Claim CH190:
The Bible's internal harmony around a central theme testifies to its
divine authorship. It is sixty-six books written over sixteen centuries
by some forty different writers of diverse backgrounds, but every part
follows the same theme.
Source:
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. 1985. Life--How Did It Get Here?
Brooklyn, NY, p. 215.
Response:
- The Bible's harmony can also be attributed to the fact that its
contents were selected and edited, by people, to make it harmonious
(Friedman 1987).
- The Bible is not harmonious on some very important points.
- Many people have noticed the difference between the Old Testament
God, who is vengeful and bloodthirsty (e.g., Gen. 6-8; Exod.
7-11) and commands and aids the slaughter of one's enemies (e.g.,
Exod. 32:27-28; Deut. 3:6; Num. 31:1-18), versus the New Testament
God, who preaches peace and commands people to love their enemies.
- Some parts of the Bible say the sins of the father are inherited by
future generations (e.g., Exod. 20:5, Deut. 5:9). Other parts
(Ezek. 18) says they are not.
- Much of the Bible emphasizes the unity of God. Genesis 1, for
example, stresses that all of creation came from the same God, not
different gods as other contemporary religions taught. However, the
New Testament, particularly Revelation, introduces a good/evil
dualism akin to Zoroastrianism, which has become particularly common
in Christian tradition.
References:
- Friedman, R. E. 1987. (see below)
Further Reading:
Friedman, Richard Elliott. 1987. Who Wrote the Bible? New York:
Summit
Books.
created 2003-7-10, modified 2005-4-19
