Comments on: What are some good books regarding the orgins of the Bible and Christian/Catholic History?

By: Veritatum17

Veritatum17 — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:28:59 +0000

You want facts but are looking for a novel?

That’s not really an interesting thing to write fiction around… it’s also a long period of time. I mean, by tradition the first time Scripture was put to tablet was by Moses in the scribing of the Pentateuch some 5,500 years ago, and the last book in the Canon of Scripture was closed around the end of the 1st century a.d.

I can recommend a decent, factual, straight-forward text on the history of Catholicism, and that’d be Bokenkotter’s "Concise History of the Catholic Church". Mind you, he condenses 2 millenia of history into 400 pages, so it’s a bit tight.
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By: http://www.bible-reviews.com

http://www.bible-reviews.com — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:09:59 +0000

Hmmm…historical fiction regarding the creation of the bible and early Christianity, huh?

Sorry – for the first group, the closest thing that I can think of is "The Word", a novel that was made into a TV miniseries. It’s set in modern times, though – it’s about the discovery of a new Scripture that is *purported* to be an authentic account of Jesus’ life and the crucifixion. I won’t give more away – it’s worth reading, or even watching.

Probably the closest thing I can think of to an actual historical fiction about Christianity itself is Ben Hur.

I can’t think of anything else in the second group other than "The Da Vinci Code" – which has about as much historical fact within as does "101 Dalmatians". An interesting question, though…

Jim, http://www.bible-reviews.com
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By: Danielle B

Danielle B — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:59:59 +0000

For the origins of the Bible, try _Where We Got the Bible: Our Debt to the Catholic Church_, by Henry Graham – it’s short and readable, and undermines the assumption that the Catholic Church has been opposed to the Bible.

For the origins of the Church after the time of Christ, I have a few suggestions, depending upon difficulty level: Robert Wilkin’s _Spirit of Early Christian Thought_ (hard), Henry Chadwick’s _Early Church_ (moderate), Mike Aquilina’s _Fathers of the Church_ (easy), The Didache Series’ _History of the Church: A Complete Course_ (easy), John Vidmar’s _The Catholic Church Through the Ages_ (hard), Harry Crocker’s _Triumph_ (moderate).
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Ph.D. in theology (church history!)

By: imacatholic2

imacatholic2 — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:29:59 +0000

I do not know of any novels about "how the bible came to be" but here are some well written ones about the early history of Christianity:

Ann Rice has a couple of very nice novels about the life of Christ:
+ "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt"
+ "Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana"

Lew Wallace wrote "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ"

Lloyd C. Douglas wrote "The Robe"

With love in Christ.
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By: David

David — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:24:59 +0000

The Bible was complete and compiled in 96 AD. It was passed and copied from church to church, just like the Old Testament was copied and passed among Jewish groups. The Bible was complete and compiled hundreds of years before there were any "councils".

Catholicism is not Christian. Catholicism teaches a false gospel of works that leads to eternal torment in hell (Galatians 1:6-9).

It’s clear from the Book of Acts in the Bible that catholics didn’t even exist during the days of Acts. Those in the Book of Acts are the first Christians, and they believed what would be called fundamentalist doctrine today. ANYONE can read the Book of Acts for themselves and see. Had catholicism existed during the time of Acts, the first Christians would have rejected catholicism completely.

Also here’s Christians that called the "pope" the antichrist, and who also completely rejected catholicism, long before Martin Luther was even born:

c. 1310
Dante Alighieri
c. 1331
Michael of Cesena
c. 1345
Johannes de Rupescissa
c. 1350
Francesco Petrarch
c. 1367
John Milicz
c. 1379
John Wycliffe
c. 1388
Matthias of Janow
c. 1389
R. Wimbledon
c. 1390
John Purvey
c. 1393
Walter Brute
c. 1412
John Huss
c. 1497
Girolamo Savonarola

So not only is it false to say that "catholics were the first Christians", but this list blows away the catholic claim that "no churches existed other than the catholic church, until Martin Luther".

There were ALWAYS saved believers outside the catholic cult, who knew catholicism cannot save anyone.

Catholicism cannot save. Only believing in Jesus alone for salvation, is what saves.

The truth about Jesus is that the only way to be saved and to get into heaven and avoid being sent to eternal hell, is by believing in faith alone that Jesus, who is God, died for our sins on the cross as FULL PAYMENT for all our sins, and then Jesus rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Believe this and you will be in heaven, no matter what! Salvation is a FREE GIFT that happens in a split second when you believe in Jesus alone to save you! It is impossible to lose or "leave" salvation (John 6:39-40, 1 John 5:13).

Please pray now: "Jesus, please forgive me of my sins. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins and You rose from the dead. Thank You for eternal life!" You will be in heaven with Him forever when you die.
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I’m not a "protestant". I’m a saved believer in Jesus