It might, or might not be a surprise to you to learn that the Christian Bible is the best-selling book of all time with a (very estimated) and staggering 5 to 7 billion copies sold (reference: Guinness book of World Records). The Christian Bible is so far in front in terms of total number of sales that it is not always included in top selling lists. It is impossible to know exactly how many have been printed overall, hence the wide range.
The Bible is actually a set of 66 books, arranged at the top level into the Old and New Testaments.
The Old Testament is the original Hebrew Bible, the sacred scriptures of the Jewish faith, written at different times between about 1200 and 165 BC. The New Testament books were written by Christians in the first century AD (reference: BBC website).
The Bible can sometimes be succuntly divided into very broad general categories:
In the Old Testament: The Law, History, Wisdom, Prophetic
In the New Testament: The Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, Letters, Apocalypse
Whether you accept that the Bible covers from 6000 BC to now and beyond, or more than 6 Billion years ago (the majority of which is perhaps summed up in the first 7 days of creation and through to Noah and the flood) until now and beyond is open to conversation. There are theories on both sides with regards to a literal seven day creation or billions of years – which as we know, many scientists state as fact.
Given the rate at which our modern world is developing and things have changed, we think that anything beyond 150 years ago is a very, very long time ago. In addition due to this exponential acceleration in understanding and development, the last book of the Bible, seems to be becoming increasingly closer and into focus on the great timeline stretching across all of history past, present and future.
However, as you would expect, one thing all Christians accept is that the wisdom and history recorded in the mainstream Bible translations (for example, the KJV, NKJV, NIV, ESV) presents the divinely inspired facts, history, testimony, eye witness accounts and wisdom of the mainstream Christian faith.
In terms of writings the Bible is the core and fundamental ‘instruction book’ for Christians uniquely and divinely inspired by God. Because there are a number of different widely accepted translations, Christians seek God prayerfully and listen for the promptings of the Holy Spirit and Jesus’ words when reading the Bible to help them live, understand and apply the Bible’s stories and teaching directly in life today.
So, with the above in mind, we have gathered together some key starting points to help you dive into the Bible and discover more about it for yourself. We pray that God would be your guide, shining fresh understanding and insight on the Scriptures for you in your life every time you read them. Click below to explore more about the Bible…
An A to Z of Bible reading notes available to help you read regularly or study the Bible.
There are many translations available of the Bible – how do you choose?
Bible dictionaries, concordances, commentaries and other resources.
Buy Bibles and resources to help you in your faith journey and Christian life from our Bookshop.
Where can you find free online daily devotionals and Bible reading notes?
Christian college and theological colleges list. Opportunities to study on a Christian course.
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