How did the Bible come to be? I am Christian but I wonder how?

Like anything in this area there are some accepted facts, and a lot of divided opinions.

I've listed a secular and a Christian source.

(in that order)

I tried to find two that covered the same areas in similar styles but found it difficult to do so.

The third site focuses on the bible in English, and the different versions produced.

While speaking of bias, it might be best to say that I know Christianity well, but am an atheist.

The Bible does indeed have a unique makeup. It is one of a kind - like no other book that has ever been written. There is nothing like it and it has no equal. This can be seen in a number of ways.

1. It Was Fifteen Hundred Years In The Making

From the composition of the first biblical book until the last, a period of fifteen hundred years elapsed. The Old Testament was written between 1400 and 400 B.C. The first book composed was either the Book of Genesis or the Book of Job. The books of the New Testament were written from approximately A.D. 40 to A.D. 80.

2. The Bible Was Written By Many Authors With Many Occupations

Over forty different human authors wrote the books of the Bible. These writers came from a variety of backgrounds and occupations. They included shepherds (Hosea and Amos) fishermen (Peter and John), a tax collector (Matthew), a doctor (Luke), and a military general (Joshua). At least four of the writers lived in the royal household: the kings (David and Solomon), a prime minister (Daniel) and a cupbearer (Nehemiah). Only a few of them, such as Paul, Luke, and Moses, received the finest education of their time.

Basically, the compilation of the bible is not God's commandment but rather through the "democratic" process of voting. The bishops in the past had a gathering (conclave) and decided to unify the bible into one because there were so many gospels and book of the old testaments used by the different churches in many different places. They want to use one standard book that can be used by all the churches.

But what happened next is not "democratic" but rather a genocide in the world of literature. They burned all the books that they think is not "inspired" according to their criterion not God's. And any one caught reading these books were killed, hung on the cross, burned on the stake, murdered, massacred and labelled as heretics.

Yet despite this murderous and "democratic" process of bible compilation, the unification was never achieved:

1. The Roman Catholics used more books than the Protestants;

2. The Ethiopian Canon (use in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa) contains books not found in the Catholic Canon;

3. The Syriac Church Canon (mainly use by the Christians in the Middle East, northern Africa and Kerala, India) has a diffrent set of books than the one accepted in the West.

So who decided that which one is the book inspired by God in the bible?

NOT GOD but rather men who used their own criteria...

The bible was put together by different councils of Christendom. Various councils in the 4th and 5th century put together was is called the canon of the new testament.

Various books were put in and some were deleted from the canon at various times. The canon put together today that includes Matthew through Revelation was done by the Nicene, Chaldean and Anthanasian councils.

The Old Testament was canon in Jamnia in 90 A.D.

The Catholic bible has added scripture like The Maccabees etc. The ironic part of the reformation Martin Luther didn't like some books in the New Testament like Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, and Revelations.

Let start with the first five books of Moses.

Moses was a spiritual as well as a political leader. He wrote the first five books. In Jewish tradition, the Torah, the book of enlightenment. In this book gives historical information and laws. This was about 3200 years ago. This is the beginning of the bible, the old Covenant, that documents God's covenant with Israel (Jacob) and his descendants.

I will jump to the Gospels, the four accounts, that describe Jesus life, death, and Resurrection. If you examine what Jesus says, you will see he quotes from the Holy Scriptures (Old Testament). His teaching is based on the Torah. He is a rabbi. This is a new covenant between God and everyone.

As for the other books, you will find that they follow the Torah or Gospels.

The bible starts with Moses and ends with Christ. The bible consists of books (scrolls). There are scrolls not in some bibles but in others.

I have added an article that outlines the history of the Bible. It should give you a overview as well as some interesting reading. There are many other references, but this give you the entire picture.

Regarding the O.T., the books of the Bible were just that; separate books or scrolls. The priests were given the task of preserving the scrolls and copying them down through time.

In the N.T., The gospel accounts and letters written by the apostles were compiled later as a collection of inspired works.

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About 400 books were written on God ,Jesus,etc.The catholic church decided it needed a book to show the masses how they were supposed to live and to consolidate their power.So they picked the 66 that they wanted and threw the rest out.That happened in 367 A.D. by Athanasius,he listed the 27 books of the new testament,same as they use today.334 years after Christ died.Most books were not even written till 50 to 75 years after he died.

THE Bible was written by about forty men during a period spanning some sixteen centuries. These men were imperfect, subject to weaknesses and error. As humans, they did not differ from other people. One of them, Paul, told men who were wrongly viewing him and his missionary companion Barnabas as gods: “We also are humans having the same infirmities as you do.” (Acts 14:15) From a human standpoint, many of the Bible writers were not men of exceptional learning and abilities. Among them were very ordinary men, men pursuing such occupations as herdsman and fisherman.

How, then, was it possible for these imperfect men to produce a record that is actually God’s message? They did not write of their own impulse, but were inspired by God. “All Scripture is inspired of God,” said the apostle Paul regarding the portion of the Sacred Scriptures available in his time(2 Tim 3:16)

The person who reasons that the Bible may—in part at least—be simply the product of human thinking may try to justify his disregard for what it says in an attempt to escape trouble. Yet in doing so, he may actually be sacrificing the prospect of eternal life. Said Jesus Christ: “Whoever seeks to keep his soul safe for himself will lose it, but whoever loses it will preserve it alive.” (Luke 17:33)

A bunch of Bishops held a conclave around 400 AD and literally voted on which books to include and which to throw out.

Despite claims of Divine Inspiration, not a SINGLE one of the votes was unanimous.

It is a good blueprint for life which is why it stuck around so long.