Biblical Queries, if you don't mind...

Okay friends, am hoping to pick your minds out there. The reason? My good friend Bill, who is 82 and has studied the Bible daily for over 40 yrs now, has once again given me a quiz. He just Instant Messaged me this...
Bill says:
O.K. Hope you are feeling better soon. In the mean time here is your homework.. Who is the Author of the Bible,?? How many persons wrote the Bible.,and how can we prove they were inspired to write.

Okay...Bill is wise and pleasantly sneaky! I'm assuming the Author is God, unless this is a trick question!
As for how many people wrote the Bible, I realize we can't just count the number of books becuz some of those folks wrote more than one book each. (I go to Dave's Bible Page and read sometimes so I knew how many books and chapters
and such.) Any guesses or knowledge here?

As for "how can we PROVE they were inspired to write"...trust me, Bill can cross-reference parts in the Bible faster'n I can play the boogie-woogie! This question is what really has my interest. All too often people have told me over the years that we "just have to have Faith and believe they were inspired". I have a good feeling Bill is gonna prove it with actual content.

Anyone willing to help out?

Well, I'm sure someone has a factoid on how many authors there are. I think the NT was written by 7 +/- authors, and the OT - hmmmm. Don't know offhand.

How do we know it was inspired? Well, it says so for one thing. 2 Tim. 3:16: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."

How else? References to people and events in the Bible can be backed up by secular history.

The Bible doesn't contradict itself. (There are those who will claim otherwise, but 'taint so.) Try to find any other book written by this many people, over the span of time that it covers, that can make that claim. Answer? None.

Oh, and then there's that little thing called faith :0)

Dave has a Bible page?

Oh, yes ma'am. Dave's Amazing Bible Walk - (an indexed version of the Bible - KJV, I think) right here: http://bible.whitinger.net/

I didn't know it was here. That is great. Now I can go read on line and not have to hold a book. Thank you go-vols.

Many books aren't specifically identified with a particular author, though "experts" offer suggestions. Judges in the O.T. is one of them. Hebrews in the N.T. is another. Most folks attribute Hebrews to Paul, but there is some question about it, and others as well.

The entire book is inspired by God, though I've been nailed with the "fallacy of circular reasoning" on this point by many non-believers. The fallacy of circular reasoning points to the fact that the Bible is inspired because the inspired people writing it say so. In my opinion, that's where faith steps in. I don't need proof. Other people do.

Shoe,

Interesting questions indeed, and I have exactly the place where you should go for the main answer: "How do we know the Bible is true?" http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t003.html

After you read that page, consider the source of that information. It is a site called "ChristianAnswers.net", built by a group of industrious and faithful individuals, they have built a mega-site of information that is useful to Christians and those who are curious about Christianity. Their website is at http://www.christiananswers.net/

Whenever I have a question about Christianity or the Bible, I always go there first. You can spend hours or days browsing the amazing amount of information they have on that site. It's the DG for the Bible. :)

Good luck on your quest.

Dave

P.S. I built the "Dave's Amazing Bible Walk" website on November 15th, 2000, just a few months after I started DG. I made it because I wanted a searchable Bible, and I was too lazy to search for one that was already out there on the web. During the past year, it has been read by 2,037 visitors.

Thanks Zany and vol for pointing out the link. I didn't know it was here either. Thanks Dave for having the faith to make it available.

LOL Dave I think the counter is going to spinning faster now!

when I first came to DG back in Jan. I found "Daves Amazing Bible Walk" it was somewhere connected to DG. On my homepage here my 2 favorite sites are listed: Daves Bible Walk and Davesgarden. It is very user friendly. Davesgarden was a blessing to me then, as well as now.

Shoe, I would love to sit with your friend! I bet he has lots of wisdom about him. It is so good to have friends that challange your spirit as well as your skills.

dave, I liked the hyperlinks...yes that is a good site.
Here is another good one. I have alot of this material on CD. (I bought it a long time ago)http://www.godandscience.org/

shoe...great questions...you should let this man mentor you.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 - "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

http://www.gospelcom.net/ibs/bibles/about/5.php

http://www.gospelcom.net/ibs/bibles/about/2.php

Well, without looking it up, I believe that there were 44 men involved in setting God's words to paper (or whatever they wrote on!). As for how we know it is inspired, well, it has to be God's Word, or a lie, by the verses quoted above. Also, I think that we have seen over the years that it is historically accurate, by the archaeological information unearthed over the years. (of course, some false claims have been made - I think specifically of Bob Ballard's idea that the Flood was a piddly little thing in the Black Sea area...but that's a whole 'nother discussion!)
Anyhow, I think it is wonderful that we can discuss things like the Bible here. I really appreciate Dave's courage in his Faith.

God Bless,
Cedar

I love the way Dave's Bible site is set up. Streamlined and fast, just like DG! Another good one is The Bible Gateway - http://bible.gospelcom.net/ - it has many versions/translations available for search in many languages. Pretty darned neat. :o)

I don't know the answer to the last part of the question but the Bible Walk page is GRRReat!

This is a really great thread. Thank you Shoe for starting it.

Many people contributed to the writing of the Bible. Actually the Bible is a collection of writings from about forty contributors, thirty in the Old Testament and ten in the New Testament. For example, the Psalms are a collection of the works of several authors, of whom David, the "sweet singer of Israel", is the best known. But psalms were also written by Moses, by Asaph, by a man named Ethan, and by the sons of Korah.


Taken from the gospelcom hyperlink previously provided.

Now see, I can only come up with 8 confirmed writers of the NT, plus Hebrews, which may have been written by Paul, or may have been written by another writer.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul, James, and Jude. I just can't come up with any other NT writers. Who else are you including? (My curiosity is in full gear now :)

William Foxwell Albright (Christianity Today, 1/18/63)

Book
Author
Date
Possible reason for inclusion in the canon:

Matthew Matthew the Apostle < 70 A.D. Apostolic authorship
Mark John Mark 55 A.D. Recorded the teachings of Apostle Peter
Luke Luke the physician 59 - 63 A.D. Recorded the teachings of Apostle Paul
John John the Apostle 85 - 93 A.D Apostolic authorship
Acts Luke the physician 63 A.D. Contemporary of both Peter and Paul
Romans Paul 57 A.D. Apostolic authorship
1 Corinthians Paul 55 A.D. Apostolic authorship
2 Corinthians Paul 55 A.D. Apostolic authorship
Galatians Paul 50 A.D. Apostolic authorship
Ephesians Paul 60 A.D. Apostolic authorship
Philippians Paul 61 A.D. Apostolic authorship
Colossians Paul 60 A.D. Apostolic authorship
I Thess. Paul 51 A.D. Apostolic authorship
II Thess. Paul 51-52 A.D. Apostolic authorship
I Timothy Paul (some modern scholars question Pauline authorship) 64 A.D. Apostolic authorship
II Timothy Paul (some modern scholars question Pauline authorship) 66 A.D. Apostolic authorship
Titus Paul 64 A.D. Apostolic authorship
Philemon Paul 60 A.D. Apostolic authorship
Hebrews unknown (possibly Paul, Apollos, Clement or Barnabas) < 70 A.D. Possible apostolic authorship - generally accepted as authoritative by the ECF
James James, brother of Jesus 48 - 50 A.D. Apostolic authorship
I Peter Peter 64 A.D. Apostolic authorship
II Peter Peter (some scholars feel this was written by a follower of Peter) 66 A.D. Apostolic authorship
I John John the Apostle 90 A.D. Apostolic authorship
II John John the Apostle (some scholars feel this was written by "John the Elder") 90 A.D. Apostolic authorship
III John John the Apostle (see note for II John) 90 A.D Apostolic authorship
Jude Jude, brother of Jesus 65 A.D. Brother of Jesus
Revelation of John John the Apostle (see note for II John) 95 A.D. Apostolic authorship

HERE IS ONE VIEW.

I used to have a bible study teacher many years ago that would challenge us similiar to your friend Bill. Thank you for starting this thread. (I'm staying up way past my bedtime, just to help look for the answers!)

http://www.layhands.com/WhoWroteTheNewTestament.htm

Ah, I had forgotten about the debate of John the Elder vs. John the Apostle. And somewhere I've got some good notes to support the premise that it was John the Apostle, but I'd have to dig 'em up. And then the big ? on Hebrews. That would reconcile 8 vs. 10 writers. Thanks, Kelly333!!

http://www.sundayschoolcourses.com/origins/originsc.htm

This also is quite interesting....please read.

My MY(!) Goodness!! Such a wonderful response! Thanks everyone so(!) much!! This topic had me a bit worried but decided to post it anyway...I felt it was exceptionally interesting, fun, and could also add to my spirtual knowledge. Thanks folks!
Vols...did you know that 2 Tim quote right off the top of your head!!?
Thanks Dave for the links! They are on my Favorites list now!
Lisa, when me and Bill first met he hired me to come till his garden (at the time I was tilling backyards and teaching organic growing!...he jumped right on it!). We hit it off right away. (Course now, I believe he is a hit with anyone he meets!) Over the past few yrs, maybe 5 (I'm just guessing) we've had a great rapport.
Kelly, this man mentors many folks, quite a few times a wk! He goes out witnessing probably 4, maybe 5, times a wk. You'd love him!
Mercy me ya'll...I could go on and on thanking you individually! Thanks so much for the input!
HOWEVER, I gotta do my best to give Friend Bill some "Gospel Truths". Ya'll stay tuned! We're gonna answer this quiz (and then carry the answer for the rest of our lives, eh?)
I'm gonna go check out some of the above links again! Ya'll keep smiling!
H.

Great thread! I would love to see more of them. I've bookmarked all the threads and will persue this further.

Shoe - Does your friend have any other questions that we can try to answer. I think we could all learn from his questions. He will give you the answers I hope?

Yes JoanJ, he probably has a million of them. And I'm sure he'll give me the answers!