When we speak of Christianity in the minds of everyone there are different associations.Each of the people is unique, so the understanding of this religion is the subjective categories for each of us.Some believe this concept set of ancient scriptures, others - an unnecessary belief in supernatural forces.But Christianity - it is, above all, one of the world's religions, which was formed vekami.Istoriya of this phenomenon began long before the birth of the great Christ.Many people can not imagine that the sources of Christianity as a religious worldview appeared in the XII century BC.During the study of Christianity need to turn to the scriptures, which give an opportunity to understand moral principles, political factors, and even some of the features of thinking of the ancient people, directly affects the process of origin, development and spread of the world religions.Such information can be obtained in the course of a detailed study of the Old and New Testament - the main parts of the Bible.
Structural elements of the Christian Bible
When we talk about the Bible, should be clearly aware of its importance, because it contains all the once famous religious legends.This scripture is so multi-faceted phenomenon that from his understanding may depend on the fate of people and even whole nations.
Quotes from the Bible at all times be treated differently depending on the objectives pursued by people.Nevertheless, the Bible is not true, the original version of the holy letters.It is, rather, a kind of compilation, which consists of two basic parts: the Old and New Testament.The meaning of these structural elements in the Bible implement fully, without any changes or additions.
This scripture reveals the divine essence of God, the history of the world, and provides the basic canons of life the average person.
Bible has undergone various changes over the centuries.This is due to the emergence of different Christian denominations that accept or deny some of the biblical scriptures.Nevertheless, the Bible, regardless of the changes incorporated Jewish, and later - formed Christian traditions set forth in the covenants: the Old and New.
General characteristic of the Old Testament
the Old Testament or the Old Testament, as it is commonly called, is a fundamental part of the Bible, along with the New Testament.This is the most ancient writings, which became part of the Bible that we are used to seeing today.Book of the Old Testament is considered to be "the Hebrew Bible."
astonishing chronology of the creation of this scripture.According to the historical facts, the Old Testament was written in the period from XII to I century BC - long before the advent of Christianity as a separate, independent of religion.It follows that many Jewish religious traditions and concepts fully became part of Christianity.The book of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, a Greek translation was made only for the period from I to III century BC.Translation has been recognized by the early Christians, which in the minds of this religion in its infancy.
author of the Old Testament
To date it is not known the exact number of authors involved in the creation of the Old Testament.We can confidently assert only one fact: the Old Testament book was written by dozens of authors over the centuries.Scripture consists of a large number of books, named in honor of the people who created them.However, many modern scholars believe that much of the Old Testament books written by authors whose names are hidden for centuries.
the source of the Old Testament
smyslyaschie absolutely nothing in the religion people believe that the main source of the letter is the holy Bible.Old Testament part of the Bible, but it has never been the primary source, since there was already after it was written.The Old Testament is presented in a variety of texts and manuscripts, the most important of which are the following:
- Septuagint (translated from Hebrew into Greek).
- Vulgate (the translation of - only in Latin).
- Targums (several hundred translations in Aramaic).
- Peshitta (the famous manuscript in which the Old Testament translated into Syriac).
In addition to these sources, it should be noted the importance of the Qumran manuscripts.They contain small fragments of the books belonging to the Old Testament.
Old Testament canon
Canons of the Old Testament - a collection of books (scriptures), accepted and recognized by the church.You have to understand that the Bible, Old Testament which is a fundamental part, built up over many centuries.Therefore its final form has been formed in the bosom of the church under the watchful supervision of the clergy.With regard to the Old Testament, to date, there are three basic canon of differing content and origin:
- Tanakh (Jewish canon).Fully formed in Judaism.
- Classic, Christian canon, which was formed under the influence of the Septuagint (the Greek translation).Canon adopted the Catholic and the Orthodox Church.
- In the XVI century there was a Protestant canon.It occupies an intermediate position between the Tanach and the classical canon.
historical formation of canons took place over two phases:
- formation in Judaism;
- formation under the influence of the Christian church.
New Testament
No less important part of the Bible is the New Testament, which was created much later.In fact, this part of the scripture tells about events that were prior to and during the appearance of Jesus Christ.
New and Old Testament are radically different from each other, first of all, the sources that contributed to their occurrence.If the Old Testament is based on ancient manuscripts, the New largely adopts the knowledge of the first part of the Bible.In other words, the Old Testament - is a source of new, even this statement has some inaccuracies.
General characteristics of the New Testament
New Testament was formed in the period from the end of I century BC and the beginning of the I century AD.It is written in ancient Greek.It consists of 27 books, the four Gospels about the life of the Prophet Jesus and the book of Acts and Revelation.The canonization of the New Testament took place in the Ecumenical Councils.This was a problem with the recognition of Revelation, because his writing was considered a mystical book.Note
great influence apocryphal, early Christian literature on the formation of the New Testament.
hypotheses about the origin of the Bible
Some scientists who study the quotations from the Bible, found evidence that the two parts of scripture have a lot in common.Many researchers believe that the New Testament - is not that other, as one of the books of the Old Testament.Such a hypothesis to date, nothing is confirmed, although it has a lot of supporters in the scientific community.The problem is that the Old and New Testaments, which are considerable differences, also have different themes that really does not allow to identify them.
Total
So, in the article, we analyzed in detail the facts of history and tried to understand what the Bible is.Old and New Testament is an indispensable part of the basic letters of the Christian church.Their study remains a priority for scientists to this day, because many mysteries remain unsolved.
