Holy Writings
The holy book of Christianity is the Bible. It is divided into two segments: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The word “testament” means “witness.” Generally speaking, the average Christian looks at the Old Testament — also known as the Hebrew Bible — as the part that concerns the Jews, their history, and their prophecies, and at the New Testament as the part that concerns Jesus and the apostles.
While that could be looked at as an oversimplification, it is nonetheless a very adequate way of approaching the Bible. There is no question that the Bible's impact has been, and continues to be, immeasurable. The survival of the Jewish religion, for instance, and its subsequent influence in the history of Western culture are direct results of Biblical writings.
The first complete Bible in English appeared in the late fourteenth century and has been retranslated into English dozens of times. In the modern world, missionaries have translated the Bible into nearly every written language in existence.
The designations “old” and “new” seemed to have been adopted after
Some of the early Christian thinkers leaned toward the view that there was no need to have an Old Testament, but the dominant position conceded that Christianity needed to know about God's work on earth prior to Jesus, and the only place to get that knowledge was from the Old Testament.
In the early days of Christianity, various sects were vying for recognition. In this setting, much of what was written was later judged to be apocryphal, meaning of doubtful origin, invented, or mythical. These writings were subsequently denounced.
As for the New Testament and the way it evolved, it took several centuries for religious leaders to come to agreement on what information would be included. During the early years, there were many different versions and theologies of Christianity throughout the Mediterranean world and dozens of written gospels. Of the writings that Christian groups considered sacred, twenty-seven were chosen to become the New Testament around
Many Christian worship services include a reading from the Bible, often called the lesson. Often, members of the congregation will take turns reading it from the pulpit or lectern.
