How We Got the Bible DVD

Learn about the production, collection, transmission, and preservation of these marvelous works in How We Got The Bible, featuring Dr. Paul L. Maier, the latest Men's NetWork five-part Bible study. Listen as Dr. Maier shares his expertise and enthusiasm on the preservation and transmission of God's Word through the centuries.

This Bible study will survey the historical development, textual transmission, and publication history of the Bible as it has come down to us through the centuries. With special emphasis on God's divine activity through the Spirit-inspired authors of the Old and New Testaments, this study will show how the Bible is His book, His Word-revealed to man that they might know the way of salvation as revealed by the prophets and made real in the flesh through the life, death, and resurrection of God's son, Jesus Christ.

Joining Dr. Maier in this discussion is Joel Lampe, manager of The Bible Museum in Goodyear, Arizona. Together they examine a number of printed texts, ancient manuscripts, and rare Bibles from the museum's collection. Whether it's a 1560 first-edition Geneva Bible, oft cited by William Shakespeare in his literary works, a centuries-old Syriac New Testament written in Arabic, or a sheepskin sliver from the book of Daniel found among the Dead Sea scrolls in Qumran, Israel-each document is part of the fascinating history of God's written Word preserved and transmitted through the centuries.

This Bible study begins with a discussion on the spiritual significance of the Bible and what it means to claim that Scripture is the Word of God. Lessons to follow consider the function of divine inspiration against contemporary attacks claiming the Bible to be a product of man or later ecumenical councils. Throughout Maier emphasizes the extreme care and attention to detail early scribes displayed when it came to copying and preserving the Scriptures. He also looks into Jesus' own claims to divinity and considers them against assertions He was essentially deemed "divine" by the decree of church councils in the centuries following His appearance. The Bible study closes with a look at the development of the English Bible and some of the heroic pains required of men and women who gave everything to get God's message into print. Throughout each chapter, Web links offer interesting jumping-off points for users to glean more information.