Who Wrote the Books of the Bible?: New Book Addresses Historical Origins of the Bible

LAPORTE, Ind., Feb. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- C. Jack Trickler presents a clear and accessible study of the people who wrote the books of the Bible, their motivations and the historical, political and social settings in which they wrote in his new book, "A Layman's Guide to Who Wrote the Books of the Bible?" (now available through AuthorHouse).

Trickler discusses his own theories, as well as those of other religious scholars, to offer a thorough, well-researched argument. "When you get into the Bible, you see enough evidence that the Bible was written by humans that you have to say, 'Well, who wrote it?'" he says. "The books were written by people, and they were compiled by people. If you take the Bible literally ... you're ignoring the fact that the Bible has been translated from language to language to language."

Among Trickler's assertions are that: Mary and Joseph did not travel to Bethlehem for a Roman census; the Gospel of Luke may have been written by a woman; one book says Goliath was slain by David, but another has him slain by Elhanan; and the first five books of the Bible were not written by Moses. "Pretty good if you can write about your own death," he says of the latter.

"A Layman's Guide to Who Wrote the Books of the Bible?" provides intelligent food for thought about how the Bible that exists today came into being. He calls the different sections of his book "conversations," a term borne out through his relaxed writing style.

"Where scholars have offered differing views of biblical matters that affect the determination of authorship, this book presents the various views in laymen's language," says Trickler. Trickler is a Christian layman with an interest in history, particularly the history of Christianity. He served in the military during World War II and then completed a degree in mechanical engineering. He worked for a manufacturer of industrial air-moving equipment, where he held positions in research, engineering management and manufacturing management, and served as the vice president of corporate development. After retirement, Trickler rekindled his interest in the history of Christianity.

He started reading various books for personal enjoyment, and then began making notes and put his conclusions in a logical order. "A Layman's Guide to Who Wrote the Books of the Bible?" is the result of this research.

WHO WROTE THE NEW TESTAMENT?

Luke and Acts are plainly written by the man named Luke who accompanied Paul on his journey. Luke used other works, including the gospels of Matthew and Mark, and possibly first-hand witnessing by others such as the Blessed Virgin Mary, as sources.

Mark was written by John Mark, one of the seventy disciples of Jesus who became a secretary to Peter. Presumably, Mark wrote a gospel under Peter's direction, because Peter, himself, was illiterate.

John, Revelations, and the three epistles of John were written by the disciple, John. Earlier, he had been a disciple of John the Baptist, who belonged to a sect of Jews known as Essenes, who valued Greek literacy very highly. Some of John's writing may borrow from earlier Essene works, including those of John the Baptist.

Matthew was written by the disciple Levi/Matthew, who, as a tax collector, was one of the few literate disciples. According to Irenaeus, his work was originally in Aramaic. His dependency on Mark was probably introduced when the work was translated into Greek.

Paul attests that some of his letters were written in his own hand (Galatians); other letters commonly ascribed to him contain references to multiple authorship, including the work of people such as Tertius (Romans), Sosthenes (1 Corinthians), Timothy (2 Corinithians, Colossians, and Philippians), and Silvanus (1 and 2 Thessalonians with Timothy). The writer of Hebrews is unknown, but it has been presumed to be written under the authority of Paul. I would argue the vastly different style may be because Paul was thinking more like a Jew (code-shifting) when he wrote it.

WHO WROTE THE OLD TESTAMENT?
Moses is traditionally held to be the author of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is probably a later rescension of the previous three books; It's name, which is only of very recent, Christian origin) and means "second [book of the] law," is a reference to that notion. The addition of certain passages, including Moses' own death, hardly negates the notion that the authority behind it was Moses. It also should seem hardly surprising that Moses' books should echo other existing notions.

The book of Psalms is, by its own internal notations, a compendium of poems from various sources, including King David and later authors. Some of the Psalms even exist in other biblical books.

Certain prophets may be considered the authors of the books ascribed to them. Other prophets' books were written about the prophets by later authors. In fact, the Jews consider the Book of Daniel to be one of the historical books, not one of the books of the prophets, whereas the book of Psalms is included among the books of the prophets.

Ezra, Nehemiah, and 1-2 Chronicles are likely written by the same author, although the identity of that author is unknown. Ezra and Nehemiah previously existed as a single book.

1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings are likely written by the same author.

Ruth is thought to be of fairly late authorship, a romantic telling of a history used to establish the origin of the Davidic line.

Joshua was once thought to be of fairly late authorship, but recent archaeological evidence has demonstated an historical accuracy that suggests a remarkable proximity in time to the events described. (A later authorship would not contradict biblical infallibility; if Genesis was, indeed, written by Moses, the events were certainly very distant to Moses.

Like the dueterocanonical book, "the Wisdom of Solomon," it is questionnable whether the attribution of the Song of Songs and Proverbs to Solomon is intended to be literal.

The books of Esther, Job, and the dueterocanonical books appear to have been the last books of the bible written. The authors are unknown. Like Genesis, Ruth, 1-2 Chronicles and 1-2 Samuel, the authors probably did not witness the events firsthand.

It makes no difference what this guy says, nor what any other doubter may say. There is historical evidence that what we have, in what we call God's Word, is, at the very least, the only existing document of its kind, anywhere.

We don't have the originals.

We have more than 5300 manuscripts, with more being discovered every year.

Differences exist for approximately one to two percent of those manuscripts, due to the errors, interpretations, etc. of copiers.

Those differences would not change the message of the Bible in anyway.

The Bible we have today, including all the many translations from the KJV to the NIV to the NLT (and even The Message), form the most historically significant and documented piece of collective writing in existance.

Besides, what other god invites us to come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light."

For that period of time, and even for now, that is a very un-god like saying.

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