Thanks for the link, kurtbethel. And Quentin of course, for starting the thread.
WHO WROTE THE BIBLE by Washington Gladden, PT 1
by Quentin 44 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Terry
I was considering readin the bool until I learned it was written in the late 1800s!!! This book seems too outdated to gather any knowledge from.
At first, I thought so too....until I read it.
The walk through is impeccable for its sobriety, calm and reasoned tone and the common sensical charcter of the logic.
Study of this will repay the reader many times over.
Just the discussion of the Moses authorship of the Pentateuch alone is worth the time you'll spend reading it.
A remarkably crystalline examination of "All scripture is inspired" and what is has to mean is breath-taking in its simplicity.
READ IT!!
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Juan Viejo2
Good info here. I own a copy of the Asimov book - and although a bit outdated, it is probably the most complete and accurate historical view of the Bible ever written. Asimov did his own research and wrote it in between his other books; he was an amazing man.
I also have "Who Wrote the New Testament?" byt Burton L. Mack. Easy to read and not overly scholastic, but very informative and extensive.
On the other end of the spectrum is "Who Wrote the Gospels?" by Randel McCraw Helms. Helms was a professor of English and Literature at Arizona State University. One of his courses was the Bible as Literature. One of his theories, which has some support from other scholars, is that one of the writers of the New Testament may have been a woman. He also wrote "Gospel Fictions," another excellent book. Helms is not an easy read, like Richard Dawkins and Bart Ehrman, but he is very thorough. Helms is an interesting scholar, having written extensive studies of the Tolkien's books, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Helms also had family members who were Jehovah's Witnesses, so he has remote connections to our community.
There is so much good reading out there. A lot of scholarship has gone into the study of the Bible and Christian theology - and yet so many just accept that the "King James Version of the Bible" is the one and only word of God. Thanketh thee, Oh Lord God, for giving us your Holy Book in Elizabethan English. After all, that was most certainly the very language of Moses, David, Isaiah and Jesus himself. I know it was cause I saw "The Ten Commandments" and "King of Kings."
Thank you Jesus!!!
JV
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Mat
Ok, question for all Bible Scholar types- What is the latest book on this information? What book is most up to date? Thanks.
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Quentin
What is the latest book on this information? What book is most up to date?....( Mat )
There is NO book that is most up to date. Soon as it is hot of the presses along comes another. The serious scholar will go back as far as they can to find sources. Even to a book writtin in say, oh, 1891. The best writer's of fiction, or non-fiction follow this pattern. Research is the foundation on which a book is written.
I have two books about Land Surveying and Mapping. One written, published in the late 1600s, a re- production of course. The other, about mapping and surveying, published in the 1930s, it's an original. Both books can be used by the average person adept in basic math, and as a guide that person could survey a parcel of land as well as any moderen Land Surveyor. May take them longer time wise, but they can do it.
The walk through is impeccable for its sobriety, calm and reasoned tone and the common sensical charcter of the logic. Study of this will repay the reader many times over....( Terry ) Couldn't have said it better.
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transhuman68
That is true, but the Dead Sea scolls and the Nag Hammadi discoveries have changed a lot of ideas about early Christianity. They were all dicovered only in the 1940's and 1950's. I would prefer to read a book that takes them into account.
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Quentin
Here is Gladden's take on Higher Criticism. Without rancor a comment objective and sensible. You might be interested to know Snoozy the book of Hebrews was also contested as to its inculsion in the canon. Interesting to see how they voted on which books were allowed into the Bible...
( Snoozy )...Interesting indeed. Kind of like the gb, eh?A great amount of study has been expended
of late on the Scriptures, and the conclusions
reached by this study are of
What is called the Higher Criticism has been
busy scanning these old writings, and trying to
find out all about them. What is the Higher
Criticism ? It is the attempt to learn from the
Scriptures themselves the truth about their ori-
gin. It consists in a careful study of the Ian-
guage of the books, of the manners and customs
referred to in them, of the historical facts men-
tioned by them ; it compares part with part, and
book with book, to discover agreements, if they
exist, and discrepancies, that they may be recon-
ciled.But much of this criticism has been thoroughly can-
did and reverent, even conservative in its temper
and purpose. It has not been unwilling to look
at the facts ; but it has held toward the Bible a
devout and sympathetic attitude ; it believes it to
contain, as no other book in the world contains,
the message of God to men ; and it has only
sought to learn from the Bible itself how that
message has been conveyed.It is this conservative criticism whose leadership will be followed
in these studies. No conclusions respecting the
history of these writings will be stated which are
not accepted by conservative scholars. Never-
theless it must be remembered that the results of
conservative scholarship have been very imper-
fectly reported to the laity of the churches.
Many facts about the Bible are now known by
intelligent ministers of which their congregations
do not hear. An anxious and not unnatural feel-
ing has prevailed that the faith of the people in
the Bible would be shaken if the facts were
known. The belief that the truth is the safest
thing in the world, and that the things which
cannot be shaken will remain after it is all told,
has led to the preparation of this volume...pg3-4 -
Terry
It is interesting and informative to go back to what was being printed and reported about the DEAD SEA SCROLLs when they were
finally in the hands of scholars.
THE IRON GRIP of the Catholic church sought to cut off any flow of information to allow them time to spin it--lest they be found caught
in an historically indefensible position vis a vis the facts.
Leaks about this and that drove the church crazy.
Evangelicals had the spin machine on full throttle.
The GOAL for established christian churches was to PRESERVE what was already believed and to refute ANYTHING which seemed to
disturb the status quo.
The photographs of the various manuscript parts was finally STOLEN and published on the internet to perform an end run around the secrecy
and censorship.
From that point forward, various periodicals in various churches EXCLUSIVELY FOCUSED on the good things that agreed with status quo and completely obscured or squelched the dissonant information.
Exactly the same tack taken by the Watchtower.
The BIBLE is the fatted calf and the golden goose which must be preserved at all costs. Even the cost of TRUTH.
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Quentin
"... the Dead Sea scolls and the Nag Hammadi discoveries have changed a lot of ideas about early Christianity. They were all dicovered only in the 1940's and 1950's. I would prefer to read a book that takes them into account."...( transhuman )
And the Ugaritic texts!....( Mat )
All well and good, howerver Galdden's book is not about early Chistianity, it is a about the Bible itself. From Chapter 11 "...we now come to adeeply interesting question,-----the question of the cannon" ( Pg 221 )
Interesting indeed. Did you know for example that the books of 1st and 2nd Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon and the three books of Maccabees were included in the origanal King James, as well as the other five English translations that proceeded the King James? Why are they no longer a part of moderen translations. They were included in the Greek Septuagint.
It intrigues me that some of you are biased aginst a book written in 1891. Men of that day and time were as much of a scholar as men of today. Gladden's book is about the Bible, as a whole, not early Chistianity. As Juan Viejo and Terry pointed out there are an abundance of books and internet sites that address that subject. Are the above mentioned texts important, of course, in context of early Chistianity.
I will tell you Gladden goes into great detail about the New Testament in context of Who Wrote The Bible.
"...much the greater number of quotations from the Old Testement found in the Gospels and the Epistels are taken from the Septuagint." ( Pg 225 ) He gives examples to support that statement. They are not pulled out of a hat.