How The Bible Was Written

Of all the religious texts that are still available, the Bible is perhaps the one that has affected the most aspects of society throughout the world. Europe was for the most part a Christian continent when it began to colonize most of the rest of the world and that religion shaped the laws that were passed in those colonies. With religion being a very sensitive topic for most, it can be hard to engage in objective dialogue regarding the way that this particular book, which is actually a collection of books, was written. This essay seeks to look at the way that it was written.

In a specific time period

Historians would state that the first books in the Bible were penned a few thousand years ago by people who were usually nomadic. This brings to mind two very specific things. The Bible has not been in existence as long as humans existed and the stories that it contains may be difficult for modern readers to fully appreciate. This may mean that there are subtleties to it that we would need to have seen that time period to understand. It could also just as easily mean that there are cases where the writers made incorrect assumptions based on their access to information. It may be difficult to know for certain.

In a specific region

Much like the time period, the region in which the Bible was written affects much of what it contains. The descriptions of heaven as a land flowing with ‘milk and honey’ would be especially inviting to a group of people who were nomadic and often found themselves traveling through desert climates where food was scarce.

By Men

Although there are Christians who believe that God wrote the Bible himself, most will admit that it was penned by men who were inspired by God. Non-believers are more likely to see it as written by men with an agenda. In either case, men put the words onto parchment and this may be the reason that women are mentioned significantly less throughout the books. The rules regarding their conduct are also very imbalanced. Female adulterers were to be stoned but male adulterers were given no such punishment.

While there are criticisms that can be leveled against this text, the same can be said of just about every religious book. The value that is derived from it must be weighed on an individual basis.