B.I.B.L.E. Helps

The oldest books in the Bible were written nearly 3,500 years ago. So it isn’t surprising some people think the Bible is outdated or obsolete, written for a primitive, ancient culture that is unlike our own. Others think it has some value, but you have to work your way through all the superstitions, myths, and legends before you find it. How do you view the Bible? 

Some folks disregard and reject the Bible because they feel certain that its repeated copying over hundreds of years has corrupted it. Others don’t believe it’s possible to know whether its words are authentic to the original writings or not. 

Verses 89 and 90 of Psalm 119 say that God’s Word stands firm and lasts forever. Ancient kings believed they were gods so their laws and decrees could never be repealed or changed. But sooner or later they all discovered that a changeable man has no business making unchangeable laws. The question we might ask is “How can God’s Word remain firm and unchanging even when our words, thoughts, and perspectives change by the day? If the Bible is a message from an unchangeable God, what does that say about its relevance to our lives even when parts of it were written more than 3,000 years ago? 

The Original Autographs 

The earliest books of the Bible (including Genesis-Deuteronomy, the five books of Moses) were written on papyrus made from plants growing along the Nile River. Papyrus could be formed into long sheets and rolled up onto scrolls. Writing could only be done on one side of the papyrus. 

Later books (including those of the New Testament) were written on animal skins called parchment or vellum. Writers could use both sides of parchment and vellum. These sheets were folded into a small booklet called a “codex.” In the days when the New Testament was being written the largest codex could hold the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. 

In his first letter, the apostle Peter makes it clear in chapter one that none of the writers of the Bible made up the things they wrote, nor did they add their own interpretation of the things they saw and heard from God. But no one comes to the Bible without presuppositions—ideas about how the world works, whether God really exists, and what kind of book the Bible is.