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The main source of knowledge about God and guidance in life for any Christian is the Holy Scripture. All the books of the Holy Scriptures are collected into one large book - the Bible (translated from Greek biblia - “books”).

The Bible is called the book of books. This is the most widespread book on earth; it ranks first in the world in terms of circulation. The Bible is needed by the peoples who speak different languages, so by the end of 1988 it had been translated in whole or in part into 1,907 languages. In addition, the contents of the Bible are distributed on records and cassettes, which is necessary, for example, for the blind and illiterate.

The Bible is recognized throughout the world as the greatest monument of history and culture. However, for believers it is something incomparably greater: it is the written Revelation of God, the message of the Triune God addressed to humanity.

The Bible consists of two large parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The word “Covenant” means “an agreement with God, a testament of the Lord, according to which people will find salvation.”

The Old (that is, ancient, old) Testament covers the period of history before the birth of Christ, and the New Testament tells about events directly related to the mission of Christ.

Most of the books of the Old Testament were written in the 7th-3rd centuries BC, and by the beginning of the 2nd century the books of the New Testament were added to the Old Testament.

Participated in writing the Bible different people and at different times. There were more than 50 such participants, and the Bible is not a collection of different teachings and stories.

Saint John Chrysostom interprets the word “Bible” as a collective concept: “The Bible is many books that form one single book.” What these books have in common is the idea of ​​the Divine salvation of humanity.

(http://www.hrono.ru/religia/pravoslav/sv_pisanie.html)

The Holy Scripture or Bible is a collection of books written by prophets and apostles, as we believe, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The word “Bible” (ta biblia) is Greek and means “books”.

The main theme of Holy Scripture is the salvation of mankind by the Messiah, the incarnate Son God's Lord Jesus Christ. The Old Testament speaks of salvation in the form of types and prophecies about the Messiah and the Kingdom of God. The New Testament sets forth the very realization of our salvation through the incarnation, life and teaching of the God-man, sealed by His death on the cross and resurrection. According to the time of their writing, the sacred books are divided into the Old Testament and the New Testament. Of these, the first contain what the Lord revealed to people through the divinely inspired prophets before the coming of the Savior to earth; and the second is what the Lord Savior Himself and His apostles revealed and taught on earth.

The Old Testament books were originally written in Hebrew. Later books from the time of the Babylonian captivity already have many Assyrian and Babylonian words and figures of speech. And the books written during Greek rule (non-canonical books) are written in Greek, while the 3rd book of Ezra is in Latin.

The Old Testament Holy Scripture contains the following books:

The books of the prophet Moses or the Torah (containing the foundations of the Old Testament faith): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Historical books: the book of Joshua, the book of Judges, the book of Ruth, the books of Kings: 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th, the books of Chronicles: 1st and 2nd, the first book of Ezra, the book of Nehemiah, Second Book of Esther.

Educational (edifying content): the book of Job, the Psalter, the book of Solomon's parables, the book of Ecclesiastes, the book of the Song of Songs.

Prophetic (books of predominantly prophetic content): the book of the prophet Isaiah, the book of the prophet Jeremiah, the book of the prophet Ezekiel, the book of the prophet Daniel, the Twelve books of the minor prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

The book of the Bible is Holy Scripture, a collection of books written by God's people, inspired by the Holy Spirit, inspired by God. The Bible consists of two main sections - the Old and New Testaments.

In total, the Old Testament consists of 39 books, written in Hebrew, at different times, by different people.

The New Testament consists of 27 books written in Greek. These are 4 Gospels: the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Luke, the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of John. The New Testament also includes the Acts of the Apostles, 21 Apostolic Epistles and the Apocalypse. The teachings of the holy apostles, prophets and teachers of the church contain not just wisdom, but we are given the truth, which was given to us by the Lord God himself. This truth lies at the basis of all life, both ours and those of those people who lived in those days. Modern preachers, theologians and pastors of the Church convey to us the interpretation of the Bible, the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, what was revealed by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ of Nazareth was born much later than the Old Testament was written. Stories about him were first transmitted orally; later, the evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John wrote 4 Gospels. All the main events of the life of Jesus Christ, his birth in Bethlehem, his life, miracles and crucifixion are described in the Gospels by the evangelists. All 4 Gospels are based on the same oral traditions about the life of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul and his disciples wrote letters, many of which were included in the collection of books of the New Testament. The earliest complete copy of the New Testament dates back to 300 AD. During this time, the New Testament was translated into several languages, including Latin and Syriac.

The first copies of the Bible were written in Latin in beautiful, elegant handwriting. Later, the pages of the Old and New Testaments began to be decorated with patterns, flowers and small figures.

Over time, the languages ​​of peoples and nationalities change. The presentation of the Bible in the Old and New Testaments also changes. The Modern Bible is written in a modern language that we understand, but it has not lost its main content.

The Holy Scriptures are books written by Prophets and Apostles with the help of the Holy Spirit of God, revealing to them the secrets of the future. These books are called the Bible.

The Bible is a historically established collection of books that covers - according to the Biblical account - an age of about five and a half thousand years. As a literary work, it has been collected for about two thousand years.

It is divided in volume into two unequal parts: the larger one - the ancient one, that is, the Old Testament, and the later one - the New Testament.

The history of the Old Testament prepared people for the coming of Christ for about two thousand years. The New Testament covers the earthly period of the life of the God-man Jesus Christ and his closest followers. For us Christians, of course, the history of the New Testament is more important.

The books of the Bible are divided into four parts.

1) The first of them talks about the law left by God to the people through the prophet Moses. These commandments are dedicated to the rules of life and faith.

2) The second part is historical, it describes all the events that took place over 1100 years - until the 2nd century. ad.

3) The third part of the books includes moral and edifying ones. They are based on instructive stories from the lives of people famous for certain deeds or a special way of thinking and behavior.

It should be noted that of all the Old Testament books, the Psalter was the main one for the formation of our Russian worldview. This book was educational - in the pre-Petrine era, all Russian children learned to read and write from it.

4) The fourth part of the books are prophetic books. Prophetic texts are not just reading, but revelation - very important for the life of each of us, since our inner world is always in motion, striving to achieve the pristine beauty of the human soul.

The story about the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ and the essence of his teaching is contained in the second part of the Bible - the New Testament. The New Testament consists of 27 books. These are, first of all, the four Gospels - a story about the life and three and a half years of preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then - books telling about His disciples - the books of the Acts of the Apostles, as well as books of His disciples themselves - the Epistles of the Apostles, and, finally, the book of the Apocalypse, telling about the final destinies of the world.

The moral law contained in the New Testament is more strict than that of the Old Testament. Here not only sinful deeds are condemned, but also thoughts. The goal of every person is to eradicate evil in himself. By defeating evil, man conquers death.

The main thing in the Christian faith is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who conquered death and opened the way for all humanity to eternal life. It is this joyful feeling of liberation that permeates the New Testament narratives. The word “Gospel” itself is translated from Greek as “Good News.”

The Old Testament is ancient alliance God with man, in which God promised people a Divine Savior and for many centuries prepared them for His acceptance.

The New Testament is that God really gave people a Divine Savior, in the person of His Only Begotten Son, who came down from heaven and became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and suffered and crucified for us, was buried and resurrected on the third day according to the Scriptures.

(http://zakonbozhiy.ru/Zakon_Bozhij/Chast_1_O_vere_i_zhizni_hristianskoj/SvJaschennoe_Pisanie_BibliJa/)

FROM VASILIEV:

The entire history and theory of Judaism, so closely connected with the life and destinies of the ancient Jews, are reflected in the Bible, in its Old Testament. Although the Bible, as a sum of sacred books, began to be compiled at the turn of the 11th-1st millennia BC. e. (its oldest parts date back to the 14th-13th centuries, and the first records - approximately to the 9th century BC), the main part of the texts and, apparently, the edition of the general code dates back to the period of the Second Temple. The Babylonian captivity gave a powerful impetus to the work of writing these books: the priests taken away from Jerusalem no longer had concerns about maintaining the temple” and were forced to concentrate their efforts on rewriting and editing the scrolls, on composing new texts. After returning from captivity, this work was continued and ultimately completed.

The Old Testament part of the Bible (most of it) consists of a number of books. First, there is the famous Pentateuch, attributed to Moses. The first book (“Genesis”) tells about the creation of the world, about Adam and Eve, the global flood and the first Hebrew patriarchs, and finally, about Joseph and the Egyptian captivity. Book two (“Exodus”) tells about the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, about Moses and his commandments, about the beginning of the organization of the cult of Yahweh. The third (“Leviticus”) is a set of religious dogmas, rules, and rituals. The fourth (“Numbers”) and fifth (“Deuteronomy”) are devoted to the history of the Jews after the Egyptian captivity. The Pentateuch (in Hebrew - Torah) was the most revered part of the Old Testament, and subsequently it was the interpretation of the Torah that gave rise to the multi-volume Talmud and formed the basis for the activities of rabbis in all Jewish communities of the world.

Following the Pentateuch, the Bible contains the books of judges and kings of Israel, the books of the prophets and several other works - the collection of psalms of David (Psalter), Song of Solomon, Proverbs of Solomon, etc. The value of these books varies, and sometimes their fame and popularity are incommensurable. However, they were all considered sacred and were studied by many hundreds of millions of people, tens of generations of believers, not only Jews, but also Christians.

The Bible comes first church book, which instilled in readers blind faith in the omnipotence of God, in his omnipotence, in the miracles he performed, etc. The Old Testament texts taught Jews humility before the will of Yahweh, obedience to him, as well as to the priests and prophets speaking on his behalf. However, the content of the Bible is far from exhausted by this. Its texts contain many deep thoughts about the universe and the fundamental principles of existence, about relationships between people, about moral norms, social values, etc., which is usually found in every sacred book that claims to set out the essence of a particular religious doctrine.

All people globe can read the Bible in whole or in part in their native language.

We Orthodox Christians are often reproached for not reading the Bible as often as, for example, Protestants do. How fair are such accusations?

The Orthodox Church recognizes two sources of knowledge of God - Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition. Moreover, the first is an integral part of the second. After all, initially the sermons of the holy apostles were delivered and transmitted orally. Sacred Tradition includes not only Holy Scripture, but also liturgical texts, decrees of Ecumenical Councils, iconography and whole line other sources that occupy an important place in the life of the Church. And everything that is said in the Holy Scriptures is also in the Tradition of the Church.

Since ancient times, the life of a Christian has been inextricably linked with biblical texts. And in the 16th century, when the so-called “Reformation” arose, the situation changed. Protestants abandoned the Holy Tradition of the Church and limited themselves to only studying the Holy Scriptures. And therefore, a special kind of piety appeared among them - reading and studying biblical texts. Once again I want to emphasize: from the point of view of the Orthodox Church, Holy Tradition includes the entire scope of church life, including the Holy Scriptures. Moreover, even if someone does not read the Word of God, but regularly attends the temple, he hears that the entire service is permeated with biblical quotations. Thus, if a person lives a church life, then he is in the atmosphere of the Bible.

The Holy Scriptures are a collection of different books according to the time of their writing, and by authorship, and by content, and by style.

- How many books are included in the Holy Scriptures? What is the difference between the Orthodox Bible and the Protestant Bible?

The Holy Scriptures are a collection of books, different books according to the time of their writing, and by authorship, and by content, and by style. They are divided into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. There are 77 books in the Orthodox Bible, and 66 in the Protestant Bible.

- What causes this discrepancy?

The fact is that in the Orthodox Bible, more precisely in the Holy Scripture of the Old Testament, in addition to 39 canonical books, there are 11 more non-canonical books: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach, Epistle of Jeremiah, Baruch, second and third books of Ezra, three Maccabean books. In the “Long Christian Catechism” of St. Philaret of Moscow it is said that the division of books into canonical and non-canonical is caused by the absence of the latter (11 books) in Jewish primary sources and their presence only in Greek, i.e. in the Septuagint (translation of 70 interpreters). In turn, Protestants, starting with M. Luther, abandoned non-canonical books, mistakenly assigning them the status of “apocryphal”. As for the 27 books of the New Testament, they are recognized by both Orthodox and Protestants. It's about about the Christian part of the Bible, written after the Nativity of Christ: the New Testament books testify to the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ and the first decades of the existence of the Church. These include the four Gospels, the book of the Acts of the Apostles, the epistles of the apostles (seven - conciliar and 14 - of the Apostle Paul), as well as the Revelation of John the Theologian (Apocalypse).

Dobromir Gospel, early (?) XII century

The main thing is to have a sincere desire to know the Word of God

- How to study the Bible correctly? Is it worth starting knowledge from the first pages of Genesis?

The main thing is to have a sincere desire to learn the Word of God. It's better to start with the New Testament. Experienced pastors recommend getting acquainted with the Bible through the Gospel of Mark (that is, not in the order in which they are presented). It is the shortest, written in simple and accessible language. Having read the Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John, we move on to the book of Acts, the Apostolic Epistles and the Apocalypse (the most complex and most mysterious book in the entire Bible). And only after this can you begin to read the Old Testament books. Only after reading the New Testament, it is easier to understand the meaning of the Old. After all, it was not for nothing that the Apostle Paul said that the Old Testament legislation was a teacher to Christ (see: Gal. 3: 24): it leads a person, as if a child by the hand, to let him truly understand what happened during the Incarnation, What in principle is the incarnation of God for a person...

It is important to understand that reading the Holy Scriptures is part of a spiritual achievement

- What if the reader does not understand some episodes of the Bible? What to do in this case? Who should I contact?

It is advisable to have books on hand that explain the Holy Scriptures. We can recommend the works of Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria. His explanations are short, but very accessible and deeply ecclesiastical, reflecting the Tradition of the Church. The conversations of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospels and Apostolic Epistles are also classic. If any questions arise, it would be a good idea to consult with an experienced priest. It is necessary to understand that reading the Holy Scriptures is part of a spiritual achievement. And it is very important to pray, to cleanse your soul. Indeed, even in the Old Testament it was said: wisdom will not enter an evil soul and will not dwell in a body enslaved to sin, for the Holy Spirit of wisdom will withdraw from wickedness and turn away from foolish speculations, and will be ashamed of the approaching unrighteousness (Wisdom 1: 4-5) .

Before studying the Holy Scriptures, you need to familiarize yourself with the works of the holy fathers

- So, you need to prepare for reading the Holy Scriptures in a special way?

Experienced elders in monasteries gave the novice a rule: before studying the Holy Scriptures, you first need to become familiar with the works of the holy fathers. Bible readings are not just studying the Word of God, they are like prayer. In general, I would recommend reading the Bible in the morning, after the prayer rule. I think it’s easy to set aside 15–20 minutes to read one or two chapters from the Gospel, the Apostolic Epistles. This way you can get a spiritual charge for the whole day. Very often, in this way, answers to serious questions that life poses to a person appear.

Ostromir Gospel (1056 - 1057)

The main tenets of Scripture are the voice of God, sounding in the nature of each of us

Sometimes the following situation happens: you read it, understand what it’s about, but it doesn’t suit you because you don’t agree with what’s written...

According to Tertullian (one of the church writers of antiquity), our soul is Christian by nature. Thus, biblical truths were given to man from the very beginning; they are embedded in his nature, his consciousness. We sometimes call this conscience, that is, it is not something new that is unusual for human nature. The main tenets of the Holy Scriptures are the voice of God, sounding in the nature of each of us. Therefore, you need, first of all, to pay attention to your life: is everything in it consistent with the commandments of God? If a person does not want to listen to the voice of God, then what other voice does he need? Who will he listen to?

The main difference between the Bible and other books is revelation

Once Saint Philaret was asked: how can one believe that the prophet Jonah was swallowed by a whale that had a very narrow throat? In response, he said: “If it were written in the Holy Scriptures that it was not the whale that swallowed Jonah, but Jonah the whale, I would believe that too.” Of course, today such statements can be perceived with sarcasm. In this regard, the question arises: why does the Church trust the Holy Scripture so much? After all, the biblical books were written by people...

The main difference between the Bible and other books is revelation. This is not just the work of some outstanding person. Through the prophets and apostles, the voice of God Himself is reproduced in accessible language. If the Creator addresses us, then how should we react to this? Hence such attention and such trust in the Holy Scriptures.

In what language were the biblical books written? How has their translation affected the modern perception of sacred texts?

Most of the Old Testament books are written in Hebrew. Some of them survive only in Aramaic. The already mentioned non-canonical books have reached us exclusively in Greek: for example, Judith, Tobit, Baruch and the Maccabees. The third book of Ezra is known to us in its entirety only in Latin. As for the New Testament, it was mainly written in Greek - in the Koine dialect. Some biblical scholars believe that the Gospel of Matthew was written in Hebrew, but no primary sources have reached us (there are only translations). Of course, it would be better to read and study biblical books based on primary sources and originals. But this has been the case since ancient times: all books of Holy Scripture were translated. And therefore, for the most part, people are familiar with the Holy Scriptures translated into their native language.

All people around the world can read the Bible in whole or in part in their native language

- It would be interesting to know: what language did Jesus Christ speak?

Many believe that Christ used Aramaic. However, when talking about the original Gospel of Matthew, most biblical scholars point to Hebrew as the language of the Old Testament books. Disputes on this topic continue to this day.

According to Bible societies, as recently as 2008, the Bible had been translated, in whole or in part, into 2,500 languages. Some scientists believe that there are 3 thousand languages ​​in the world, others point to 6 thousand. It is very difficult to define the criterion: what is a language and what is a dialect. But we can say with absolute certainty: all people living in different parts of the globe can read the Bible in whole or in part in their native language.

The main criterion is that the Bible must be understandable.

- Which language is preferable for us: Russian, Ukrainian or Church Slavonic?

The main criterion is that the Bible must be understandable. Traditionally, Church Slavonic is used during divine services in the Church. Unfortunately, it is not studied in secondary schools. Therefore, many biblical expressions require explanation. This, by the way, applies not only to our era. This problem also arose in the 19th century. At the same time, a translation of the Holy Scriptures into Russian appeared - Synodal translation Bible. It has stood the test of time and had a huge impact on the development of the Russian language in particular and Russian culture in general. Therefore, for Russian-speaking parishioners, I would recommend using it for home reading. As for Ukrainian-speaking parishioners, the situation here is a little more complicated. The fact is that the attempt at the first complete translation of the Bible into Ukrainian was made by Panteleimon Kulish in the 60s of the 19th century. He was joined by Ivan Nechuy-Levitsky. The translation was completed by Ivan Pulyuy (after Kulish’s death). Their work was published in 1903 by the Bible Society. In the 20th century the most authoritative were the translations of Ivan Ogienko and Ivan Khomenko. Currently, many people are attempting to translate the entire Bible or parts of it. There are both positive experiences and difficult ones, controversial issues. So, it would probably be incorrect to recommend any specific text of the Ukrainian translation. Now the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is translating the Four Gospels. I hope that this will be a successful translation both for home reading and for liturgical services (in those parishes where Ukrainian is used).

7th century Four Evangelists. Gospel of Kells. Dublin, Trinity College

Spiritual food must be given to a person in a form in which it can bring spiritual benefit

In some parishes, during the service, a biblical passage is read in the native language (after reading in Church Slavonic)...

This tradition is typical not only for ours, but also for many foreign parishes, where there are believers from different countries. In such situations, liturgical passages from the Holy Scriptures are repeated in native languages. After all, spiritual food must be given to a person in a form in which it can bring spiritual benefit.

From time to time, information appears in the media about some new biblical book that was allegedly previously lost or kept secret. It necessarily reveals some “sacred” moments that contradict Christianity. How to treat such sources?

In the last two centuries, many ancient manuscripts have been discovered, which has made it possible to coordinate the approach to the study of the biblical text. First of all, this concerns the Qumran manuscripts discovered in the Dead Sea area (in the Qumran caves). Many manuscripts were found there - both biblical and gnostic (i.e. texts distorting Christian teaching). It is possible that many manuscripts of a Gnostic nature will be found in the future. It should be recalled that even during the 2nd and 3rd centuries. The Church fought against the heresy of Gnosticism. And in our time, when we are witnessing a craze for the occult, these texts appear under the guise of some kind of sensation.

We read the Word of God not to memorize, but to feel the breath of God Himself

By what criteria can one determine a positive result from regular reading of the Holy Scriptures? By the number of memorized quotes?

We do not read the Word of God for memorization. Although there are situations, for example in seminaries, when exactly this task is set. Biblical texts are important for spiritual life in order to feel the breath of God Himself. Thus, we become familiar with the grace-filled gifts that are in the Church, we learn about the commandments, thanks to which we become better, and draw closer to the Lord. Therefore, studying the Bible is the most important part of our spiritual ascent, spiritual life. With regular reading, many passages are gradually memorized without special memorization.

In order to preserve the revelation of God and convey it to descendants, the holy men, having accepted the inspiration from the Lord, wrote it down in books. They were helped to cope with this difficult task by the Holy Spirit, who was invisibly present nearby, showing the right path. The numerous collections of all these books are united by one common name - the Holy Scriptures. Written by the Spirit of God through chosen people, among whom were kings, prophets, and apostles, it has become sacred since ancient times.

The second name that is used to characterize the Holy Scriptures is the Bible, which is translated from Greek as “books.” This is an accurate interpretation, since the correct understanding here lies precisely in the plural. On this occasion, Saint John Chrysostom noted that the Bible is many books that form one single one.

Structure of the Bible

The Holy Scriptures are divided into two parts:

• The Old Testament is those books that were written before the appearance of Jesus Christ in the world.
• The New Testament was written down by the holy apostles after the coming of the Savior.

The word “covenant” itself is literally translated as “command,” “teaching,” “instruction.” Its symbolic meaning is the creation of an invisible union between God and man. Both of these parts are equivalent and together form a single Holy Scripture.

The Old Testament, representing a more ancient union of God with man, was created immediately after the fall of the ancestors of mankind. Here God gave them a promise that the Savior would come to the world.

The Holy Scripture of the New Testament is based on the fact that the Savior promised by the Lord appeared to the world, taking on human nature, and became in everything like people. Throughout his short life, Jesus Christ showed that she can be free from sin. Having resurrected, he gave people the great grace of renewal and sanctification by the Holy Spirit for the continuation of life in the Kingdom of God.

Structure of the Old and New Testaments. Holy books

They are written in ancient Hebrew. There are 50 of them in total, of which 39 are canonical. However, it should be noted here that, according to the Jewish code of the Holy Scriptures, some groups of books are combined into one. And therefore their number is 22. That is the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet.

If we organize them according to content, we can distinguish four large groups:

• legislative - this includes the five main books that form the basis of the Old Testament;
• historical - there are seven of them, and they all tell about the life of the Jews, their religion;
• teaching - five books containing the teaching of faith, the most famous is the Psalter;
• prophetic - all of them, and there are also five of them, contain a foreshadowing that the Savior will soon come to the world.

Turning to the New Testament sacred sources, it should be noted that there are 27 of them, and all of them are canonical. The Old Testament division into groups given above is not applicable here, since each of them can be assigned to several groups at once, and sometimes to all of them at once.

The New Testament, in addition to the four Gospels, includes the Acts of the Holy Apostles, as well as their Epistles: seven conciliar letters and fourteen from the Apostle Paul. The story ends with the Revelation of John the Theologian, also known as the Apocalypse.

Gospels

The New Testament, as we know, begins with the four Gospels. This word means nothing more than the good news of the salvation of people. It was brought by Jesus Christ himself. It is to him that this high gospel - the Gospel - belongs.

The task of the evangelists was only to convey it, telling about the life of the Son of God Jesus Christ. That is why they say not “the Gospel of Matthew”, but “from Matthew”. It is understood that all of them: Mark, Luke, John and Matthew have one gospel - Jesus Christ.

1. Gospel of Matthew. The only one written in Aramaic. It was intended to convince the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah they had been waiting for.
2. Gospel of Mark. Greek is used here for the purpose of conveying the sermon of the Apostle Paul to Christian converts from paganism. Mark focuses on the miracles of Jesus, while emphasizing his power over nature, which the pagans endowed with divine properties.
3. The Gospel of Luke was also written in Greek for former pagans who had converted to Christianity. This is the most detailed description of the life of Jesus, which touches on the events preceding the birth of Christ, born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. According to legend, Luke was personally acquainted with her and became the author of the first icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.
4. Gospel of John. It is believed that it was written in addition to the previous three. John cites those words and deeds of Jesus that are not mentioned in the previous Gospels.

Inspiration of Holy Scripture

The books that together form the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are called inspired because they were written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In other words, we can say that their only and real author is none other than the Lord God himself. It is he who, defining them in a moral and dogmatic sense, enables man to realize God’s plan through creative work.

That is why the Holy Scripture has two components: divine and human. The first contains the Truth revealed by God himself. The second expresses it in the language of people who lived in one of the eras and belonged to a certain culture. Man, who is created in the image and likeness of God, is endowed with the unique opportunity to enter into direct communication with the Creator. God, being all-wise and omnipotent, has all the means to communicate his revelation to people.

About Sacred Tradition

Speaking about the Holy Scriptures, we should not forget about another way of disseminating divine revelation - Holy Tradition. It was through him that the doctrine of faith was transmitted in ancient times. This method of transmission exists to this day, for under Sacred Tradition is conceived the transmission not only of teaching, but also of sacraments, sacred rites, and the Law of God from ancestors who correctly worship God to the same descendants.

In the twentieth century, there was some change in the balance of views on the role of these sources of divine revelation. In this regard, Elder Silouan says that Tradition covers the entire life of the church. Therefore, that very Holy Scripture is one of its forms. The meaning of each of the sources is not contrasted here, but the special role of Tradition is only emphasized.

Bible Interpretation

It is obvious that the interpretation of Holy Scripture is a complex matter and not everyone can do it. Acquaintance with a teaching of this level requires special concentration from a person. Because God may not reveal the meaning inherent in a particular chapter.

There are several basic rules to follow when interpreting the provisions of Holy Scripture:

1. Consider all the events described not in isolation, but in the context of the time when they occurred.
2. Approach the process with due reverence and humility so that God allows the meaning of the biblical books to be revealed.
3. Always remember who the author of the Holy Scripture is, and when contradictions arise, interpret it based on the context of the entire message as a whole. Here it will be important to understand that there can be no contradictions in the Bible, since it is complete and its author is the Lord himself.

Sacred Scriptures of the World

In addition to the Bible, there are other inspired books that representatives of other religious movements turn to. IN modern world There are more than 400 different religious movements. Let's look at the most famous ones.

Scripture of the Jews

We should start with the scripture that is closest in content and origin to the Bible - the Jewish Tanakh. It is believed that the composition of the books here practically corresponds to the Old Testament. However, there is a slight difference in their location. According to the Jewish canon, the Tanakh consists of 24 books, which are divided into three groups. The criterion here is the genre of presentation and the period of writing.

The first is the Torah, or, as it is also called, the Pentateuch of Moses from the Old Testament.

The second is Neviim, translated as “prophets” and includes eight books covering the period from the arrival of the promised land to the Babylonian captivity of the so-called period of prophecy. There is also a certain gradation here. There are early and late prophets, the latter are divided into small and large.

The third is Ketuvim, literally translated as “records.” Here, in fact, the scriptures are contained, including eleven books.

The Koran is the holy book of Muslims

Just like the Bible, it contains revelations that were spoken by the Prophet Muhammad. The source that conveyed them into the mouth of the prophet is Allah himself. All revelations are organized into chapters - suras, which, in turn, are composed of verses - verses. The canonical version of the Koran contains 114 suras. Initially they had no names. Later, due to different forms of transmission of the text, the suras received names, some of them several at once.

The Koran is sacred to Muslims only if it is in Arabic. Translation is used for interpretation. Prayers and rituals are pronounced only in the original language.

In terms of content, the Koran tells stories about Arabia and ancient world. Describes how it will happen doomsday, posthumous retribution. It also contains moral and legal standards. It should be noted that the Koran has legal force because it regulates certain branches of Muslim law.

Buddhist Tripitaka

It is a collection of sacred texts that were written down after Shakyamuni Buddha died. The name is noteworthy, which is translated as “three baskets of wisdom.” It corresponds to the division of sacred texts into three chapters.

The first is the Vinaya Pitaka. Here are texts that contain rules governing life in the monastic community of the Sangha. In addition to the edifying aspects, there is also a story about the history of the origin of these norms.

The second, the Sutra Pitaka, contains stories about the life of the Buddha, written down by him personally and sometimes by his followers.

The third - Abhidharma Pitaka - includes the philosophical paradigm of teaching. Here is a systematic presentation of it, based on in-depth scientific analysis. While the first two chapters provide practical insights into how to achieve a state of enlightenment, the third strengthens the theoretical foundation of Buddhism.

The Buddhist religion contains a considerable number of versions of this creed. The most famous of them is the Pali Canon.

Modern translations of the Holy Scriptures

A teaching of such magnitude as the Bible attracts the attention of a huge number of people. Humanity's need for it is undeniable. However, at the same time, there is a danger of inaccurate or deliberately distorted translation. In this case, the authors can promote any of their interests and pursue their own goals.

It should be noted that any translation of the Holy Scriptures existing in the modern world has been subject to criticism. Its validity was confirmed or refuted by the strictest judge - time.

Today, one of these widely discussed Bible translation projects is the New World Scripture. The author of the publication is the religious organization Jehovah's Witnesses. In this version of the presentation of the Holy Scriptures there is much that is new and unusual for admirers, people who truly believe and know it:

• some well-known words have disappeared;
• new ones appeared that were not in the original;
• the authors abuse paraphrase and actively add their own interlinear comments.

Without entering into the controversy created around this work, it should be noted that it can be read, but preferably accompanied by the synodal translation accepted in Russia.

Orthodoxy Titov Vladimir Eliseevich

"Holy Scripture" and "Sacred Tradition"

Orthodox theologians insist on the divinely inspired nature of their doctrine, convincing their followers that it was given to people by God himself in the form of revelation.

This divine revelation is disseminated and maintained among believers through two sources: “sacred scripture” and “sacred tradition.” Orthodoxy considers the first source of its doctrine to be “holy scripture,” “books written by inspired men - in the Old Testament by the prophets, and in the New Testament by the apostles - and constituting the so-called Bible.”

The second source is “sacred tradition,” by which ideologists of Orthodoxy understand “that when true believers who honor God by word and example pass on to each other and to their ancestors and descendants the teaching of faith (i.e., how to believe), the law of God (how to live), how to perform sacraments and sacred rites."

What are these divinely inspired sources of the doctrine of Orthodoxy? “Holy Scripture” is the Bible, a collection of books of the Old and New Testaments, recognized by the church as inspired, that is, written by holy men under the inspiration and with the assistance of the spirit of God. It should be noted that Orthodox churches do not consider all parts of the Bible to be inspired or canonical. In the canon of inspired books, Orthodoxy includes 38 books of the Old Testament and all 27 books of the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the following books are considered canonical: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges (along with the book of Ruth), four books of Kings, two books of Chronicles, two books of Ezra, books of Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms , Proverbs of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, the book of the prophet Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the books of the Twelve Prophets.

The remaining books in the Bible are considered non-canonical by the Orthodox Church (for example, the Book of Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach, Tobit, Judith, etc.). In addition, there are certain passages in the canonical books that are not recognized as inspired. For example, the prayer of King Manasseh at the end of 2 Chronicles, parts of the book of Esther not indicated by the verse count, the song of the three youths in the 3 chapter of the book of the prophet Daniel, the story of Susanna in the 13th chapter, the story of Bel and the dragon in 14 -chapter of the same book.

It must be said frankly that, from the point of view of an unbiased reader, the canonical and non-canonical books of the Bible differ little from each other in content. Some frivolity of the content of the story of Susanna and the elders cannot in any way be considered an obstacle to its inclusion in the canon, if we bear in mind the great sensuality and eroticism of the famous canonical Song of Songs. The main argument of Christian theologians against the inclusion of certain passages in the biblical canon is not objections to their content, but the fact that they are absent from the Hebrew text of the Bible and appear only in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the “70 interpreters”) and then in the Vulgate (medieval Latin translation). The Catholic Church and Orthodox churches consider non-canonical passages of the Bible to be beneficial for reading and include them in their editions of the Bible. Protestant churches They adhere only to the canon.

The canon of the New Testament is as follows: four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John); Acts of the Apostles; seven conciliar epistles (one of James, two of Peter, three of John, one of Judas); fourteen epistles of Paul (Romans, two Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, two Thessalonians, two Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews); Revelation of John the Theologian.

Biblical scholarly criticism has established that the Old Testament portion of the Bible was created by various authors over several centuries. The most ancient parts of the Old Testament (the song of Deborah from the 5th chapter of the book of Judges, the funeral song of David for the death of Saul and his son Jonathan from the second book of Samuel) go back to the 13th century. BC e. At first they were passed on as oral tradition. The recording of such oral traditions began among the Jews at the turn of the 2nd and 1st millennia BC. e., when they adopted the Phoenician writing. The first prophetic books included in the Bible appeared no earlier than the 8th century. BC e. (books of Hosea, Amos, Micah, First Isaiah). By the 6th century BC e. researchers attributed the books of Judges and Kings only in the middle of the 2nd century. BC e. The Psalter was compiled. And only by the beginning of the 1st century. BC e. The Old Testament part of the Bible was compiled approximately in the same form in which it has reached our time.

Analysis of the Old Testament by many generations of scholars leads to the firm conviction that the “holy spirit” had nothing to do with the creation of the Bible. It is enough to cite the example of the book of Genesis, which opens the famous Pentateuch of Moses. There are two clear sources in this book. The book, included in biblical criticism under the name Yahwist, was compiled by a follower of the god Yahweh, initially the god of the tribe of Judah, and then of all the Jewish tribes united around this tribe. The second book of Elohist was compiled by the followers of the gods Elohim ( plural on behalf of the god Eloh). These primary sources provide similar, but at the same time differing in significant details, descriptions of the “creation” of the universe, the history of mankind and the Jewish people.

And regarding the New Testament - the part of the Bible created by Christians - scientific analysis also convinces us that here too we are dealing with a purely earthly document. For example, Christian theologians argue that the New Testament books came into being in the order in which they are listed in the canon of the New Testament (first - the Gospel, last - the Apocalypse). In fact, the order in which the New Testament books appeared is exactly the opposite. And the composition of the canon of the New Testament was approved only in 364 at the Council of Laodicea, that is, more than three centuries after the events that it describes.

And so, in order to elevate an earthly document - the Bible - to the rank of a divine document, Orthodox theologians are trying to support the authority of “sacred scripture” with the authority of “sacred tradition”.

Unlike Protestantism, which rejects the “sacred tradition,” and Catholicism, which adheres to the point of view of the incompleteness of the “sacred scripture,” Orthodoxy recognizes both sources of its doctrine as equal. “Sacred tradition is the same divine revelation, the same word of God, orally transmitted to the church by Jesus Christ, like sacred scripture, with the only difference that it is the word of God, orally transmitted to the church by Jesus Christ and the apostles, and sacred scripture is the word of God , enclosed in books by inspired men and handed down to the church in writing.”

Orthodox theologians believe that comprehension of the “deepest” secrets of “divine revelation” is possible only within the framework of a close combination and mutual agreement of the basic provisions of “sacred scripture” and “sacred tradition.” According to their point of view, “in order for the divine revelation to be preserved more accurately and unchangeably, the Holy Scriptures were given. scripture." And the need for tradition is evident from the fact that a minority of people (only the literate) can use books, but everyone can use tradition.

The main meaning of “sacred tradition,” from the point of view of Orthodox theologians, is that it is necessary for the correct understanding of “sacred scripture,” in which many thoughts are presented concisely and are incomprehensible without explanation. The apostolic disciples and their successors allegedly heard the detailed sermon of the apostles and knew how the apostles themselves understood the meaning of the teaching they set out in writing. Therefore, the interpretation of “sacred scripture” without reference to “sacred tradition,” Orthodox theologians warn believers, can and does lead to a distortion of the truths of faith, to heresy. Tradition, from the point of view of Orthodox theologians, is also necessary for the correct performance of sacraments and rituals in their original establishment, since often in the “holy scripture” there is no exact mention of how to perform them. And the “all-wise” apostles, of course, knew the formulas for performing the sacraments and rituals and reported this to their “grateful descendants” in tradition.

What is the second source of the doctrine of Orthodoxy, the so-called “sacred tradition”? The composition of the “sacred tradition” is diverse and complex; Orthodox theologians themselves count 9 parts in it. These are, firstly, the symbols of faith of the ancients local churches(Jerusalem, Antioch, etc.); secondly, the so-called “apostolic rules”, they were not written by the apostles, but contain, according to Orthodox theologians, the practice of apostolic times, although they were collected together no earlier than the 4th century; thirdly, the definitions of faith and rules of the first seven ecumenical councils and three local ones, the authority of which was recognized by the sixth ecumenical council; fourthly, confessions of faith made by the church fathers (the creeds of Gregory of Neocaesarea, Basil the Great, the presentation of the Orthodox faith by Gregory Palma, etc.); fifthly, the acts of ecumenical and local councils; sixthly, ancient liturgies, many of which, according to the conviction of Orthodox theologians, go back to the apostles; seventh, acts of martyrs; eighth, the works of the fathers and teachers of the church (“Catechetical Sermon” by Gregory of Nyssa, “Theology” by John of Damascus, etc.); ninth, the ancient practice of the church concerning sacred times, places, rites, etc., partly reproduced in writing.

However, further in Christian theology strange things happen to the “sacred tradition”. We have already mentioned that one of the three main trends in Christianity - Protestantism - does not recognize the authority of “sacred tradition” at all. Protestant theologians consider “sacred tradition” to be the creation of church leaders, not the holy spirit. And therefore, from their point of view, it cannot in any way be placed on a par with the Bible. There are also endless disputes about the composition of the “sacred tradition” between representatives of the other two main movements of Christianity - Orthodoxy and Catholicism. The Catholic Church includes in its “sacred tradition” the decisions of all ecumenical councils (after the 7th ecumenical council it collected only Catholic Church) and decisions of the popes. The Orthodox churches strongly reject these additions. These disputes between representatives of the main currents of Christianity undermine the authority of the “sacred tradition” and devalue its significance. It is difficult for Orthodox theologians to support the authority of the Bible, the “holy scripture,” with the authority of “sacred tradition.” And then a new justification for the enduring significance of the Bible is put into play: the idea of ​​​​the inspiration of “holy scripture” is used. Let us also consider this argumentation of Orthodox theologians.

Whether the Orthodox clergy wants it or not, from the theological interpretation of the need for “sacred tradition” it is quite clear that theologians subconsciously feel the insufficiency, inferiority of “sacred scripture,” a source that, according to them, should provide an answer to all the queries of the inquisitive human mind. But even when they involuntarily let it slip, Orthodox theologians highly value “holy scripture” and try to confirm its truth by referring to its divinely revealed, “inspired” character. For theologians, “inspiration” is an undoubted proof of truth. Who, if not God, knows the truth?!

How do Orthodox theologians understand “inspiration”? Various points of view have been expressed on this matter in Christian theology, mainly they can be reduced to three. Some theologians (Athenagoras, Justin Martyr, Tertullian and theologians of the old Protestant school of the 17th century) believed that the authors of biblical books were only organs of the “holy spirit” that inspired them and communicated the “wisdom” of the revelation of God in an ecstatic state, without any participation of their own consciousness and will. According to this view, the responsibility for the biblical texts lies entirely with the “holy spirit,” and since he is a member of the holy trinity, naturally he could not be mistaken, and therefore not only all the legends in the Bible are true, but also every word, every letter.

Another direction in Christian theology (Origen, Epiphanius, Jerome, Basil the Great, Chrysostom) took a more cautious approach to determining the nature of the “inspiration” of the Bible. Representatives of this school of thought understood inspiration only as illumination and enlightenment emanating from the “holy spirit,” in which the consciousness and personal activity of the authors of biblical books were preserved intact. To the great regret of modern theologians, representatives of this trend did not express “a separate view on the inspiration of the sacred books, whether everything in them is inspired by God.”

And finally, we need to point out the third direction in the interpretation of the question of the “divine inspiration” of “sacred scripture”. When, as a result of the blows of scientific criticism of the Bible, it became clear that a rather small fraction of the truth in the content of the “holy scripture” remained, among theologians who wanted to save the Christian doctrine, a whole school of so-called modernists appeared, who began to limit the “inspiration” of the “holy” books of their general content, without recognizing individual details in the biblical texts.

Orthodox theologians gravitate most toward the second of these three points of view. The first direction in the interpretation of “divine inspiration” seems to them to be somewhat limited, since the authors of biblical books, speaking divine truth, “turn into mechanical tools, into automata, alien to personal understanding and attitude to the truths communicated.” The point, of course, is not that this understanding of “inspiration” is insufficient. It’s just that these days it is already difficult to prove that every word and every letter in the Bible is true; too many contradictions and absurdities have been discovered in the “holy scripture”.

As for the third direction with its extreme conclusions, it seems to Orthodox theologians to be too “revolutionary” and is rejected, since it “breaks the internal necessity, the connection between thought and word, between the subject of revelation and its external presentation and expression.” Orthodox theologians are frightened that such views “little by little reduce all scripture to human works, and its inspiration is recognized as an ignorant, outdated concept.”

Modern Orthodox theologians formulate their attitude to the nature of the “inspiration” of biblical books as follows: “Inspiration consists in the fact that St. The writers, whatever they wrote, wrote according to the direct inspiration and instruction of St. spirit, and received from it both thought and word, or external form expression (to the extent that it is inextricably linked with the very content of revelation), but without any constraint or violence of their natural abilities.”

However, the absence of any constraint and violence against the natural abilities of earthly authors greatly fails theologians. Reading the Bible can confuse anyone: it is full of contradictions. For example, according to the first chapter of the book of Genesis, man and woman were created by God at the same time, but the second chapter of this book claims that Adam was first molded from clay, and then Eve was created from his rib. It is impossible to understand how long the flood lasted. “The flood continued on the earth for forty days - this is one message in the Bible. “The waters increased on the earth for one hundred and fifty days,” says another verse of the “holy scripture.” Many are familiar with the biblical myth of the fight between David and Goliath. However, the same Bible in another place says: “Then Elchanan the son of Jagar-Orgim of Bethlehem killed Goliath the Gittite.” No less controversial is the New Testament, the part of the Bible that is revered only by Christians. It is enough to give the genealogy of Jesus Christ. According to the Gospel of Matthew, 42 generations passed from the patriarch Abraham to Jesus, and the Gospel of Luke counts 56 generations. Scientific criticism of the Bible shows what a huge number of such contradictions and historical incongruities there are in the so-called “holy scripture”.

How to explain the numerous contradictions of biblical texts, how to explain the irreconcilable contradiction of biblical legends and achievements modern natural science? After all, even according to the point of view of modern theologians, “truth is one and objective.” Armed with the above understanding of “divine inspiration,” Orthodox theologians are trying to fight against scientific criticism of the Bible.

It turns out that anything can be explained and justified. To do this, you just need to be sufficiently savvy in theology. It has already been said that, according to the point of view of Orthodoxy, “divine inspiration” when writing biblical books did not in the least hinder the natural abilities of the earthly authors of the “holy scriptures”. “But since human nature is imperfect, the participation of free human activity in the writing of the sacred. books may introduce some imperfections into them. Therefore, the scriptures found in St. do not contradict the inspiration of God. books contain purely human thoughts and feelings, inaccuracies, disagreements, etc. Works of the priest. writers are perfect only to the extent necessary for divine purposes. Where imperfect human knowledge is sufficient for the cause of human salvation, God allowed imperfections to appear. The same can be said about the form in which God is presented. revelation".

This is a very important recognition of Orthodox theologians. We have already seen that when interpreting the need for “sacred tradition,” Orthodox theologians, although unwillingly, spoke about the inferiority of “sacred scripture,” in which supposedly “many thoughts are presented concisely and without explanation.” Here the theologians themselves clearly and unequivocally speak out about the imperfection of “holy scripture” from the point of view and content individual places, and forms of presentation. True, all these “imperfections” of the Bible are recognized with purely theological caution. Gross chronological errors are called “inaccuracy”, glaring contradictions of biblical texts are called “disagreements”, the complete irreconcilability of the biblical picture of the creation of the world with the achievements of modern natural science is modestly classified under the heading “and so on.” But in this case we are not interested in the caution of theologians, but in the fact of their recognition of the imperfection of “holy scripture”,

With the help of this understanding of “divine inspiration,” Orthodox theologians try to protect the Bible from the blows of scientific criticism. They understand perfectly well that in our days, when even a more or less educated person against the backdrop of the scientific picture of the world can see many flaws in biblical ideas, it is impossible to save the biblical text in its entirety. But the holy spirit, which “dictated” the biblical legends to the prophets and apostles, must be saved. A deity cannot tell lies. Therefore, Orthodox theologians “found in St. books, purely human thoughts and feelings, inaccuracies, disagreements, etc.,” that is, all kinds of errors, are attributed to the imperfection of the earthly authors of the Bible, to the account of imperfect human nature, which managed to leave its mark even on the “God-inspired” “holy scripture.” Because the responsibility for the imperfections of the “holy scripture” is shifted from the shoulders (so to speak) of the holy spirit to the conscience of the earthly authors of the Bible, the biblical contradictions themselves do not disappear.

Despite the forced recognition of the imperfection of the “holy scripture,” Orthodox theologians still value the significance of the Bible very highly. Biblical books, they say, “are more important than all books for man, as they communicate the will of God, which must be known to please God and save the soul. The Bible is a book of books."

In the second collection of “Theological Works,” published in 1961, a review by candidate of theology E. A. Karmanov of the book of Catholic theologians E. Galbiati and A. Piazza “Difficult Pages of the Bible (Old Testament)” appeared. We will dwell on this review later when we consider the issues of the relationship between Orthodoxy and science. Now I would like to consider several program provisions of E. A. Karmanov. He is very sympathetic to the rejection of “the literal meaning in favor of the spiritual and symbolic” when interpreting biblical texts. He believes that the contradiction between the two stories about the creation of the world is easily resolved, since the first story is written in a religious and moral sense, and the second in a psychological and didactic sense. Both stories, they say, do not pretend to be an objective presentation of facts; the order of events is not included in the range of the author’s statements. According to the author, the biblical description of the global flood does not at all assert its “universality” and applies only to Palestine, Egypt and their neighboring countries. In the famous Babylonian pandemonium, it turns out, one can see “a standard hyperbole like our skyscraper.” In conclusion, the author expresses the conviction that “ correct application historical-critical method, a painstaking and comprehensive study of the biblical text without hasty and unfounded conclusions give excellent results.” But who will determine whether the conclusions are hasty or unhurried, whether they are justified or unfounded? The author of the review found it possible to admit that the narrative of the book of Genesis about the creation of the world does not pretend to be an objective presentation of facts. But what about the contradictions in the gospels - these biographies of Jesus Christ? Perhaps the Gospel texts also do not pretend to be an objective presentation of facts? Perhaps they are only religious and edifying stories? Perhaps there wasn't immaculate conception Jesus Christ, his crucifixion, his miraculous resurrection and ascension into heaven? Unpleasant questions for theologians. The path of symbolic interpretation of the Bible is very dangerous for them, but they are forced to step on it, driven by the blows of scientific criticism of the “holy scripture”.

The situation is no better with another source of doctrine - “sacred tradition”. Dogmas, decrees, and canons of ecumenical councils, as we have already seen, were created over hundreds of years by different people in different situations. And here we also encounter interesting facts that refute the theological concept of “divine inspiration” of “sacred tradition.” Let us take, for example, the credo of Orthodoxy, its symbol of faith and the “secret of mysteries” of Christianity - the dogma of the Holy Trinity.