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 Faith - What is the Bible?

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Mosaic in the Great Church of Hagia Sophia, Constantinople
Mosaic in the Great Church of Hagia Sophia, Constantinople

The Holy Bible is the sacred book of Christianity. It tells the story of God's love for the human family from its very first beginnings.

The Bible is actually a collection of ancient writings, written by different authors over a long period of history, but all uniquely inspired by God, which is why it is 'the word of the Lord' - God speaks to the human family in a unique way through the words of the Bible.

The Bible is arranged into two broad sections - the Old Testament (the time before Jesus Christ) and the New Testament (with the coming of Christ).

You can find a summary of each book of the Bible by clicking here.

The Bible does not contain just one type or style of writing only. It includes factual accounts such as the gospels and historical books, and also poetry, songs, wisdom, prophecy and letters.

The motto of the sensationalist newspaper 'The News of the World' was "all life is here". In the Bible it really is!

And all of this is why over many centuries, and still today, so many millions of people have found the Bible to be so vibrant, powerful, life-changing, inspiring, comforting and challenging.

And of course, the Bible has also inspired many of the world's greatest works of art and music.

How to Find Bible Passages

All Bibles have a contents page at the front, if you are not sure where to find a particular Book.  The Books are then divided into numbered chapters, and the chapters into verses.  These numbers are included in the text.

For example, Matthew 10:26-31 = the book of Matthew, chapter 10, verses 26 to 31.