Who Wrote the Bible

Ever since I was knee high to a grasshopper I maintained the impression that God wrote the Bible.  For whatever reason, I did not question such.  There did not seem to be a reason to inquire.  Did you?    It is quite plausible that my tiny lil' brain conjured up an image of God snapping his fingers (assuming he has fingers) and, ”poof,” the Bible came into existence.  Hard cover.  Paperback.  Leather...for those who wanted to show off (yes, I am guilty of this).  Gilt pages (perhaps ”guilt” would be more appropriate).  Tiny or large print.  There was something for everyone.  Why not!

Over the years I have become more aware of Scriptural criticisms.  Are they authentic?    How can you trust that such are true?    Did those events really happen?    Didn't man write the Bible, not God?     Don’t you believe the Bible is a conspiracy, written by man to control the simpleminded?    For the most part, I ignored these inquiries.  Quite frankly, I was content with holding onto what I had learned in Sunday school and curse anyone who tried to ruin that innocence!   Even when documentaries questioned anything   concerning spirituality I would avoid watching such.  Though, I must admit, I am not sure why I cared.  See, at the time I was non-practicing.  Heck, non-studying.  I held no solid beliefs, other than I perceived there was a presence bigger than me.  To challenge that may have caused me to abandon the mustard seed of faith that I did maintain...if such would even amount to a mustard seed.  So, I buried my head in the sand.

While attending a Catholic study group, the deacon brought with him a couple of video cassettes.  This was of no concern because we commonly viewed lectures, the history of the Catholic Church, or some other resource concerning itself with Catholicism.  From time to time, a spiritual based movie.  As it so happened, his selection for the evening was a documentary of who wrote the Bible.  This was Karma.

On many occasions I had thrown a hissy fit over the dryness of one particular set of theological lectures or another.  In turn, the deacon would try to choose something more suitable to our interests and capacity to absorb.  With this came who wrote the Bible.  Never in a million years would I have considered that.  But, my bed was made and now I had to lay in it!  (A dumb expression, but fitting.)

With great apprehension, I watched.

To my surprise, the dialogue was easy to understand (not too many technical or foreign terms).  The dramatic landscapes and architecture of Israel, Palestine, Jerusalem, and the other parts of the Holy Land were inspiring and thought provoking.  Don’t tell anybody, but I was becoming enthused with all the history and evidence being doled out.  I actually yearned for more…but, I will not admit that!

This is not to say there weren’t some troubling parts for me to contend with.  For instance, I finally had to admit that God did not cause the Bible to mysteriously appear by snapping his fingers.  (Okay, I had already come to the conclusion that the Scriptures are written by man, inspired by God).  What I was not prepared for was that, with the evidence available to us today, or at least that which we can interpret, little is known about who actually wrote the various books.  In particular, the documentary claimed that John did not write the Gospel of John.  That Matthew did not scribe the book bearing his name.  That some books of the Bible may have borrowed from other books in the Bible.  That there may be a fifth Gospel (generically referred to as “Q”) that was heavily relied upon by the other Gospels.  That, for whatever reason, Protestant Bibles have omitted some of the books, which Catholic Bibles maintain.  All of this I found puzzling, and, a bit troubling.

At the conclusion of the documentary I found myself smiling and filled with a certain quiet repose.  Not because I was still embracing my adolescent fantasies of where the Bible comes from, but that I didn’t care.  Yes, you read correctly.  I do not care who wrote the Bible.  Why?    Because regardless of where the inspiration came from (I do choose to believe through the inspiration of God) many of the lessons (some would argue all) apply just as firmly today as they did when written.  A road map to life, if you will.  Assuming you don’t try to sacrifice a fatted calf at the local fair or try to walk on water!

At the conclusion of who wrote the Bible, a Jewish theology professor was asked: “why do you believe the Bible applies today...all of the cultural examples are outdated?”  His response was simple and spot on: ”Human nature has not changed!”

I guess that my mustard seed did not disappear, but is instead maturing.

April 2011