doug
Student
Posts: 8
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Post by doug on Aug 29, 2006 6:35:56 GMT -5
Hello folks,
Is anyone able to tell me who were the authors of the different books of the Old and New Testament ? Of course, we know of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John but who were they? Who was Paul? Who wrote Genesis, Leviticus, Exodus etc ?
I'd be fascinated to find out.
Thanks
Doug
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Post by dianaholberg on Aug 29, 2006 7:00:30 GMT -5
Wow, Doug... you don't ask for much do you? I'll post what I know off the top of my head... maybe later we can delve more deeply. Tradition holds that Moses wrote the Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible), but no one actually knows. The Jews were very very very careful with their Sacred Scriptures -- you should read sometime about how the scribes would copy by hand every "jot and tittle" (every stroke of every letter), and if they missed even a single one, they would discard the entire work and start over. If they took such caution in copying the Torah, don't you think they would take just as much care in preserving the tradition of how it was written? I do. St. Matthew was an Apostle of our Lord. He had been a tax collector, and in those days, what that meant was that he was an extortioner of money from the people. His name back then was Levi -- similar to the name of Jacob's grandson who became the patriarch of all Jewish priests. Jesus renamed him "Matthew" when he became a disciple. St. Mark was an assistant of St. Peter (another Apostle) who traveled with him as they began setting up churches. His gospel account is therefore believed to be from St. Peter's point of view. St. Luke was a physician who helped establish the church in Jerusalem. He is believed to have traveled with Mary (Jesus' mother), and his gospel account therefore includes a lot of details that only she would have known. St. John was another Apostle -- "the disciple Jesus loved" according to his gospel account. St. Paul had once been a Roman citizen and a Pharisee (a Jewish leader). Initially, he persecuted the Church... he went by the name Saul. The book of Acts tells us that he held the coats while St. Stephen (the first martyr) was stoned to death. Later, as he was traveling, Jesus appeared to him and blinded him, asking him why he was persecuting Jesus -- the encounter changed him forever and he became a great missionary, setting up churches everywhere he went and writing to them the letters that today are the epistles in the New Testament. It is believed that the Gospel accounts were written as the Apostles were facing persecution and martyrdom... so that their message could continue to be spread by others after they died. The epistles were written as encouragement to the churches and church leaders. And the book of Revelation (the Apocalypse) is believed to have been written by St. John when he was imprisoned on the isle of Patmos. That's just the basics. There's a lot more, of course.
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doug
Student
Posts: 8
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Post by doug on Aug 30, 2006 6:37:02 GMT -5
Heh Diana, Well, if you're goint to ask a question I always think its best to ask the BIG ones )
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Post by Tara on Sept 5, 2006 15:46:01 GMT -5
lol That was a pretty good explanation diana. Does anyone else have anything more to contribute?
I think it's important to look at the lives of those who wrote those pages. On a personal level, who were they?
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Post by dianaholberg on Sept 6, 2006 4:15:28 GMT -5
Thank you, but I need to correct one thing -- St. Mark traveled with St. Paul, not St. Peter.
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robl
Guide
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Posts: 185
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Post by robl on Apr 22, 2007 22:34:48 GMT -5
well king David wrote 75 of the 150 Psalms. He was a great man who though he had his flaws he always sought after what the Lord God wanted from him. If you read his Psalms you will get to know who he was in charicter.
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