What if the Bible is just made up?

What if the Bible is just made up?

Asked by Someone

What if the Bible is just made up?

These days there are very many biographies being written by famous people who want to tell their story (or others who want their story told).

They are sometimes written towards the end of one’s life or even after someone’s life has ended. There is no way any book can account for every action, thought or word of any person, and in the case of two or three books being written about one person there are some parts included in one book and not in another.

It is the same with Jesus. The Gospels (biographies of Jesus) were written soon after his life by people who were there. While Matthew and Luke include genealogies and other early history Mark and John do not. This does not mean they necessarily contradict, just that they provide different information.

As for dating and the length of any ‘oral history’, there are many long and complex arguments that could be rehearsed here. You can read some at http://www.christianity.net.au/you/is_the_new_testament_history

Two quick things to note are:

* The best reason for the NT not mentioning the fall of Rome in AD 70 is that the NT was complete before it happened (ie within 40 years of Jesus death therefore allowing eyewitness accounts.

* In a pre-paper and PC age, to learn by heart and recite was a normal practice for important information and it seems that people of those cultures were able to do that with surprising accuracy.
To investigate these matters further you could go to http://www.moorebooks.com.au/ and buy a copy of The Truth about Jesus by Dr Paul Barnett.

Answers are kindly provided by our friends at Christianity.net.au

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