Big Questions About The Bible

Greetings, listeners. No, the Bible didn't just drop out of the sky. People wrote it. So it's natural then to wonder who were these writers? Why do we call it God's Word? How was he involved in the writing of the Bible? Those are honest questions. And that's what we'll be exploring today. Last time we saw that the Bible tells one big story. Today we're asking, where did that story come from? Well, welcome everyone. I'm your host, Jacqui Adewole, and this is the Bible Basics Podcast, where every two weeks we break down the basics of the Bible into understandable bite-sized chunks. So if episode three gave you the big picture, today we're zooming in. Because once you understand who wrote the Bible, you don't just see the story more clearly, it can help you begin to trust what you're reading. Here's the first thing to know. The Bible was written by people, not abstract voices, not dropped out of the sky, people. And not just one kind of person. Across the Bible you meet a wide range of authors, kings, poets, prophets, farmers, a doctor, a tax collector, fisherman. Some lived in palaces, some in small villages. Some wrote during peaceful seasons, others wrote in the middle of loss or conflict. And most of them never met each other. They lived in different centuries, different cultures, different languages. They weren't collaborating. They weren't starting out to write one single book. And yet, when you read it now, there's a steady thread running through it. The same God, the same human struggle, the same movement towards restoration. That's what connects it all. In the Old Testament, you meet people like Moses, David, and the prophets speaking into the life of a nation over generations. Now, in the New Testament, we get to know some of the writers more personally. Luke, for example, was a physician. He tells us he investigated things carefully before writing. Paul's story is very different. He started out opposing the early church until a life-changing encounter with Jesus turns everything around. So his letters feel personal because they are. He's writing to people in real situations. And John, one of Jesus' closest followers, writes with the perspective of someone who's lived with these events for years. These aren't distant figures, they're people. And God worked through their lives to give us these writings. And these writings didn't start in English, they were written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. So what did that actually look like? Well, these writings didn't all happen the same way. They came out of real moments. Sometimes someone spoke and someone else wrote it down. Jeremiah, for example, spoke messages from God, and a scribe named Baruch wrote them down as he spoke. Later these words were written again and preserved. Other times someone wrote directly. Think about Paul. He's writing letters to real communities, people he knows, situations he cares about. And you can imagine those letters being read out loud in one church, and then copied and shared with another, and then another. Some parts of the Bible were likely shared out loud first, told, remembered, and passed down before they were written. But in all of it, these words were kept, copied, and passed along. So the Bible didn't begin as one single book. It began as many writings across time. And that raises another question. How do we end up with these particular writings? We'll come back to that in the next episode. So if people wrote the Bible, is it still God's word? Well, the answer is yes. Both are true. People really wrote it, and God is really speaking through it. Paul describes Scripture as God breathed. That's 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17. It means these words don't just come from human reflection, they come from God's initiative, God's choosing to reveal Himself. And throughout the Bible, the writers speak as if God is the one speaking. You see phrases like, God said, or this is what the Lord says. We see that again and again. And in the New Testament, the message being shared by Jesus, by the apostles, it just is described as the word of God. So when Christians say the Bible is God's word, they're responding to what the Bible consistently says about itself. But God didn't erase the people involved, He worked through them. So the writing still sounds like them. The Psalms, full of emotion. That's David. Luke is careful and detailed. Paul is direct and personal with his writings. And these differences aren't a flaw. They're part of how the Bible works. God chose to speak through human voices. And that means the humanity of the scripture isn't something to be suspicious of. It's something to pay attention to. It might help to see it this way: God works through people. And the Bible, his messages reflect that. So, what does this mean for how you read the Bible? What does this change? First, context. Context matters. These writings come from real situations. And when you understand who's writing and you understand those real situations, you understand more of what's being said. Second, the human elements matter. The emotion, like poetry, questions. They show you what it looks like. They show you what it looks like to relate to God honestly. Third, when reading, you don't have to rush. This isn't a book to finish. This is something to sit with. Read a small section. Notice who's speaking. Notice what's happening. Let it take time. And finally, reading the Bible isn't just about learning. It's a way of getting to know God. And if you're not sure about that yet, that's okay. You can still begin by reading and paying attention, knowing that people wrote this and that God worked through them. That's part of what makes it worth reading. So the Bible was written by many people across time, place, and culture. And through all that, God was at work. That's why Christians see the Bible as both a fully human collection of writings and a place where God speaks, where all the messages are God's. Next time, we'll explore how these writings were gathered and why these books in particular became the Bible. I'll see you in episode five. Until then, keep reading, keep seeking, and keep growing in your faith.