Christianity
In the United States, the Bible is the one book one can usual
find in someone's house. Almost everyone has read or heard at least some of
it. Given its wide currency and its immense influence, one would think
that we all know a lot about the origins of the Bible. Such knowledge of
the origins of the bible, unfortunately, is exceedingly rare in the United
States. Very few people are aware of the well-documented historical
development to the text called "The King James Version of the
Bible." Few can even vaguely delineate the origins of selected parts of whole bodies of scripture,
discuss the at least one hundred and fifty suspected authors, their locations or
historical period. Fewer still can discuss the impact that such a diverse
set of people places and times had upon what its authors wrote. However,
understanding the Bible and assessing the intentions of its authors really
requires that one make an effort to find out who wrote it, when they wrote it, and
why they wrote what they did. This reading set is a very small step in that
direction. The story told here is fascinating in itself as well as
relevant to anyone who lives in a Christian or Jewish society. The
reading set consists of two documents. The first is the
"Introduction" from Gary Greenberg's 101 Myths of the Bible.
The second reading is a history of the development of the Bible as it is know by
historians, archeologists, and assorted scholars. I did not have time to
write a complete history and the history you'll read ends around 700 B.C.E..
It should be noted that there are two factions in biblical history the
minimalists, so named because they tend to minimize the Bible as a historically
accurate document, and the maximalists who seek to interpret the Bible
literally. This history, and in my judgment, the great weight of the
evidence leans towards the minimalist camp.
What the following "brief" history clearly shows is that the editing, translation, expulsion, etc. of various scriptures in the creation
of the standardized Bible were determined by military and political conquest and intrigue, by
historical accident--even by Pagan mythology. The Hebrews overcame their enemy neighbors,
the culture of the Jews triumphed over that of Israelites, the Christians overwhelmed
the Jews, the Catholics dominated the Gnostics, Marcionites, and many other pre-Catholic factions, and on and on. That
the Bible is an historical document shaped by secular and historically myopic
views and goals of its authors should not be at all surprising, nor do these
facts distinguish the Christian Bible from other religious tracts or historical
texts.
One thing to remember when reading this text is that I am not a historian nor a Biblical scholar. I put together this document for this class based on my casual readings on the subject. I would not be surprised if some inaccuracies were present in my recounting of the historical and academic views of the events. That is not to say that the basic themes of this text are in anyway speculation on my part or not the standard academic view supported by extensive research by Biblical historians and others.