The Bible is often referred to as the greatest story ever told. In the pages, one can find comfort, guidance and wisdom in times of despair. Around the world, religious leaders use the stories contained within the bible as tools to show their followers the ways of the Lord. The congregation is also shown the punishment of straying off the Apath@ On every page a new story begins. Stories about mysterious people in far off lands, forgotten by time and counts of people actually speaking with the Lord. The words of the Lord are written on these pages for all to read. The average person can not imagine living in the time of Christ, yet somehow when the book is opened and the words are read, reality hits you. History unfolds before you.
Many do not sit and ponder the when, where and why of the Bible. Most have faith and merely believe that the written words are holy and true.
Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Ch...
bibles
BibleEnd of subject. Children, on the other hand, are raised listening to the stories of the Bible and the questioning begins. AWhen did Jesus live?@ and A Where did Jesus live?@. These questions, indeed, need to be answered.
As we grow older we may begin to seek these answers. The problem is, we may not always like what we find. Numerous counts of misinterpretation, incorrect dates and scriptures, re-worded and written again.
Due to these Adiscrepancies@ in the text, many scholars have literally taken apart the Bible, piece-by-piece. The content has been scrutinized and examined. Documents and tablets have been discovered creating a Atime line@ for the scholars to use. Archaeologists have unearthed the land and searched for items from the past. From the sand and soil, their findings create yet another link to the timeline. Because of these findings many question surrounding the Bible have been answered. Yet, there are still many questions that arise that beg for answers.
The book, "The Old Testament Story" written by John H. Tullock, gives an insightful view into the past. In chapter one the background is setforth with a detailed history of the Bible, the vehicles that have carried the words over the years and the events forming the stories contained within each book of the Bible. An abundance of information is provided in the first chapter alone. Answers to many of the most popular questions are answered in extremely thorough detail. Even those who feel they are familiar with The Old Testament may discover historical facts about the Bible that they did know.
1 Tullock further provides the reader with the ability to access a free study resource online with the Companion Website.
Reading through the first chapter the developmental process of the Old Testament is compared to a river. As it begins,"The first tiny streams were the oral traditions: the poems of victory, the stories of the ancestors; the memories of the great events that were treasured, gathered, and passed on for many generations." Through the process of canonization only certain books were chosen to produce the final product known as The Old Testament.
Further through the chapter the literary, historical and archaeological studies give great detail to the many discoveries that have been made through the years. Specifically in the area of archaeology, the discovery of the remains in the areas known as tells have been extremely insightful in learning the history of life in biblical times.
So, the questions are beginning to be answered, after all, this was only chapter one.
A bible from 1859.
Image from the Book of Kells, a 1200 year old book...
Titlepage of the New Testament section of a German...