What is the accurate history of the bible, when it was written & who in what time periods controlled it?

Question

I am a somewhat skeptical person and i would like to know how those who may have been in "control" of the bible at any point in time may have influenced its contents

Answer 1

you may want to read the wikipedia article on the bible for a full description of when the differerent books were written and who was in control at the time.
i am reading the infamous "holy blood, holy grail" book that seemed to start the wave that eventually led to the davinci code. while a lot of it is speculation, it does offer some interesting data on the new testament. before i take it all at face value, i plan to do a little research of my own, but they make good food for thought..

- none of the gospels were actually written by disciples, but by nameless people. it is generally accepted that when they were written all the main "characters" had long been dead. while some of the accounts may have been from people who witnessed the events, they would have had to be children at the time. so you're talking about a tale that was passed on from one believer to another before it was written down, or at best, an old man's memories of childhood events, however memorable.

- it's more or less under discussion whether the gospels were originally written in greek or aramaic, but either way, by the time they made it to that council that decided which books would be included in the canon, they had probably been translated (and copied) a few times. as a trained translator, i can tell you there is a lot that can be lost (or gained) in even one translation, especially when people's feelings and beliefs are involved in the process. since then there have been, i'm sure, dozens, if not hundreds of new translations. the texts as we know them today are the proverbial copy of a copy of a copy of a copy who knows how many times over.

- there are different versions of the gospels that were included in the canon, suggesting that they were (or might have been) edited by the powers that be at that time.

- most "un-official versions" of the events narrated in the canon were deliberately destroyed at around the 2nd century, which means that we basically have now the version that was sanctioned by the same powers that be that probably doctored the texts that were included. some of the texts that were not included have as good a claim at legitimacy as the included ones, or perhaps a better one, as they are far less likely to have been tampered with, and translated to death.

- the first person to gather the books that would later become the bible, before the council created the canon, was irenaeus, bishop of lyons, a man with a religious agenda of mythical proportions. any thought that deviated one comma from what he thought was the "right" message was to be exterminated at all costs. the canon is not exactly as he wanted it, but it basically the same.

- since christians were basically stuck living with the roman empire, the gospels were biased in favor of the romans, so that they could be accepted by the romans and the new-born religion could thrive. the story was written FOR AN AUDIENCE.

- on the same vein, several tenets of christianity were adapted to accomodate and identify with pagan (or at least unorthodox) beliefs, so they would be easier to accept.

basically, it sounds like the new testament was put together a lot like a movie script - take all the available text, erradicate all that is deemed worthless or dangerous, make whatever changes are approapriate to get your message across, add a few special effects, the right lighting, add enough pizzaz to bring in your target audience, but keep it within the limits that will make it acceptable to the rest of the crowd.

i could go on and on, but i'll just recomend a little light reading... the wiki article and "holy blood, holy grail". remember, though, whatever you read, do a little rersearch of your own before you accept someone else's views.

Answer 2

There is credit given to many as authors of the bible. Moses started with Genesis-Deuteronomy around 1400BC. The end of the OT is probably the book of Nehemiah, written during Persian rule of the world around 450BC. The entire New Testament was written between 35-90AD. The earliest being the gospel of Mark and the last being Revelation (written by the apostle John). PS-- Nehemiah and Mark were written by Nehemiah and Mark.

Answer 3

The bible as most people know it was invented in 325 CE (ad) by a council authorized and supervised by Roman Emperor Constantine.

King Jame edited that bible and produced his own version in 1611 CE.

Additional comment:

The "bible" is a collection of myths, legends & fairy tales written by various unknown authors at unknown times. The "bible" itself was not created until 325 CE. Before that, there was no "bible."

Answer 4

The Bible was probably written by a group of scholars and pot smokers, the content had to be approved or modified by one or more persons who at the time suffered Schizophrenia.

Answer 5

Well, as far as I know, the writing of the bible STARTED in ancient Mesopotamia (By Abraham, the first Jew) and ENDED in Israel (After Jesus acended to heaven).

Answer 6

the parts were written when it happned, then assymboled later.

Answer 7

You are in the wrong section.