This is true but i think the question might have been referring to. When we compare the bible with, say, the koran or the book of mormon, we. The oldest preserved hebrew bible is the pieces found in kumran aproximately 2200 years old. Even now, more than four centuries after its publication, the king james bible a. Are there really any older holy books than the bible as some. The bible contains a variety of literary genres, including poetry, history, songs, stories, letters and prophetic writings. During the 5th or 6th dynasties of the old kingdom in ancient egypt, the text was carved on to the walls and within the sarcophagi of the saqqara pyramids. What makes the bible different from other religious books. I grew up in a religious family and was taught to believe the bible came from god, but i dont hold to that anymore.
But if a hindu apologist uses the phrase hinduism is older than christianity kind of as a gotcha statement trying to make something more credible because of its age, their implications include a couple fallacies. So, it should be the holy quran which is older than the nowadays bible. A lack of written records results in most of the knowledge of prehistoric religion being derived from. A new study revealed that literacy in the ancient kingdom of judah was more widespread than previously thought, undermining skeptics arguments for the unreliability of many old testament books.
The bible is clear about the importance of gods word 2 timothy 3. These texts were meant to be for the pharaoh and were reserved for him. Our bookvault has several million dollars worth of rare and antique bibles and ancient theology books. Archaeologists and mathematicians discover bible older than. Religion or dharma has been a factor of the human experience throughout history, from prehistoric to modern times. In his forthcoming book, dark passages, jenkins points. One of the oldest known religious texts is the kesh. Religious books other than the bible download 9a27dcb523 how is the bible different from other. Jan 05, 2019 but when i began to step away from my religious bias and to seek out the facts for myself, i discovered this not to be true.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading a history of the bible. Also, do you mean to refer to actual preserved books or are copies okay. The proof of many of these religions are seen in religious texts discovered by experts and. There was plenty of other books then in fact some of the books of the bible kings, chronicles refer to other books and recomend them as references. During my hundreds of hours of research into world history, i learned that there were thousands of ancient writings and books that predated the bible and the history inside the bible. I dont see why you think the bible is any different from other ancient books. In search of one of the worlds oldest religions the getty iris. May 15, 2017 why is the bible different from other religious books. It consists of 66 books which are divided into two sections the old testament. The bible claims to be written by god who moved men to pen his word. The quran, the religious text of islam, has the same historical roots as. Thought it is more of an epic story than a religious text, the epic of gilgamesh is.
The bible comments on a belief system which promises the practitioner peace and a better life. Does christianity have any other books besides the bible. And, to understand this, you have to understand what canon originally referred to and how the canon of the christian bible that is, the. The christian bible was only completed about 1800 years ago. The christian bible is a history book and many other history books exist. They dated the book at around 3260 bc after the mesopotamian and babylonians era others claim that the oldest book was found in egypt 5000 bc. Biblical texts older than the bible the research council. Are there really any older holy books than the bible as some believe. The first part of christian bibles is the greek old testament, which contains, at minimum, the above 24 books of the tanakh but divided into 39 books and ordered differently. The scripture is composed of more than 200 texts though a mere of them.
Which religious texts are older than the bible answers. The story of noah may be part of the abrahamic canon, but the legend of the great flood almost certainly. Why is the bible different from other religious books. But theres another reason why the angry religious crowd ought to check their outrage. The books that make up the bible were written by various people over a period of more than 1,000 years, between 1200 b.
Discover the 10 oldest religious texts in the world here. Of all the ancient writings, most scholars agree that the old testament of the bible is the oldest of religious books. Why does the orthodox bible have more books than the. The quran or koran is the basis of islam, the religion practiced by muslims. Does christianity have any other book beside bible which narrate stories of the jesus and moses and is considered auspicious or sacred. The earliest form of the phoenician alphabet found to date is the inscription on the sarcophagus of king ahiram of byblos. Ive acquired a few old books, one of which is a very old bible im sure is worth a fortune from what ive read, but really not sure. These inspiring, faithbuilding books for christian women include favorite authors beth moore, priscilla shirer, joyce meyer, lysa terkeurst, elizabeth george, and sarah young. Could you mention a passage in the holy bible about gods wife,please. Why is the bible, and not other religious books, the word of. So, in one sense, one might claim that hinduism, is older than christianity because it dates back before christ. The scripture is composed of more than 200 texts though a mere of them are. He also addresses critical methods and specific content of some of the books of the bible.
Torleif elgvin, bakgrunn for prosjektet biblical texts older than the bible, oversikt over dodehavstekstene i schoyensamlingen. Why is the bible, and not other religious books, the word. Did the bible copy some of its stories from other religious myths and legends. As we know, some of the bible was an oral tradition before it was ever written down, and so maybe these other religious writings are twisted traditions of the original inspired oral tradition. It was first written at bc through 500 bc and the words were given by god to its writers. We have books for all women mothers, grandmothers, wives, and singles. The terms sacred text and religious text are not necessarily interchangeable in that some religious texts are believed to be sacred because of the belief in some theistic religions such as the abrahamic religions that the text is divinely or supernaturally revealed or divinely inspired, or in nontheistic religions such as some indian. Written history the age of formal writing is only c. Why the king james bible of 1611 remains the most popular. Easter is the name of a pagan fertility goddess worshipped long before mosaic lawfirst bible books. A few older texts have been discovered, namely, the codex sinaitcus, the codex vaticanus, the codex alexandrinus, and the chester beatty papyri. Arstein justnes, a studere bibelske tekster med ukjent opphav. The texts from ur and sumeria like the epic of gilgamesh and some the religious poetry from that period are all older than the bible. Sep 18, 2007 yet the world is filled with other religious writings that claim divine origin or that have been treated as equal to or higher than the bible on matters of truth or guidelines for living.
Any religious writing valued by a religious tradition. There are many stories in the bible that have remarkable similarities with stories from other religions, legends, and myths. I like your idea about the transference of inspired ideas. Are there really any older holy books than the bible as. If youre talking about the original bible, it is written earlier than the holy quran. While so many religious texts from pagan religions have unfortunately been lost forever, we managed to preserve and restore some texts that predate the bible. The story of the worlds most influential book kindle edition by barton, john. Why does the orthodox bible have more books than the catholic bible. Most of the writings discussed in lost books of the bible for dummies are noncanonical because they arent part of the list of canonical books in either the jewish or christian traditions. There are claims that the oldest book of the bible is the book of job numerous from a christian website. Do you mean the christian bible or the hebrew bible. A list of 10 most influential sacred texts in history which continue to impress and inspire. A list of 10 most influential sacred texts in history which continue to impress and.
The second part is the greek new testament, containing 27 books. A new study revealed that literacy in the ancient kingdom of judah was more widespread than previously thought, undermining skeptics arguments for the unreliability of. Did the bible copy some of its stories from other religious. However, the many books that make up the bible were, in fact, written by a number of different authors, some of whom are unknown.
This is in accordance with historical patterns, and connections to older references can be found in almost any other religious and or historical text. The sayings of the gospel of thomas, compiled circa 140, for instance, may include some traditions even older than some of the gospels of the new testament, possibly as early as the second half of the first century. Mar 11, 2020 i have a question which recently came to mind, and it is multiple questions in all reality. Up to 50 books were left out of the bible heres why. Thought it is more of an epic story than a religious text, the epic of gilgamesh is often cited as a. Although younger evangelicals are just as likely as older evangelicals and more likely than people in most other religious groups to see the bible as the word of god, they are less likely than older evangelicals to see it as the literal word of god. False the dead sea schools are not older than any of the text on the list. Rare religious books, such as old bibles, and other manuscripts are in high demand.
Religion among the millennials pew research center. Is the bible the oldest religious book in the world. Continue with us after this series as we start studying a book of the bible the holy bible is a sacred book that contains the word of god. Rare religious books and price history rare books digest. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
Scholars generally consider the oldest books of the old testament were written between 800 bce and 650 bce with the more recent date becoming more accepted. First, it is clear that other books are important to help people learn to read. In other words, these writings are treated as a final authority over the bible. Some of the indian upanishads and the mahabharata may very well be older as well. For the purposes of this article, we will examine two of the more prominent examples. Jul 12, 2009 so, in one sense, one might claim that hinduism, is older than christianity because it dates back before christ. The bulk of the human religious experience predates written history.
Talmudic and biblical traditions, the earliest of which is. But, whatever date in this range we pick, there are many books older than that. Jul 16, 2011 despite lacking liquidity, highly collectible hard assets offer a good way to diversify and minimize the risk in stock and bond return fluctuations. I cant think of its name but the religion with mithra is older. The oldest known religious texts are pyramid texts of ancient egypt that date to 24002300 bce. Mar 18, 2010 is the bible more violent than the quran. Less than half of young evangelicals interpret the bible literally 47%, compared with 61% of. Next, i reject early dates for the vedas and the avesta. Amongst rare books, religious books have gained significant interest in auction houses and online sites sales as a result of this trend. Im sure it has a lot to teach us, but so do other books. Why is the bible, and not other religious books, the word of god. While so many religious texts from pagan religions have unfortunately been lost forever, we managed to preserve and restore some texts that predate the bible and you can find some examples below. But when i began to step away from my religious bias and to seek out the facts for myself, i discovered this not to be true. I have a question which recently came to mind, and it is multiple questions in all reality.
The edicts of ashoka are dated to the third century. In islam there is the quran bible and then hadith books which narrates stories of the prophets. In fact, only the bible and those religions rooted in the bible including islam and the christian sects, like mormonism claim to have books that are actual revelation from god. Bartons a history of the bible is much more than just a history. The bible wasnt even compiled until the 4th century so there are probably several religious books older than the bible. From the earliest stages of learning, childrens books and learning tools are necessary for literacy. And these men were influenced in a variety of ways. One possible reason that men answer more religious knowledge questions right than women is that men tend to be more likely to guess, even when they are unsure about the correct answer to knowledge questions. For more than 30 years, max lucado has inspired countless readers with his numerous books, bible studies, and childrens stories.
But, the holy bible nowadays was edited by christians until it had become wrong. Many religions have books that claim to contain truth about their god or gods. Mar 23, 2012 the hebrew bible with all 24 books was compiled into one publication aproximately 2600 years ago. However, different christian religions disagree about the canon of their old testament. The bible never tries to defend itself as the truth from god. Scholar philip jenkins argues that scriptures in the quran are less brutal than those in the bible. Nonetheless, it is one of the oldest religious texts written in an. When we compare the bible with, say, the koran or the book of mormon, we find some very important differences. Literal interpretation of the bible and other religious texts. According to an old zondervan study bible book, the atrahasis was used as the basis. There are no known portions of the bible older than the 4th century ad. The hebrew bible with all 24 books was compiled into one publication aproximately 2600 years ago. One of the worlds oldest surviving religions, zoroastrianism played an.
Jun 09, 2014 i like your idea about the transference of inspired ideas. I think this very well could account for many of the religious writings. Most encyclopedias and church bible dictionaries go into all these things. Lost books of the bible for dummies cheat sheet dummies. The rigveda is believed to have been written down for the first time around the early middle ages. A historical list of ancient texts that predate the bible. Examples are his discussion of the structure of isaiah and his discussion of paul. But when i began to step away from my religious bias. The individual books were composed before over a period of a thousand years. The bible, as it exists today, was a collection of older religious texts that were compiled around a. Its interesting to note that all differ from one another and from the king james version. There are a variety of potential implications to the finding that young people earn lower average scores than older adults. Koran or alquran holy book of islam was written in 650 ad.
The pyramid texts are known as one of the oldest religious texts in the world. Many egyptian sources are of bronze age origins so considerably older than the bible. The bible is one the most famous and one of the most beautifully written books of all times. I have a catholic bible, a king james bible my mother was given in the early 1970s, a family bible from 1954, a new american standard bible that was gifted to me with my name engraved on it. Some people mistakenly believe the bible to be the worlds first ever sacred holy text that survived to this day. Is there a reigious book older than the bible answers.