Maybe you’ve heard about this criticism often made by atheists about the Christian Bible: it was written by people who were simply too primitive and ignorant to understand life and this world. And maybe you agree with these critics.
But I trust you’re reading this now because you’re open to spirituality and open to exploring the credibility of a book that millions of people believe is the truth about God and Jesus of Nazareth, who they believe is the Son of God. So consider these points:
- The people who wrote the 60+ parts of the Bible were mostly NOT goat herders. Even as late as the 1600s, less than half of the world’s male population (and, like it or not, a vast majority of the Bible was written by males) could read or write. It’s quite safe to say that very, very few goat herders were among them.
- People who could read or write when the Bible was written were usually among the elites of their society. They were educated, usually well off and often nobility. One example? Most historians believe the man who wrote “The Gospel of Luke” — one of the four biographies of Jesus’s physical life on earth — was a physician. That’s a long, LONG way from goat herding.
- You would be surprised and amazed at how carefully most of the Bible was written. I listened to a podcast about one section, called Jonah (most famous for a man being swallowed by a giant fish) and was blown away by the writer’s techniques. Certain words were used repeatedly in that section to suggest a larger picture that the author knew people of his day would understand. In other words, this was sophisticated writing — not primitive scribblings of illiterate cave dwellers.
- Even among people who believe Jesus of Nazareth was NOT the Son of God, many still admire Him for the brilliance of His teachings. Many of those teachings, such as loving your enemies and doing good for them, continue to challenge us today. And guess what? Jesus thought enough of the Bible sections written before He arrived (the “Old Testament”) to quote from at least five of them. Look it up if you don’t believe me.
While you’re digesting all this, consider one more point: the criticisms made about the Bible are often used to avoid considering its main points: God LOVES you, me and everyone else on this planet — even though we ignore Him and repeatedly do wrong things and avoid doing right things. God wants to be part of our lives, starting RIGHT NOW and stretching into all eternity, so He can make us the people we were created to be. All that can happen when we decide to make His Son our Lord, Saviour and best friend.
What do you think? Post your comments below and let’s have a conversation.
Frank's Cottage 
There’s no real point posting comments as you aren’t interested in genuine dialogue and you moderate, creating an environment that suggests serious bias and a lack of trust.
Sadly, it been my experience that atheists – which you’ve told me you are – who comment on my blogs aren’t interested in genuine dialogue. Most of them appear to be interested only in winning arguments and humiliating Jesus followers. Therefore, I allow atheists one comment and one comment only. I really, really wish I didn’t have to do this. 😫😢
It doesn’t matter over how many generations the Bible was written, because the truth of God is unchanging, Frank. These men were inspired by none other than God, Himself. Let us always cling to His truth – always!
Blessings!
//the Bible is the imaginings of goat herders//
Among all Biblical authors, only Moses was a full-time goat-herder, and that was only as a second of three careers. Up until the age of forty, he received the best education Egypt had to offer.
Luke wrote more the New Testament (27%) than any other author, and he was trained in the Greek medical arts. He had an excellent command of the Greek language and style.
Paul wrote almost as much of the NT, and he was trained in rabbinic logic by the most respected educator in the field: Gamaliel. He was also conversant with Greek philosophy.
These authors were hardly country bumpkins.
Well said. That’s the thing about non believers. They go out of their way to belittle and demean not only those who follow Christ, but those that were responsible for the Bible’s creation. I’ve heard many things like, the Bible has been changed, blah blah, or it was written to control the population. These things are false.
Also, they say that only dumb people follow God or claim Christianity, pointing to “redneck hicks” and the like. A lot of Bible scholars and people who are active in apologetics are some of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met.