Yesterday, I mentioned that the Book of Kings was a compilation of information pulled from other sources.
I then went on to say the New Testament was also created in the same way.
I imagine when I said that, some of you just lost your freakin’ minds.
Look, man, this shouldn’t bother you at all.
Each Gospel (especially the first three) is a collection of information gathered from different sources by someone investigating the life and claims of Yeshua of Nazareth.
In fact, scholars widely agree that two of the Gospels borrowed some material from another one of the Synoptic Gospels.
And it doesn’t stop there.
The Book of Revelation pulls heavily from the Old Testament prophets.
The difference is that John laid out those End Times events in order, showing how they would unfold.
This was something that wasn’t clear before he wrote it down.
So what takeaway can we extract from this?
Simple, man.
The Bible was never presented as a magic book that floated down from heaven, leather-bound and typeset.
It was written by real people, who gathered sources, investigated claims, compiled records, and pulled from earlier writings.
This tells us something powerful.
God is not afraid to work through history.
So stop being so damn uptight that the Bible was put together in the same way that other regular books were.
If God can work through flawed kings, stubborn prophets, confused disciples, and persecuted apostles…
He can certainly work through editors.
Ya feel me here?
Done.
Amen, Rich!
I once was giving the Shabbat lesson and mentioned how the Bible is a book about God, but it is not God.
Someone got so upset when I said that he literally walked out of the building!
I believe people who aren’t willing to question what is in the Bible are not faithful but afraid that what they are comfortable with may be wrong.
If people trust God to do what is right for them, then they should also trust that God can divinely give them the insight and understanding that he wants them to have, no matter which version of the Bible they are using.
I have said this so many times, and so few want to hear it, but the only place in the entire Bible where God, himself, tells us what he wants us to do is found in the Torah: everything after Deuteronomy is either historical narrative or commentary.
Great points, Steven. Some folks elevate the Scriptures to deity (as they do the Messiah) and turn the Bible into an idol they worship.
As you correctly pointed out, “the Bible is a book about God, but it is not God.”
Be blessed!