The Bible, a Book Like None Other
In Celebration of the 550th Anniversary of the Gutenberg Bible. The Bible: A Book Like None Other; First of a two-part special series on the most influential book in all history.
For many, the discovery of the Bible becomes an adventure that lasts a whole lifetime! Sound ridiculous? Maybe, but there is an incredibly long line of people stretching for thousands of years who would insist it is true. Stop and think. Long, long before the world knew anything of television, radio, CDs, airplanes, automobiles, Coca Cola or IBM, a book that later became known as "The Bible" was compiled. This book was finished centuries before printing was available to mass produce books, and in those earlier centuries every copy had to be done by hand. In every generation since it was written, it has been revered and looked to as a source for understanding our world, our humanity, our relationships, our reason for existence. A solid case can be made that the best things in our Western world, a world that slowly and painfully emerged from barbarism to an advanced civilization, developed largely from the inspiration provided by the Bible. It played a central role in the formation of our culture.
What Kind of Book Is This Anyway?
The Bible is often thought of as a "holy book." Various religions have their holy books. Often these are reported as "revelations" coming through various means such as visions, dreams, or messages spoken directly by God or an angel. But the origin of the Bible is accounted for in a quite different way. The Bible is rooted and grounded in history. The Bible came from the experience of specific people, in identifiable places, at particular times. The Bible deals with the meaning of human life on this planet from within the stories of people who lived on this planet. So it is not a holy book in the sense of an otherworldly esoteric philosophy. It is "holy" in the sense that it tells us about the interaction of God and people in our world in the midst of everyday life.
The World's All-Time Best Seller
One of the writers of the Bible said, "Of making many books there is no end" (Ecclesiastes 12:12). An infinitesimally small number of books published rise up above their day and age and are considered worth preserving. Some become recognized as classics. But even among the classics the Bible stands out as incomparable. The Bible is the most circulated book in the history of the world. It's been this way since the innovation of the Gutenberg press in the 1450's, when the Bible in Latin was the first large book to be printed by moveable type. Ever since, year after year, more copies of the Bible have been printed and circulated than any other book. Last year over 60 million complete Bibles, over 90 million New Testaments, and over 1 1/2 billion Scripture sections were published in over 2,000 languages. The press runs keep growing every year.
It Shaped Our World and Language
The Bible has had a singular role in shaping our Western world. Our language is laden with Biblical imagery that has become embedded in our cultural consciousness, such as "The blind leading the blind" "Turn the other cheek" "Love your enemies" "A Good Samaritan" "Go the extra mile" "Separate the sheep from the goats" "Our daily bread" "For everything a time and season" "The apple of my eye."
The World's Most Translated Book The Bible has been translated into more languages than any other work ever written. There are now translations in more than 2,000 languages. Today literally thousands of dedicated linguists pour out their lives to provide the Bible in every active language on the face of the earth. Often they provide the first written version of oral languages.
A Book for the Greatest Intellects . . .and Yet Even for the Small Child
More books have been written about the Bible than any other subject, and the single person about whom more books have been written than anyone else comes from the Bible. It is Jesus. Over the centuries brilliant scholars have spent entire lifetimes trying to analyze and understand even small portions of the Bible. Yet even small children in Sunday schools are able to grasp the key stories of the Bible.
I heard one time the Bible being compared to a pool of water. A pool that in some parts is so shallow that a child can go wading, but a pool also that is so deep in other places that an elephant can go swimming there. Well, the Bible is a wonderful book that contains passages which in some cases are very deep and profound. Yet, in general the Bible as a whole is simple enough for anyone who is untutored to read it and understand what God's will and way would be for that person. --Noted New Testament scholar, Dr. Bruce Metzger
What Does "Bible" Mean?
The word probably comes from the port of Byblos in Lebanon. Byblos was known to be an important place for the shipment of papyrus. "Byblos" in the old Greek language originally meant the inner bark of the papyrus plant. Papyrus was used for paper in the ancient world. We get the word paper from papyrus. It's as simple as that. "Bible" simply refers to "book," and what we think of as the Bible wasn't even called the Bible until about the 4th century AD.
The World of the Bible
The Bible, for the most part, centers on a small part of the world, with the primary events taking place in the small land of Israel. Israel is roughly the same size as the state of New Jersey. This region has always been a kind of crossroads of the world. Here Africa, Asia, and Europe meet. This is where most of the Bible was written and where most of the Biblical events happened. The focal point of the lands of the Bible, the small city of Jerusalem, is sacred today to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. This city is mentioned 656 times in the Bible. Over the centuries it has been destroyed 17 times, and 18 times has been rebuilt.
The Bible--Always a Most Controversial Book
Though the Bible may exceed all other books in circulation, it also leads in the controversy that it generates. The Bible has always provoked heated debate, drawing passionate reactions from some of the most notable thinkers and leaders across the ages. The Bible will continue to have a major place in our society, and the controversy about the Bible is also sure to continue.
Some love it
A - Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) [left] A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.
B - Horace Greeley (1811-1872) It is impossible to mentally or socially enslave a Bible-reading people.
C - Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated through this book--All things desirable to men are contained in the Bible.
D - Emmanuel Kant (1724-1804) The Bible is the greatest benefit which the human race has ever experienced.
Some hate it
E - Voltaire (1694-1778) [left] If we would destroy the Christian religion, we must first of all destroy man's belief in the Bible.
F - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899) The inspiration of the Bible depends upon the ignorance of the gentleman who reads it.
G - Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) One does well to put on gloves when reading the New Testament--everything in it is cowardice and self-deception.
H - Thomas Paine (c. 1737-1809) . . .It would be more consistent that we call it the work of a demon than the word of God. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind.
Different Views of History History: A treadmill or a track?
The Bible's view of history differs markedly from the typical views that prevailed in ancient times. It was common to think of the world as an endless cycle, tied to nature and the seasons, or as a "wheel of unending occurrences," as the Greeks put it. But the view presented throughout the Bible is progressive or linear, with history having a purpose, and the world moving forward to a goal.
Originally published June 11, 2010.
