by Luiz Bravim

Created on: June 26, 2010   Last Updated: July 05, 2010

The Bible is not one book, but rather a library of 66 books with authorship spanning a thousand years. The gamut runs from Deuteronomy in the seventh century before Christ all the way to Peter’s epistle in the second century. Even the earliest biblical scholars noted contextual, stylistic, and thematic variation from one book to the next. Although the Pentateuch, or Torah, has been traditionally attributed to Moses, it was most likely written by four different authors: the Yahwist, Elohist, Deuteronomist, and Priestly sources. Like most of the Bible, the first five books are anonymous. University of North Carolina Professor Bart Ehrman dutifully described the production of the first biblical texts in the best-seller "Misquoting Jesus". Our oldest texts contain no signatures and offer only the barest clues as to the men and women who wrote them.

Absolute truth implies historicity. Deacon Norm Carroll writes: “Myth is not a story without truth, but a story designed to teach deeper truths than what appears.” The first 11 chapters of Genesis are indeed mythic. That term is not derogatory and should in fact be celebrated by faithful readers of sacred scripture. The sources who composed the narrative of Adam and Eve were tens of thousands of years removed from the first modern humans. Their intention was never a dry recitation of early history, but far grander in scope! They sought to educate on the meaning of life and God’s relationship with all the world. Eve symbolizes life, also the Hebrew meaning of her name. Adam symbolizes mankind, the Hebrew meaning of A’dam. Fundamentalists distrust any interpretation that examines the text more critically, but Carroll’s understanding is in line with the finest mainline scripture scholars.

Each book of the Bible must be evaluated on its own terms. The mythical qualities of Genesis do not carry over to the Gospel of Mark. This brief and enchanting work is the earliest record of the life of Jesus, probably written around 65-70 C.E. There are definite historical truths contained within the narrative, but it would be inaccurate to call Mark the biography of Jesus. Mark’s aim was not to convince first century Jews of a God-man’s authenticity, but rather to educate the faithful—those who already believed. It is much more akin to a ‘Life of…’ book than anything resembling modern history. ‘Life of’ works were written to help glorify great men in

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