We often refer to the Bible as if it were a book. It is not. It is a composite of many books, most of which are agreed upon by the various church bodies, but not all. For Protestants, it is 66 books, and some of the books are combinations of shorter writings, so that the grand total of all the “books” is closer to 70. For Catholics, the Bible includes even more books, so the grand total is 73. Eastern Orthodox add five more, and Russian Orthodox add yet another. There has never been a universal council that decreed once and for all exactly what the Bible was.

The earliest verses most likely were created sometime between 900-500 BCE, and the latest, the gospel of John (and 2 Peter) was written in 110 CE. Covering a span of many hundreds of years, the various writings can be grouped into different types of material. One grouping, for example, relates accounts of the Hebrew patriarchs of ancient Israel, another the various laws that the tribes legislated, yet another accounts for the occupation of Palestine and the history of Israel. Then there are songs, poetry, social critics (all the prophets)- and that’s just the Hebrew scriptures!

Positioned after this is what Christians call the New Testament, mostly comprised of the letters of Paul, the gospels, and other writings from the latter part of the 1st century. There are seven letters that we know for sure were written by Paul: Galatians, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, Philemon, and Philippians. There are also other letters that claim to be written by Paul, but most scholars, because of differences in linguistic style and cultural references, believe them to be written after Paul’s death.

The gospels themselves are not simple books, representing as they do combinations of earlier traditions that were circulating in the various locations of the early Christian communities such as Jerusalem and Antioch.

Given this incredible variety, it should come as no surprise that through the millennia different people have come up with different interpretations of “the Bible”. We move from the war god of the early Hebrew invasion days to the peace god of Isaiah to the totally loving God of the gospels. We move from early multi-tribal existence, to being a nation under a king, to life subservient to the brutal Roman empire. It’s quite a move.

Dr. Carl Krieg received his BA from Dartmouth College, MDiv from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, and PhD from the University of Chicago Divinity School. He is the author of What to Believe? the Questions of Christian Faith, and The Void and the Vision. As professor and pastor, Dr. Krieg has taught innumerable classes and led many discussion groups. He lives with his wife, Margaret, in Norwich, VT.