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Origins of the Bible Reading

The Bible is a collection of 66 books written by about 40 authors, in three different
languages, on three different continents, over approximately 1600 years. The Bible
claims to be inspired and inerrant. This means that the Bible claims to be from God and
that it is without error in everything it discusses.

The Bible contains many different styles of writing such as poetry, narration, fiction,
history, law, and prophecy. It is the source of the Christian religion because the Bible
contains the words of God and how the Christian should apply the words of God to his
daily life.

Basically, the Bible describes the origin of

man in the Garden of Eden along with his
fall into sin. It then describes how God
called out a special people to Himself, the
Israelites. He promised the Israelites a
future Messiah (Savior) who would restore
mankind’s relationship with God. The
Bible is the account of the work of God in
history. Jesus was born of the Virgin, died
on the cross, and paid for sins, just as the Bible prophesied in the Old Testament and
fulfilled in the New Testament.

The Bible teaches us that forgiveness of sins is found in Jesus alone.

Some say that the Bible is nothing more than fairy tales. But this cannot be for it
contains great wisdom and truth and it has been verified throughout history as being
accurate. Its historical accounts are flawlessly accurate. Historians constantly check
biblical locations to make sure they are correctly described in the Bible.

The Old Testament Minor Prophets - Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah,
Written by the prophets such as Moses, David, Isaiah, and Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah,
others. Malachi
Pentateuch - 5 books:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy The New Testament
Written by those who knew Jesus or were under the
Historical Books - 12 books: guidance of those who did.
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, First Samuel, Second Samuel, First
Kings, Second Kings, First Chronicles, Second Chronicles, Historical Books - 5 books:
Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts

Poetical - 5 books: Pauline Epistles - 13 books:

Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
Prophetical - 17 books:
Major Prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel,
Daniel;
Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians,
Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians. 1
Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon
Non-Pauline Epistles - 9 books:
Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John,
Jude, Revelation

Source: http://www.carm.org/what-bible
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Origins of the Bible Activity
Task: Define the following words.

1. Scripture

2. Manuscript

3. Autography

4. Testament

5. Covenant

6. Narration

Task: Decide whether each statement is true or false. If a statement is false, please
correct it.

1. The Bible consists of edited writings, collected and put together at one point in
history.

2. Part of the Bible is wise instruction from men, and part is from God.

3. The entire Bible is inspired.

4. The four Gospels are Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, and Daniel.

5. The Book of Acts gives the history of the early Church.

6. Jesus Christ is the central figure in Scripture.

7. The New Testament has no relation to the Old Testament.

8. Many books in the New Testament were letters to different Churches and groups.

9. God's record of the creation of the world is found in the Book of Genesis.

Bible Origins-Page 2