INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE

What is the Bible and Why Is It Important?

Our word Bible comes from the Greek word biblia, meaning "book."

The Bible tells the story of God, God's people, and God's creation
and reveals God's will for humanity. The Bible is about the human condition, our tendency to sin,
God's willingness to forgive, and the promise of eternal life with God. Societies and writing styles
have changed since the first books of the Bible were written. Most of us are not sheep farmers and
have never seen a mustard seed. Yet the Bible still speaks to us in our world of high-speed Internet
and on-demand movies. The story of God's unconditional love for us does not expire.

It is divided into two major parts; Christians call the books written before Jesus THE OLD
TESTAMENT. The main point of The Old Testament is to show God’s Love. These are the books
Jesus was taught from when he was growing up. All of the apostles also followed these books. The
first 5 books are the most important and they include: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and
Deuteronomy.

THE NEW TESTAMENT is the second part of the Bible. This is concerned with Jesus’s love for us. It
also tells the story of the early followers of Jesus and the early church. This part includes the four
gospels: Mathew, Mark, Luke and John, the letters and the Acts of the Apostles.
The Bible grew out of the religious experiences of the people of Israel.
The Bible is given special respect because Jewish and Christian people believe that God
communicates with people in a special way through the Bible.
The Bible is one of the ways the God speaks to us.

God also speaks to us through persons, places, events, and our conscience.
We believe that is the Bible is read as an inspired book, then it becomes God’s special revelation.

Christians believe that the Bible is the word of God. This belief involves faith which is a gift given from
God at Baptism. Religious traditions supports this belief.
The Bible writers used symbols and wise sayings to teach us. Therefore, we can say that it is
symbolically true and proverbially true. Given the knowledge that we have, and knowing that the Bible
was written a long time ago, Christians do not believe the Bible to be historically true. It is not an
accurate account or record of events over a period of time.

The stories are to teach only a religious truth – always something about God and people. Christians
believe the Bible to be true. For them, it is the word of God.

How to find a Scriptural reference

The Bible is composed of books. Each book is composed of chapters.

Each chapter is composed of verses.

A scriptural reference provides all the information you need to find a particular passage.
Example: Genesis 1:31

The name of the book comes 1st. Genesis or Gen or Gn.

The chapter number appears directly after the name of the book. The example gives you 1, meaning
chapter 1.

The last number, separated from the chapter number by a colon, indicates the verse. The example
refers to Verse 31.
So…….
Genesis 1:31 means book of Genesis, chapter 1, verse 31.
Try and figure these out…
1) Gen 1:1-8 Book of Genesis Chapter 1 Verse 1-8
2) Gen 1:8-10, 18-25 Book of Genesis, Chapter 1, Verse 8-10, Verse 18-25-=09
3) Gen 1-3 Book of Genesis, chapters 1-3