How did the Bible’s sixty-six books become sacred Scripture? How have they been understood and interpreted over the last two thousand years? What was it that led to our acceptance of the Bible as the true word of God? For two millennia, Christians have accepted the importance of the Bible as sacred Scripture, and for as many years they have struggled to comprehend its meaning. Over the centuries the church has expressed the centrality of Scripture in numerous ways, and Christians have studied and interpreted the Bible in a wide variety of faithful approaches. Understanding that process is critical to our ability–and our willingness–to accept the Bible as sacred and true. To that end, Richard Soulen leads us through the history of how Christian understandings of the Bible have changed and developed throughout history.
Richard N. Soulen is Professor Emeritus of New Testament Studies at the Virginia Union University School of Theology in Richmond, Virginia.