes certain pronouncements on, say, astronomy, these are accepted, without equivocation, as true. For reason cannot contradict revelation.2 As the television evangelist Jerry Falwell (1933-2007) confidently asserted:
The entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is the inerrant word of God and totally accurate in all respects.3

A different stance is that taken by the liberals. They, too, assert that the Bible is true, but that the truth of the Bible is not scientific or historical and should not be analyzed as such. The Bible, say the liberals, speaks of spiritual truth. Hence when it speaks of the 6 day creation of the universe, one must not take it literally but allegorically. In subsequent chapters we will critically examine these views on the Bible. In this chapter we will provide an introduction to the Bible and its contents. Despite the importance placed on the Bible by all Christians, many if not most are only vaguely familiar with its contents.

THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE

One of the way documents were made in ancient times was to write them down on rolls of papyrus. The material to make these rolls comes from the inner bark of a reed plant that grows only in swampy places. The plant was called byblos. This name is derived from the Canaanite seaport in Phoenicia (modern Lebanon) called Byblos. Hence, the Greek word for the roll of papyrus is biblion which is translated into
1 2 3

Hoffman, The Worlds Almanac: p596 In subsequent chapters we will examine this assertion in depth. Haiven, Faith Hope No Charity: p 52
2

English as book. The plural of biblion is biblia. It is from this word, biblia, that the word Bible is derived.4 The Greek name for the Bible, Ta Biblia (the books), is apt. For it is really a collection of many books. The modern Bible, not including the group of books known as the Apocrypha, comprises 66 books. The lengths of these books vary from Isaiah, which comes close in length to a modern short novel, to the Third Epistle of John, which has only 294 words. The books in the Bible are divided into two main sections; known respectively as The Old Testament and The New Testament. Christians view the Old Testament as an account of the old covenant between God and the Hebrews. The Old Testament is also supposed to contain references and prophecies to the coming of Jesus Christ. The New Testament presents, through Jesus, a new covenant, this time between God and all mankind. In some Bible there exists a third section, known as the Apocrypha. These books are those which have their canonicity disputed in various churches. The Roman Catholic Church accepts some of these books as canonical and places them together with the books of the Old Testament.

THE OLD TESTAMENT

The early Christians adopted the Hebrew Scriptures as their own. What the Jews called the Tanakh,5 the Christians labeled the Old Testament. While the contents of these are the same, the arrangements of the books are different. The Hebrew Tanakh comprises 24 books divided into 3 sections while the Christian Old Testament consists of 39 books grouped into 4 separate sections. Below we give a tabular comparison of the two. The arrangement and division of books of the Old Testament came from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures known as the Septuagint. Most of the early Christians were Greek-speaking Gentiles. Not being able to read Hebrew, they turned to the Greek translation. It was this version that was the Bible for the early Christians.6

4 5

Bruce, The Books and the Parchments: p11 The term Tanakh comes from the 3 sections of the Hebrew Bible: The Torah [The Law], Nebiim [The Prophets] and the Ketubim [The Writings] Bruce, The Books and the Parchments: p89-91
3

Hebrew Tanakh (24 books) Torah (5 books) Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy Numbers,

Christian Old Testament (39 Books) Pentateuch (5 books) Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy The Historical Books (12 books) Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I & II Samuel, I & II Kings, I & II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther Books of Poetry and Ethics (5 books) Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

Nebiim [The Prophets] (8 Books) i. The Former Prophets Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings ii. The Latter Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the 12 Minor Prophets [12 Minor Prophets = Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi] Ketubim [The Writings] (11 books) Psalm, Proverb, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles

Books of the Prophets (17 books) Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

Table 1.1: Books of the Tanakh and Old Testament

PENTATEUCH
The first five books of the Old Testament - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy also known collectively as the Pentateuch, were traditionally believed to be the work of Moses. Genesis narrates the mythical creation of the world in six days and the creation of the first humans: Adam and Eve. The story of Adam and Eve is central to the Christian doctrine of the atonement. The first human couple was originally created to live forever in the paradise called the Garden of Eden. They were given only one command: not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the original forbidden fruit. However, tempted by the serpent, Eve partook of the fruit and induced her partner to do likewise. In punishing their disobedience, God expelled the couple from the garden, imposed hard labor on Adam, promised pain in childbirth for Eve and took away their immortality. Christian theologians call this event The Fall, the loss of mans primal innocence. From thence on every generation would inherit this Original Sin of Adam and Eve. The next notable event in Genesis is the story of the Deluge. God, dismayed at mankinds wickedness, decided to destroy the whole world with a cataclysmic flood. He called on the one human worth saving, Noah, and commanded him to build an ark big enough to house his family and specimens of every kind of animals in the world. When the flood finally came, Noah, his family and the menagerie of animals were preserved by the ark which floated on the waters. When the waters subsided, God made a covenant with Noah, symbolized by a rainbow, promising never again to curse the ground any more for mans sake. Ten generations after Noah, another major figure arose, Abraham, the father of all the Semitic races. Born in Ur in Chaldea (see figure 1.1 below), he traveled many
4

lands, through Haran and Canaan, searching for a land he could call his own. He fathered two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. One day God called on Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. With a heavy heart, he took Isaac to the mountain to do as God had commanded him. Seeing the obedience of his subject, God commanded that a ram be substituted for Isaac, sparing the boys life. God then made a covenant with Abraham, promising him that his descendents will be as numerous as the stars and that they would inherit the land of Canaan. Christian theology considers Abrahams willingness to sacrifice his son as a precursor to Gods sacrifice of his own Son to save the world.7

ASIA MINOR HITTITES

R. Euphrates R. Tigris ASSY RIA MESOPOTAMIA Ninev eh MEDES SY RIA CHALDEA Baby lon BABY LONIA SUMERIA Ur PERSIA

Ty re ISRAEL Jerusalem JUDAH EGY PT R. Nile SINAI HY KSOS

Figure 1.1: The Middle East in Old Testament times Isaac begat two twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau was the first born and the hairier one. Just before Isaacs death, he sent for Esau. Esau, being the first born, was the rightful recipient of his fathers final blessings. Rebekah, the mother of Esau and Jacob, overheard this and loving Jacob more, sent for Jacob instead. Isaac was nearly blind and to make the trick work, Rebekah had her favorite son wear sheeps skin on his hands and neck to simulate the hairiness of his brother. When Isaac asked Esau to come near, the sheeps skin fooled him and he gave the younger son his final blessing, making him the head of the family. Fearing that Esau would kill Jacob, Rebekah sent the latter to Haran.8 In Haran, Jacob married his cousins, Leah and Rachel, the daughters of Laban. After working with Laban for twenty years, Jacob left Haran. In his return to his home country, Jacob stopped at Gilead and there met with a mysterious stranger who wrestled him throughout the night until daybreak. Jacob held on to the person and would not release him until he received his blessing. The stranger agreed and said that from then on he shall be called Israel which means he who prevails with God. In other words, Jacob had wrestled with God and won! 9
7 8 9

Livingstone, Dictionary of the Christian Church: p3 Comay & Brownrigg, Whos Who in the Bible: p158-161 Comay & Brownrigg, Whos Who in the Bible: p175-177
5

Jacobs twelve sons eventually had the twelve tribes of Israel named after them: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph and Benjamin. Joseph, as the exception, was the ancestor of two tribes, Ephraim and Mennasseh. 10 The narratives now center on Joseph. He was the favorite of Jacob. Jealous of their fathers love for Joseph, his brothers conspired to kill him. One of them could not go through with the plan and Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites instead. The Ishmaelites in turn sold him to an Egyptian official. Joseph turned out to have a knack for the interpretation of dreams. Eventually this talent became known to the Pharaoh. Josephs prognostication helped Egypt through seven years of famine and made him a favorite of Pharaoh. Joseph met his brothers again when they came to Egypt to buy grain. He sent them back for his father and his other brother Benjamin. His whole family eventually moved to Egypt on his invitation. This was the biblical account of how the nation of Israel came to settle in Egypt. 11 The term patriarch is normally applied to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jacobs twelve sons.12 The term patriarchal narratives refers to the story from Abraham to the settlement in Egypt mentioned above. Exodus deals with the deliverance of the Israelites under the leadership of Moses from bondage in Egypt. Moses was hid by his mother for three months from the Pharaoh who instructed all Israelite male babies to be killed. No longer able to hide him after that, his mother made a basket out of bulrushes, placed the baby Moses in it and let it float away on the river. The baby was found and raised by the Pharaohs daughter. In adulthood Moses was commanded by God to lead his people out from bondage in Egypt via the Sinai Peninsula to the Promised Land. It was while leading the Israelites to Canaan that Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Due to an earlier transgression, Moses was forbidden to enter the land of Canaan but before he died he was given a glimpse of the Promised Land from the top of Mount Nebo. This deliverance from bondage is regarded throughout Jewish history as the outstanding instance of Gods favor for his chosen people, the Israelites. 13 Leviticus consists almost wholly of religious legislation. Written in the form of a sermon of Moses, the book contains a variety of laws on such things as the eating of meat, religious duties, marriage, the priesthood, festivals, real estates and slaves. Numbers presents a narration of the experiences of the Israelites under Moses during their exodus from Egypt. Deuteronomy lays downs Moses instructions on Israels religious law. It also contains an account of his death. 14

10

11 12 13

14

Note that there are actually thirteen names for the twelve tribes of Israel. However the tribe of Levi was mainly a priestly caste and was not given any parcel of land. [Asimov, Guide to the Bible: p115] Comay & Brownrigg, Whos Who in the Bible: p219-224 Livingstone, Dictionary of the Christian Church: p384 Riedel et.al., The Book of the Bible: p 71-74 Livingstone, Dictionary of the Christian Church: p186 Livingstone, Dictionary of the Christian Church: p150, 363 Parmelee, A Guidebook to the Bible: p35, 45-46
6

THE HISTORICAL BOOKS

Joshua tells of the story of the Israelites after the death of Moses. Led by Joshua, they crossed the river Jordan into the promised land of Canaan and conquered it. The land acquired was divided among the twelve tribes of Israel. Judges traces the history of Israel from Joshuas death through the period just before a monarchy was established over Israel. During this time Israel was more or less informally ruled by leaders known as Judges without any central administration. Ruth is set in the latter days of Judges and revolves around a Moabite woman of that name who married a Jew. Upon the death of her husband, Ruth was taken under the protection of Boaz, a kinsman of her husband, who eventually married her. Ruth, being a foreigner, was shown as a gentle person and as an ancestor of David. By showing that a foreigner could be the descendent of the greatest king of Israel, the book can be seen as an early argument for inter-racial tolerance. I & II Samuel relate the story of the first two monarchs of Israel, Saul and David, and their relationship with the prophet Samuel. Saul led the Israelites through many victorious wars against foreigners. But Saul disobeyed Samuel and the prophet promptly anointed David, then only a child, as the new King of all Israel. David did not immediately ascend the throne but became king only when he was 30 years old, after Saul was killed in a battle with the Philistines. In between the time of his anointment and his actual ascension to the throne, David roamed the countryside with an armed band. It was during this period that David slew the Philistine giant, Goliath, with his slingshot. Under the leadership of David, Israel grew due to his conquest of neighboring lands and became the dominant power in the Middle East. It was David who made Jerusalem the capital of all Israel. I and II Kings cover the history of Israel from the death of David until the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. After the death of David, his son Solomon, from an illicit relationship with Bathsheba, became King of Israel. Solomon substantially enriched Israel both culturally and economically by developing profitable trade routes. It was Solomon who, with the help of craftsmen and engineers from Phoenicia, built the Temple of Jerusalem. This temple was to remain the center of Jewish worship until the fall of Jerusalem. After Solomons death Israel was divided into two separate kingdoms: Israel in North and Judah in the South. Divided, Israel and Judah lost all the power of Solomons kingdom. Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722 BCE, while Judah in turn was conquered by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. 15 With the fall of Judah, Jerusalem was obliterated and the Temple was destroyed. Like the people of the northern kingdom, the people of Judah were either deported to the land of their conquerors as slaves or fled to the neighboring countries in the Mediterranean. This dispersion of the Jews became known as the Diaspora. A considerable amount of overlap exists between I and II Chronicles on one hand and II Samuel and the two books of Kings on the other. In fact most scholars are
15

Strictly speaking there was no Babylonian people. Babylonian is a designation given to which ever nation that happened to hold sway in Babylon, a city with a long history of coups and conquests. Among the nations that ruled the city were the Sumerians, Akkadians, Amorites, Assyrians, Chaldeans and Persians.
7

of the opinion that the chronicler used II Samuel and the books of Kings as his main sources. The books of Chronicles end with the return of the Jews from exile in 536BCE. Ezra records the return of the exiles from Babylon and their attempts to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. The book also chronicles the mission and work of the Jewish priest and scribe, Ezra. Nehemiah records the plans of the Jewish leader of that name for the restoration of Jerusalem. In his zeal to keep Israel racially pure he excluded from the city people not of Jewish blood and strongly forbade inter-racial marriage. Nehemiah is probably one of the earliest records of a racist. The last book in this section, the book of Esther, relates how a Jewish girl of that name became Queen of Persia and risked her life to save her people (the Israelites). Its inclusion into the Old Testament is probably due to the books introduction of a patriotic holiday, the Feast of Purim. 16

THE BOOKS OF POETRY AND ETHICS

The book of Job relates how Job, a wealthy and upright man, had his faith tested by God. The test came about through a bet between God and Satan as to whether Job could remain faithful if all his earthly blessings were to be taken away. Job was deprived of all his wealth, lost his whole family in a freak accident and became afflicted with a terrible disease. His friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, came to console him. They asked him to seek forgiveness from God for whatever wrong he may have committed that had caused this calamity to befall him. Job protested his innocence and within this lays the message of the whole book: that the innocent sometimes suffer for no apparent reason while the wicked prosper. Job refused to curse God amidst his suffering and reiterated his faith in God by saying, I know that my redeemer lives. (Job 19:25) Having passed this test, Jobs wealth was restored and his suffering ended. The book did not offer any solution to the problem of the suffering of the innocent. All it did was to assert the superior wisdom of God in all things by making the creator ask Job rhetorically: Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? (Job 38:4). The book of Psalms, traditionally attributed to David, is an anthology of Hebrew religious poetry. These 150 psalms are normally interpreted as covering the whole range of relationship between God and man. Some of the psalms are beautiful, even after translation into English, as is the one below:
Psalms 8:3-417 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained; what is man, that you think of him? What is the son of man, that you care for him?

16

17

Livingstone, Dictionary of the Christian Church: p107, 108, 280, 282, 289, 457 Parmalee, Guidebook to the Bible: p57, 78 Riedel et.al., The Book of the Bible: p10-16, 268-270, 454, 520 When Biblical verses are not referenced to any particular version they are normally taken from the World English Bible (WEB).
8

Yet amidst this beauty there lies a schizophrenic ugliness that is evidenced in the passages below
Psalms 58:6 Break their teeth, God, in their mouth. Psalms 109:9-10 Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow Let his children be wandering beggars. Let them be sought from their ruins. Psalms 137:8-9 O daughters of Babylon... Happy shall he be, who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock.

Proverbs is a collection of traditional Hebrew wisdom literature. The book is divided into eight clearly defined sections of which three are attributed to Solomon. Unlike the book of Job, the emphasis of the teachings contained here is that virtues such as honesty, chastity and regard for others will be rewarded by God with long life, happiness and prosperity. The book of Ecclesiastes has a cynical message; human life is meaningless and futile. The author sees blind chance ruling the world:
Ecclesiastes 9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.

Indeed when one compares Ecclesiastes and Proverbs, the two books carry almost diametrically opposite views of life, something hard to reconcile with the belief that they share a single (supernatural) source! Some examples of this: 1. On Wisdom and Understanding In Proverbs we find a general appreciation of knowledge and wisdom. In Ecclesiastes wisdom is disparaged.
Proverbs 10:1 & 17:27 A wise son makes a glad father; but a foolish son brings grief to his mother He who spares his words has knowledge. He who is even tempered is a man of understanding. Ecclesiastes 1:18 For in much wisdom is much grief; and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

2. On the Poor and Poverty In Proverbs one is called to help the poor. In Ecclesiastes one is simply told not to be amazed at poverty as it is a natural state of things.
Proverbs 14:31 He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for his Maker, but he who is kind to the needy honors him. Ecclesiastes 5:8 If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in a district, dont marvel at the matter;

3. General Outlook In general, we find a positive outlook in life in Proverb, while in Ecclesiastes one is confronted with the view that life is futile and meaningless with time and chance happening to everyone.
Proverbs 3:21-26 My son, let them not depart from your eyes. Keep sound wisdom and discretion: so they will be life to your soul, and grace for your neck. Then you shall walk in your way securely. Your foot wont stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet. Dont be afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it comes: for Yahweh will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being taken. Ecclesiastes 1:2 & 9:11 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.

The last book in this section is the Song of Solomon. It is actually a collection of love songs and religion has no place in it. The book is a dialogue between two very human lovers and the theme is overtly sexual, as the passages below will testify:
Song of Solomon 1:2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth Song of Solomon 3:1 By night on my bed, I sought him whom my soul loves. Song of Solomon 4:3,5 Your lips are like scarlet thread... Your two breasts are like two fawns.

Indeed there seems to be a rather overt suggestion of fellatio in one verse:

Song of Solomon 2:3 (RSV) As an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among young men. With great delight I sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
10

Probably the only reason why this book was included in the Old Testament was the traditional ascription of its authorship to Solomon. Both Jewish and Christian theologians, left with little choice, interpret the book allegorically as an oblique reference of Gods relationship with his people. It shows that, when push comes to shove, the fundamentalists can allegorize any passage in the Bible as thoroughly as any liberal!18

THE BOOKS OF THE PROPHETS

The first four books in this section were ascribed to the three major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The book of Daniel follows. The rest of the books are attributed to the twelve minor prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. The Book of Isaiah is mainly concerned with the political situation in Judah under the threat from Syria in 740-700 BCE. Isaiah criticized Judah for religious hypocrisy, cruel injustice, pride, greed and idolatry. Some parts of Isaiah are interpreted by Christians to be prophecies regarding Jesus Christ. Jeremiah spoke out against the moral degradation of the unfaithful and extols Gods divine justice who condemns his people as a result. He predicted the fall of Jerusalem and the deportation of the Jews to Babylon. Jeremiah was writing just before Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians. It was a time of great social stress. It was therefore natural for the prophet to predict calamities to befall Judah and to attribute this to the wrong doings of the Jewish people which has turned God away from them. Lamentations is a collection of mournful songs that lament the fall of Jerusalem. Its authorship has been traditionally ascribed to Jeremiah. Christians had reinterpreted the mournful songs as a reference of Christs passion. Ezekiel was the last of the major prophets and the successor of Isaiah and Jeremiah. The book prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem but also the redemption of the Jewish people. Ezekiel reported many startling visions, one of which was that of God transporting him to Temple in Jerusalem by grabbing him by the hair. The first six chapters of Daniel relate the story of a Jewish hero, Daniel, who successfully resisted the older tyranny of Persia, and withstood every test of his faith. The rest of the book consists of a series of visions which reveal the future of the Jewish people. The last twelve books in the Old Testament are those ascribed to the twelve minor prophets. Hosea interpreted his experience with his unfaithful wife, Gomer, as a parable of Gods relationship with the unfaithful Israel. Just as Hosea was finally reconciled with his wife, God, in his enduring love will be reconciled with Israel. Joel called on the people to repent and make offerings to the Lord after a plague of locusts had befallen Israel. Amos denounced the impiety of Judah and Israel, which at a time of prosperity and accumulation of wealth, the poor was oppressed and unjustly treated. Obadiah had a vision in which God denounced the Edomites and gave his reasons for their destruction and for the salvation of the Israelites. Jonah relates how the prophet of that name was swallowed up by a great fish and stayed in the belly of
18

Livingstone, Dictionary of the Christian Church: p166, 274, 421, 480 Parmalee, Guidebook to the Bible: p32, 65-70
11

the fish for 3 days as a result of his refusal to prophecy against Nineveh. Jonah was spewed up from the fish and called again to prophesy, which he did. His work was successful as those he prophesied to finally repented. Micah denounced the greedy, dishonest merchants, hypocrites, the rich and all inhabitants of the cities. He believed these people are all responsible for the oppression of the rural poor. Unlike the other prophets, Nahum, lashed out at a foreign city, Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire and described the battle that would destroy the city. Habakkuk complained of oppression and lawlessness and asked why the righteous suffer more than the wicked. Zephaniah condemned idolatry, astrology, and other cult practices in Jerusalem. Haggai called on the Israelites to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem after their return from the Babylonian exile. Zechariah, too, called for the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple. Zechariah also prophesied of the future glory of Judah where the Gentiles will be converted. Malachi criticized the priests for their sub-standard offerings to God, such as offering crippled animals. He also lashed out at the Jewish people for neglecting to pay for their religious dues, for inter-racial marriage and for doubting the profit in fulfilling the will of God.19

THE NEW TESTAMENT

The New Testament consists of 27 seven books written by first and second century Christians. The books can be grouped into three different categories as shown in Table 1.2 below.
THE NEW TESTAMENT Narrative Books (5 books) The 4 Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, Matthew) The Acts of the Apostles The Epistles (21 books) The 13 Epistles of Paul (Romans, I & II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon) The Epistle to the Hebrews James I & II Peter I, II & III John Jude The Apocalypse (1 book) Revelation

Table 1.2: The books of the New Testament

19

Livingstone, Dictionary of the Christian Church: p142, 186-187, 265, 294 Parmalee, Guidebook to the Bible: p32 Riedel et.al., The Book of the Bible: p489-492
12

The first four books of the New Testament are called gospels.20 These books, known as The Gospels According to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John relate the birth, ministry, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. According to the gospels, Jesus was born in the Judean town of Bethlehem but grew up in the Galilean town of Nazareth. At about 30 years of age he started his preaching, initially in the towns of Galilee and finally in Jerusalem. There he was betrayed by one of his twelve apostles, Judas Iscariot, and handed over to the Jewish court. He was tried, found guilty of blasphemy and handed over to the Roman court on a trumped up charge of sedition. Under Pontius Pilate he was sentenced to death by crucifixion. Three days after his death on the cross he appeared to his disciples who finally understood his teachings. The Acts of the Apostles is a continuation of the gospel of Luke. It relates the story of the apostles of Jesus after his ascension into heaven. The first part of Acts relates the beginning of the nascent community in Jerusalem. A new apostle is also introduced here, Saul (or Paul) of Tarsus. Saul initially persecuted the followers of Jesus but the experience of an overpowering vision while he was on the road to Damascus converted him. Saul changed his name to Paul upon conversion. The mid point of Acts relates the Jerusalem council which allows uncircumcised Gentiles into the nascent group with minimal requirements. From this point onwards the focus of the narrative is entirely on Paul and his missionary journeys. The book ends with Paul being arrested and placed under house arrest in Rome. The next thirteen books are epistles (letters), traditionally believed to have been penned by Paul, and sent to various churches and persons. It is within these epistles that we find the kernels of subsequent Christian theology. The epistles of Paul are not arranged chronologically. They are arranged by length; placing the longest epistles first and shortest ones last. The epistle to the Romans is the longest and the most systematic of all the Pauline epistles. In it Paul argued that sin is so universal that no act of man can redeem himself in Gods eyes. Man can only be saved by the grace of Jesus propitiatory sacrifice. The two epistles to the Corinthians deal with a variety of subjects. In the first epistles Paul discusses the Eucharist, love and the resurrection. In the second epistle, Paul was defending his status as an apostle to his followers in Corinth. The epistle to the Galatians had Paul again trying to defend his status as an apostle and his theology. Apparently some of Jesus original apostles had told the Christians in Galatia that they had to keep all the commandments of the Jewish Law. To Paul this was an erroneous teaching and his epistle clearly shows his self assurance in the correctness of his theology. The epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians have much the same message; to recall the people to faith in Jesus Christ. The epistle to the Philippians contains the usual Pauline warning against the Judaizing party within the new religion. In this epistle he also recounted the successes of his missionary work. The epistles to the Thessalonians contain Pauls teachings regarding the second coming of Christ. The next three epistles, the epistles to Timothy and Titus are normally called the pastoral epistles since their chief concern was the appointment and duties of church elders i.e. their pastoral responsibilities. The last epistle is the one to Philemon. The epistle is addressed to a Christian master whose slave, Onesimus, had escaped and sought refuge with Paul. The letter was a plea for Philemon to forgive Onesimus and to take him back.
20

The word gospel came from an old English word godspel which means glad tidings.
13

The epistle to the Hebrews asserts the finality of the Christian faith and its superiority to the old covenant. The tone is definitely Pauline (i.e. from the same theology as Paul) but its original author is unknown. The epistle of James, attributed to the brother of Jesus, is entirely moral in content, emphasizing the importance of good works. I Peter, attributed to the apostle, was written to Christian communities in Asia Minor to give them strength for the persecution they were going through. II Peter is a warning against false and ungodly teachers. The next three epistles were traditionally attributed to John the apostle and author of the fourth gospel. I John was written to oppose false doctrines on the person of Christ. II John talked about the need to avoid people who teach false doctrines. III John encouraged hospitality to Christian brothers who travel spreading the good news. The epistle of Jude was written to counter the spread of false doctrines. The last book of the New Testament is the book of Revelation. The book, like the second part of Daniel in the Old Testament, consists of a series of visions of the author, John the Divine. The Revelation is called an apocalypse, in the sense that it tells things to come without extolling the right living, as in prophecies. John had visions of angels, beasts, the throne of God, the Lamb who turns into the conqueror on the white horse, dragons and many other things. These visions are hard to make sense of and Christians throughout history has interpreted these to events, countries and people in their own time. The book of Revelation closes with a promise of the imminent return of Jesus.21

THE APOCRYPHA
The Apocrypha22 consist of 14 different books: I & II Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Additions to the book of Esther, Wisdom of Solomon, I & II Maccabees, Baruch, Song of the Three Children, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon and the Prayer of Manasses. With the exception of I & II Esdras and the Prayer of Manasses, the Roman Catholic Church accepts these books as canonical. Chronologically these books were written in the last period of Hebrew literature, from about 300 BCE to 100 CE. The apocryphal books actually come from the same literary family as the canonical books. The books of Tobit, Judith and Susanna can rightly be called romances. Much in the same mould as the book of Ruth and Esther, I Esdras is a rewriting of history based mainly on II Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah. In this sense, I Esdras is very similar to the books of Chronicles. II Esdras is a collection of apocalypses, not unlike the book of Revelation. The books of Maccabees recount the history of the Maccabean revolt of the second century BCE which won religious freedom for the Jews. Sirach (also called Ecclesiasticus) and the Wisdom of Solomon are typical wisdom literature, much in the same mould as Proverbs. Baruch is a book of prophecy. Bel and the Dragon, like the story of Jonah and the giant fish, is pure myth. The Prayer of Manasses consists of a penitential prayer put into the mouth of Manasseh, King of Judah.23
21

22 23

Livingstone, Dictionary of the Christian Church: p119, 130, 131, 204, 205, 233, 274, 282, 394, 398, 399, 438, 444, 510 Apocrypha is Greek for hidden Parmalee, Guidebook to the Bible: p80
14

*****
Our brief overview of the book of the Bible has shown us that it is a collection of many different types of books. Not all the books carry the same message. For instance, Nehemiah, calls for the preservation of racial purity by the prohibition of inter-racial marriages, while Ruth has for its heroine a Moabite woman who married a Jew. As another example, the book of Proverbs extols living the good life which it says is Gods reward for righteous living while Ecclesiastes says life is meaningless and prosperity is accidental. The New Testament, although deriving much of its theology from the Old, stands in uneasy contrast with it. It is no longer a story about Gods relationship with Israel. The focus is now on a man, called the Son of God, who lived, died and was resurrected in first century Palestine.

15