Jacqui Adewole: 0:06

The Bible is the best-selling book of all time. It has shaped the laws and policies of many Western countries, influenced language, music and art. It continues to inspire millions of Christians around the world today. But what exactly is it? What is the Bible? If you're asking questions like these, stay tuned to this episode of the Bible Basics Podcast for answers and more discussion on what the Bible is and why it matters. Well, welcome everyone. I'm your host, Jacqui Adewole, and this is the Bible Basics Podcast. Here, weekly, we break down the basics of the Bible into understandable, bite-sized chunks.

Jacqui Adewole: 1:08

Have you ever wondered what makes the Bible so different from other books? At first glance, it might look like any other book, but with its intimidating size, you may feel a bit overwhelmed. And with its stories talking about events that happened thousands of years ago, you might wonder if it's still useful today. But the truth is, people in every generation have found its message indispensable. Its influence on individuals and society over the centuries has been enormous. We're often told to read, study, memorize, meditate on and know the Bible, but rarely do we stop and actually explain what the Bible is. Well, i'm excited to share with you what I've learned, so let's dive in.

Jacqui Adewole: 2:00

Most people think of the Bible as a book like a long and complicated novel, with too many oddly named characters and not enough plot. Pick up a Bible, look at it in your hand. No question about it, it's a book. But it's vastly more. The Bible is not a single book, but an anthology, a collection of many books, and, in a broader sense, it's not just an anthology of shorter works, but an entire library.

Jacqui Adewole: 2:33

The Bible is a collection of 66 books that were written over a period of more than 1500 years. In a typical printed Bible, the longest book, Psalms, takes up more than 100 pages, while the shortest book, 2 John, is less than a page. It's divided into two primary sections The Old Testament, containing 39 books covering the time before Jesus. The second section is the New Testament, containing 27 books, which covers the period during and after Jesus' life. Beyond those two sections, the Bible contains several more divisions. The Pentateuch, which is the first five books, the historical books, the poetry and wisdom books, the books of prophecy, the Gospels and the letters, which are also referred to as the Epistles.

Jacqui Adewole: 3:30

And get this, more than 40 different people wrote the various books of the Bible in three different languages Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic. Seriously enough, none of the men who wrote the books of the Bible wrote for a living. Some of the writers were rich, some were poor. Among them were kings, poets, prophets, musicians, philosophers, farmers, teachers, a priest, a statesman, a sheepherder, a tax collector, a physician and a couple of fishermen. They wrote in palaces and in prisons, in great cities and in the wilderness, in times of terrible war and in times of peace and tranquility. Most of them were unknown to each other, and yet they chronicled the lives of good and bad people, battles and journeys, the life of Jesus and early church activity. They wrote in styles of stories, poems, histories, letters, proverbs and prophecies. Despite their diversity, when you examine them all, you discover that they all have a common theme—God's relationship with us, his creation, the human race.

Jacqui Adewole: 4:49

The Bible is the inspired Word of God. Theologians and scholars have argued endlessly about the question of how a book written by so many authors over so many centuries can possibly be inspired by God. Well, this is what I depend on. The Bible itself says that its words are God-breathed. Sometimes God told the Bible writers the exact words to say, but more often He used their minds, personalities, vocabularies and experiences to produce His own perfect, infallible, which means accurate and an errant, which means without error, his own, perfect, infallible and an errant Word. And that's what makes the Bible different from any other book. The Bible is not just a textbook or a book of abstract theology to be analyzed, discussed and understood only by highly educated theologians and experts. No, it's a book about real people and about a God who is real. The Bible tells the story of God's relationship with the masterpiece of His creation—people. It's an account of God revealing Himself to us, to you and me.

Jacqui Adewole: 6:13

Thank you for joining me today at Bible Basics. I hope you found this episode informative and helpful. Before you go, i want to leave you with one thought. The Bible is not just a collection of stories or a historical record. It's a living, breathing testament to the power and love of God. Its words have the power to transform our lives, to heal our broken hearts and to bring us hope when we are feeling hopeless. If this has been beneficial to you, please subscribe or follow and tell someone else about the Bible Basics podcast. Thank you for listening and we'll talk again soon.