The Christian Bible contains works from the Old Testament (also known as the Hebrew Bible) as well as gospels from Jesus's main disciples collected into a volume of 27 books called the New Testament. Different church denominations accept different books from the Old Testament. The Catholic Church based out of Rome, for instance, accepts the first two books of Maccabees, the Wisdom of Solomon, Judith, Baruch, and two others as official Old Testament works. Other churches accept three and four Maccabees, Psalms of Solomon, Psalm 51, and several others as legitimate Old Testament works. The Jewish people refer to the books of the Old Testament as the Torah and divide their Bible into five major books. In terms of the New Testament, most Christian denominations believe that the Gospels according to Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John comprise a set known as the Synoptic Gospels. John the Apostle is also credited for writing the well-known Revelation of John. The general Apistles rounds out the collection. All of the literature in the New Testament focuses on the life and teachings of Jesus. Many scholars believe that these books were penned originally in a form of Greek called Koine. However, some biblical scholars argue that works such as the Gospel of Matthew were originally scribed in Aramaic. The Gutenberg Bible was the first work in English to be mass-produced on a printing press. In total, the Bible is the most published work in any language of all time, and Bibles are continually printed and produced in an array of styles and adaptations. It remains a potent symbolic force, even in non-Christian dominated parts of the world. |
