The Bible is a great book that forms the basis of several world religions - Christianity, Judaism, Islam. It is interesting that the term “Bible” is never used in the texts of the book. It was originally called the Word of God, the Scriptures, or simply the Scriptures.
Instructions
Step 1
By its structure, the Bible is a collection of religious, philosophical, and historical texts written by different people, at different times and in different languages over 1,600 years. The oldest texts are believed to date back to 1513 BC. In total, the Bible includes 77 books, but their number in different editions may be different, since not all of them are recognized as canonical, i.e. sacred and divinely inspired. 11 books recognized as apocryphal, some religious denominations reject and do not include in their editions of the Bible.
Step 2
The Bible is divided into 2 parts - Old Testament and New Testament. The first part - the Old Testament, also called the sacred history of the pre-Christian era, includes 50 books, 38 of which are recognized as canonical. It is believed that the texts of the Old Testament were written from 1513 to 443 BC. people on whom God's Grace descended. The Old Testament books tell about the creation of the world, about the beliefs of the Jews, about the participation of God in their lives, about the laws transmitted to people through the prophet Moses on Mount Sinai, etc. The sacred texts of this part of the Bible are written in different languages and are conventionally divided into law-positive, historical, teaching and prophetic.
Step 3
The New Testament is also called the Sacred History of Early Christianity. It includes 27 books, which is approximately one fourth of the entire volume of the Bible. All the books of the New Testament are written in the ancient Greek language, and tell about the life, martyrdom and resurrection of Christ, about his teaching, disciples, and their deeds after the ascension of the Son of God. It is believed that the New Testament, which became the basis of Christianity, was written during the 1st century AD.
Step 4
The New Testament includes 4 canonical Gospels. Translated from Greek "Gospel" means "good news", "good news." Until recently, the evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were considered the authors of these books. The first three texts are similar in content. Fourth, the Gospel of John is very different from them. It is assumed that John, who wrote it later than others, sought to tell about events that were not previously mentioned. There are several dozen more apocryphal Gospels, each of which interprets the events of the life and preaching of Jesus Christ in its own way. This discrepancy and abundance of interpretations led to the forced reduction of the canonical texts to a minimum. They were not included in the Bible.
Step 5
Today the authorship of the Gospels is considered unproven. Matthew and John are disciples of Christ, and Mark and Luke are disciples of the apostles. Evangelists could not be eyewitnesses of the events described, since they lived in the 1st century A. D., and the earliest manuscripts of these texts date back to the 2nd-3rd centuries. It is possible that the Gospel is a record of the oral work of unknown people. In any case, now some priests prefer to tell parishioners that the authors of these books are unknown.
Step 6
Thus: 1. The Gospel is a part of the Bible, one of the books included in it.
2. The Bible was written for more than one and a half thousand years, beginning in the 15th century BC. The Gospel dates back to the 1st century A. D.
3. The Bible describes many aspects of human life, beginning with the creation of the world.
The Gospel speaks about the birth, earthly life of Jesus Christ, his resurrection and ascension, about the Commandments and Laws he brought to people, observing which a person will achieve spiritual purity, the happiness of unity with God and salvation.
4. The Gospel is written in ancient Greek, Bible texts in different languages.
5. The books of the Bible are written by people under the special inspiration of God. The authorship of the Gospel is attributed to Matthew and John - disciples of Christ, and Mark and Luke - to the disciples of the apostles, although today this is considered not proven.
