The Book of Books

By Gary Moore
National Director, Canada

The Bible is actually a collection of books, inspired by God, and written by a variety of authors, in three different languages, over many centuries of time. It contains a wide variety of genres—or types of literature.

There are historical narratives. These are often written in the form of stories that tell us history, but history with a purpose. They clearly give a sense of how God is working in the world. There is the creation story at the beginning of Genesis. By telling us the story of creation, God is explaining the foundations of his purpose for humanity, and explaining key truths that apply to all humanity.

Many of us don’t appreciate how unique the biblical account of creation really is. Unlike the creation stories of other ancient Near Eastern peoples, Genesis tells us that God (the one true God) created everything. The physical matter of creation is not full of spiritual forces, or inhabited by various and sundry gods. Rather, it is what God has created, and is the environment into which he placed human beings.

This truth allowed science to blossom, because it created a worldview in which the matter of creation is no longer seen as full of strange “spiritual powers” but rather subject to the laws of nature, and subject to human manipulation and measurement. It dispels the pagan worldview that held human beings captive to a mindset that prevented them from seeing the creation for what it really was. Some feel the first three chapters of Genesis may be the most impactful document ever written—in terms of creating a functional worldview that would allow human beings to progress in understanding.

The Bible also contains poetry. Good portions of the Psalms, as well as other portions of the Bible are written in poetic form. They are just as true and inspired as other portions of the Bible, but God is communicating his message to humans through the literary genre of poetry, rather than prose. There is the wisdom literature that we find especially in the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. These were written especially for young people, telling them that faith in God is superior to all alternatives, and that God’s ways produce life—in contrast to the death produced by the alternative religions in surrounding cultures. They provide the same understanding for us today, no matter what our age.

There are the four gospels. They are portraits of who Jesus was and what he taught. They provide the basis for a decision. To accept who he was, is to gain access to salvation, and a new life in Christ.

There are the Epistles, written in response to particular situations in the early church, and are generally intended as a response to questions raised by those churches.

There is the book of Revelation, written to a Christian community that was undergoing extreme persecution. It uses powerful imagery and coded language and illustrates the truth that the forces of evil won’t win in the end, but rather that God and his servants shall triumph.

Then there is prophetic literature. In the Old Testament, when ancient Israel forsook the covenant and turned to idolatry, sin and dehumanization became rampant. God called people to be his prophets, to call the people back to him, and to warn them of the covenantal curses that would befall them if they did not repent. Of course, as we read the story, we find that Israel and Judah did fall under those curses, and fell to invading powers. There were other prophecies that pointed to the One who would come and bring ultimate salvation both to Israel, and then to the whole world. In fact, there are several hundred such prophecies in the Old Testament that pointed to Jesus, and the various details of how he would fulfil his mission to be the saviour of the world. Finally there are prophecies that point to the final stage in the process of salvation, when Jesus will return to culminate God’s purpose of reconciliation and salvation.

These prophecies, along with all the other forms of literature in the Bible, have been inspired by God, and are intended to carry in their own way, the good news of salvation.

That salvation is the core message of the Bible, and ties together the various books, genres, stories and teachings into a whole package—God’s communication of his purpose to mankind!

This article first appeared in the Northern Light of Canada, Jan/Feb 2004.