A Christian’s Pocket Guide to How We Got the Bible

by Gregory R. Lanier

What books make up the Bible and why? Who wrote the Bible? Who decided what should go in? How can we know that what is in the Bible is from God?

This short book answers some critical questions about the Word of God, helping us to understand where the Scriptures came from and why we can trust them. Covering the origins and translations of the Old and New Testaments, this straightforward introduction answers many questions, and provides suggestions for further reading if you want to research the topic further.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Christianity, Discipleship, Faith

110 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 2, 2019

About the author

Gregory R. Lanier (Ph.D. University of Cambridge) is Associate Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary (Orlando). He specializes in early Christology, Synoptic Gospels, Greek OT (Septuagint), and textual criticism. He also serves part-time as an associate pastor at River Oaks Church (Lake Mary, FL). He lives in Orlando with his wife and three children.

Reviews

[Daniel Ligon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent, accessible, brief summary of the historical evidence for the trustworthiness of Scripture. I anticipate giving away many copies in the future.

[Jimmy Shepard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was gifted this book for Christmas by extension of the author, but I have no personal bias when I say I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It answered a ton of questions I had regarding this historical foundations of the Bible, especially going into the canonization of the books and the process of translations over the past centuries. It didn’t explain the contents of the Bible like some of his other books, but rather how the contents of the Bible came to be and the arguments surrounding them while using biblical and historical references. I love his comparisons to modern-day scenarios as a way of teaching and understanding topics.

[Matej Pavkovček · Rating 5 out of 5]

Velmi dobra apologeticka kniha, o tom ako sa k nam dostala Biblia, ako sa kanonizovala, co bolo klucom pri vybere knih, listov a toho co bude a nebude sucastou Biblie. Taky dobry zaklad pre kazdeho krestana, ktory chce hlbsie porozumiet uzasnej vzacnosti, ktorou Biblia je pre nas aj dnes.

[Mark Trigsted · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great little book of a little over 100 pages. It is a wonderful primer on the origins of the Bible.

[Martin Canales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative, subjective conlusions

The Author made a good research and brings on the table a relevant information from many fields, in favour and against the topic.
However, I was thinking to get a conclusion on the same sense. I do not agree with his conclusions, I really think that are, and included in this text, reasons against of the trusting of the Greek and Hebrew Manuscripts.
We need to think the general meaning to the people which this texts were written to, and then to bring the meaning spiritual message to us in our times. And this is s PERSONAL lesson, and never to make it Dogma or Doctrine, like from the very beginning, was made, i.e. Paul, who brought His idea of Jesus. The Words of God (the spiritual message from God) IS NOT THE BIBLE, but is contented in the Biles’ books.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lanier does an excellent job of addressing the issues of inspiration, canonicity, transmission, and textual criticism in a way that is accessible to a (near) layperson. I do think that at time his tone wanders into territory that might be a little too academic for the average Christian in the pews, but overall this is a good treatment of these issues. I would consider this a good resource for the library of any church that is committed to biblical belief and practice.

[Nathan Battey · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, concise, and moderate level introduction to the topics of Scripture, Cannon, manuscripts, textual criticism, and reliability. Lanier is very fair with the evidence and avoids overly simplistic explanations, even when they would be more convenient from an apologetics standpoint. A must read for intermediate level Bible students.

[Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, though brief, was a concise and informative introduction into the history of where our modern day Bible comes from. It is a topic I am greatly interested in and wasn't sure where to start and this book was a great jumping-off point for me. It's a quick read with a lot of info and plenty of suggested further reading.

[Crystal Melnyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who Is responsible for the Bible?

I enjoyed reading this thought provoking book. I feel it answered the questions I had regarding the origins of the Bible in understandable words.

[Jonathan Kiewiet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent primer.

[Matthew Rawlings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking for a text on canon and textual criticism for classes and this may fit the bill.

[Josh Nicholson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good solid book that gives a shot gun view of how the Bible came about. You will probably have questions after, but this is a good introduction to the topic.

[Joshua Chipchase · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful, concise, and taught me things I didn't know. But was not as simple as I had hoped (I wanted something I could easily give to most laymen) but the topic itself is not that simple.

[Benji Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and to the point. Helpful for those wrestling with questions around the Bible's compilation.

[Ainsley Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and helpful, yet easy to follow!! Would recommend.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Super informative. The deeper you look into the history of Scripture the greater the confidence you’ll find in its authority.

[Nate Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gives a decent history of the canon but does so in a painfully Protestant way. Given the conciseness of the book it’s hard to find additional viewpoints of necessary background information. If you know nothing about the formation of the canon this is an easy read but very limited.

[Gavin Meeples · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read and it provides a good overview of how God gave the Scriptures to mankind through the Jewish people. For those who have just a little knowledge of the history of Scripture but not much, this short book does an excellent job of filling in the gaps and providing enough basic information. It will satisfy those who have wondered how the Bible came to be. More importantly, it will reassure believers that they can trust the text of their Bible. It also provides a list of bigger books for those who wish to investigate this topic further. I would recommend this as a resource to pass to serious Christians who want to understand better how the Bible came to be.

[Briana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty straightforward book that gave a brief overview of how the Old and New Testament were recognized and translated. It was interesting to understand a bit more of the history surrounding the formation of the Bible as we know it now, though I have to admit the author doesn’t go into enough detail to leave me completely satisfied.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good information here. Fairly accessible. Sometimes a bit dry. But solid approach and good overview of a big topic.

[Stephen Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, small and concise explanation of how we received the scripture and how we can trust it.

Definitely using this with my youth group, and my Bible studies as a grab bag gift. :)