The Bible The word of God is ______________ and ________ and Scripture is ___________ _____ by God.

(Hebrews 4:12 and 2 Timothy 3:16) What is it? The Bible is not just one book. It is actually more of a library of 66 books compiled together. All 66 books are considered revelation from God, meaning God has revealed Himself through Scripture. Who wrote it? There are roughly 40 different authors attributed to the various books of the Bible. While it was their hand that penned the words, it was God who inspired each word written by His Holy Spirit. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21) How did we get it? Hand written copies, called manuscripts, were how the various books would be reproduced and circulated until they were compiled into what we now call the Bible. This process of compiling is called canonicity. Are todays translations reliable? An important distinction to be made is that only the original authors were inspired by the Holy Spirit and therefore only the original writings, called the autographa, were perfect and without any error of any kind. While this means that todays translations do contain a certain amount of error, no fundamental doctrine of the Christian Church is in any way disrupted by these textual variants. Whats the difference between versions? There are generally three different types of English translations. Word-for-word: Translators preserve as close a translation as possible, while only rearranging sentences for proper English syntax and grammar. Thought-for-thought: Translators seek to preserve the meaning of the text and might make changes to the language in cases of colloquialisms or other figurative language. Paraphrase: Usually only one translator phrases the Bible in the way that makes most sense to them personally, while attempting to still represent the overall meaning of the text. Which version should I read? All of them. While this is an unrealistic goal, an effort should be made to read Scripture in at least one version from each of the three types of translations. I would recommend: English Standard Version for word-for-word New International Version for thought-for-thought The Message for paraphrase. (Keep in mind that the paraphrase version is translated and edited by only one person, whereas the other translations are handled by councils of scholars and experts)

 Which version should I not read? Most Christian stores and websites do not carry the New World Translation, so you probably will not encounter it all that much. But this translation purposefully mistranslates any verse attributing divinity to Jesus Christ and should not be considered a reliable version of Scripture. Related Terms and Definitions Inspiration can be defined as the means by which the divine quality of Scripture was given through the writings of human authors by the Holy Spirit of God. Inerrancy is the belief that the Bible, in all particulars be it scribal, historical, geographical, doctrinal, anthropological, theological, or otherwise, is without error as it pertains to the autographa, the original manuscripts. It is also the belief that the Bible, in all salvific truths and details otherwise specific to a pursuit of a relational understanding of God, is without error in all contemporary copies and translations of the autographa as they are also without error in all other particular details as far as they accurately and precisely reflect the original manuscripts. Sufficiency refers to the competency of the word of God to bring us into all necessary understanding of Him and His redemptive work unto salvation. It is also entirely sufficient in equipping believers with all useful and applicable knowledge unto discipleship. Canonicity refers to the intrinsic authority of Scripture being recognized by the community of believers and therefore being canonized as a result of its inherent authority. The canonicity of Scripture is an innate quality because of the inspiration of the text, not because of authority given to the text by assenting believers. Authority means that Scripture not only demands obedience but also is worthy of our obedience as it is the inspired word of God. It is important to note that there are not degrees of authority when it comes to revelation from God, whether general, special, canonical, or extracanonical.