Question: Where did the bible come from?
Who authorized it's authenticity?
How do we know which books belong in the Bible?

Answer: Hello xxxxxx, thanks for asking your question. What you have asked is very important for your faith and confidence in the only source of authority in religious matters today. I wish more people would seek out confirmation of the authenticity of God's book known as the Holy Bible.

Your question is really answered by what we would call apologetics. There are many people who more than adequetly have answered these questions. A very deplorable situation exists when we have so many people that have spent a great effort to PROVE the Bible actually comes from God, and then turn around and teach doctrines contrary to the BOOK they just proved was infallible. This is a major cause of confusion by many intelligent people.

The simple answer to your first question is:

GOD.

Expanded version:

Deity (God) used His influence to motivate selected men to write His message. Every one of them knew what they were doing when they wrote to others. What they probably did not realize at the time was the fact that the Holy Spirit helped to Guide them in their thoughts and on some occasions, their very words.

The second question is slightly more complicated, but equally simple.

Answer: God.

Expanded version: God used men to write the words, and He used signs and wonders to CONFIRM the word they were teaching. Read Hebrews 2:1-4 to understand why this happened.

God also had these inspired writers to request that the message of God be spread everywhere. The apostle Paul commanded that his letters be read in the local church, and then forwarded to other churches to be read by them. Many New Testament Epistles (letters) were generic enough that they would make the rounds to all the churches.

Now, that brings up the question of what letters were recognized as inspired and what letters were recognized as being just letters. The Holy Spirit was instrumental in this process (my personal conviction, though I cannot offer Book chapter and verse to prove it). Over several hundred years, these letters kept getting passed around, and they were received as Divinely inspired scripture.

Around 315 A.D. a group decided to take the collection of the "recognized" letters and books and bind them into a single volume.

This process had already been done for the Old Testament in the first century, and so the same rules were applied for inclusion into this text. As with any doctrine, there were those who oppose it, and those who wanted it in. So there were five factors involved in each book to determine if they should be included. Several books had four of the five, and many people wanted to include them, but those who put the canon of scripture together stuck to their guns and intent (of which I am sure God was satisfied) to keep the collection of books pure.

There is plenty of evidence that Paul wrote other letters to the various congregations he had contact with, and we read of letters by others. We have some cross references in the Kings and Chronicles making reference to books which are not available today.

Bottom Line: You just have to accept by faith that God has given us everything we need for salvation, and that God did not leave anything out of His grand book.

By accepting the Bible as Divinely Inspired obligates us to God's laws as He gave them to us. The commands to not add to His laws or to leave out or take away from His laws, even the idea of changing His laws to suit our wants is very much considered. It is even important to respect the silence of God, for fear that we might be guilty of presumption.

I accept the Bible as being inspired, and I believe my teachings reflect such. I try my best to teach as the oracles of God just as Peter wrote in 1 Peter 4:11.

I believe God gave us ALL things necessary for our salvation (2 Peter 1:3), and by ALL, I mean that nothing is left out and no unprofitable things are found therein.

I believe every scripture is given by inspiration, and by following such, I can have confidence that God is pleased with my behavior and teachings as long as my behavior and teaching conform to His word.

To be sure, some letters were addressed to specific individuals or congregations for their special needs, but the principles established are God's instructions that would be good to take notice of and try to follow such teaching ourselves.

Recognize that the Bible is both specific and generic. Specific enough to speak to ME, and generic enough to speak to ALL Humans.

Thank you for your time, and if I can be of further assistance, let me know. You can contact me through this forum of AskMe.com or you may visit my website: www.simplebiblestudies.com.

Carey Scott (AskMe.com 4/9/2002)