The Bible (AQA GCSE Religious Studies B): Revision Note

The origin of the Bible

• Biblion is a Greek word meaning book

• The Bible is the holy book of Christianity

  • The Bible is a collection of many books that contain various types of writing, such as laws, history, poems and prayers

• These were written across a long period of time, and the Bible came together over a period of over 1,000 years

• The stories and teachings in the Bible were initially passed on via oral tradition

• This information was gradually written down, originally on individual scrolls. This started around 1000 BCE and continued until approximately 100 CE

• During the early days of the Christian Church, members started collecting together the individual scrolls 

• The final collection of the books that make up the Bible was decided by Pope Damian in 382 CE

  • This agreed collection is known as the Canon of Scripture

• The Catholic Christian Church accepts 73 books in the Bible

• The Bible is divided into two sections

  • The Old Testament

  • The New Testament

The structure of the Bible 

The Old Testament

• The Old Testament recounts how God guided the Jewish people throughout their history, up until the coming of Jesus

• It contains four main sections 

  • Law

  • History

  • Wisdom

  • Prophecy

• Law (Torah) makes up the first five books

  • It tells how the Jews became the people of God

  • It shows how God guided the Jews and sent them prophets

  • It contains guidance for how they should live, including the Ten Commandments

• The History books show how God guided the people of Israel

  • They give examples of times when the people did not listen to God. These occasions were included to help later generations avoid making the same mistakes

• The Wisdom books contain poems, prayers and advice

  • These books show people how to praise God and stay close to him

• The Prophecy books are the words of the prophets who passed on messages from God

  • These books show God’s people how God is active in the world, and they pass on messages about staying faithful to him

• Awaiting Image

The New Testament

• The New Testament is based on the life and teachings of Jesus and his apostles

• It can be split into four sections

  • Gospels

  • Acts

  • Epistles

  • Revelation

• The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) record the actions and teachings of Jesus

  • These are considered the most important books of the New Testament because they pass on the words and actions of Jesus

• The Acts of the Apostles is a single book recording events in the first 60 years of the early Christian Church

  • It explains how the early church spread from Jerusalem throughout the Roman Empire

  • It encourages Christians facing persecution or difficulty in following their faith

• The Epistles or letters are a collection of letters written by the apostles, mainly St Peter, St Paul and St John

  • These letters advise Christians how to live by Jesus’s teachings

• The Book of Revelation is an apocalyptic book written by the apostle John

  • It includes accounts of his mystical visions, and some Christians believe it describes events that will happen at the end of the world

• These books were not the only ones written at this time, but they were selected because they had more authority than others. This is because:

  • They were all written by apostles or someone close to an apostle

  • They were all written before or around the end of the first century, so they were more likely to be accurate accounts

  • They were in line with other teachings and accounts of Christian beliefs

  • They were accepted by all Christian churches at the time

• Other books, such as the Gospel of Thomas, were rejected because they were considered to have distorted key Christian teachings

  • The process of carefully compiling the New Testament in this way means that Christians today can trust the information that was ultimately included

    
    Awaiting Image