Some starting ideas

So, I have this pamphlet that a little old lady handed to Rebecca, who was too nice to scoff at her and push on down the street, like I did. And it just so happens to have a little passage about the Bible that might, uh, provoke some thoughts as you read along. From "How can I find God?" by Gerard Chrispin, Day One Publications:

Over forty authors wrote the Bible over a period of 1600 years. God directed and blended their distinctive inputs into this inspired, infallible and complete revelation. A single unified theme and no contradictions demonstrate its miraculous nature. Each of the 66 books, (39 Old Testament and 27 New Testament), bears God's stamp of authority and authorship. Applying the law of probability to the Bible's fulfilled prophecies, the statistician, Gallup, claimed to have proved God mathematically.

...

Certain facts, unknown to man when the Bible was written, reveal its Author is all-knowing. Archeological discovery often underlines its historical accuracy. The Bible's deep insights into human nature indicate the mind of the master psychologist, who knows exactly how we "tick".

If we take this to be on one end of the spectrum, I have the impression that the book 101 Myths of the Bible is on the other end. I recommend taking a look at that link, and therefore offer this taste of what's there -- an excerpt from the author's description of the book:

101 Myths of the Bible examines many of the most famous stories in the Old Testament and shows the various influences that led to the writing. Among the subjects explored are the earlier versions of many biblical stories that were told among Israel's neighbors, the strong Egyptian influences on many of the biblical accounts, and the internal political and religious feuds in ancient Israel that led to various propagandistic versions of earlier history.

I don't know how controversial his views are, but I thought I'd put up some points of view of the Bible that caught my eye.

([Bob's obsession over copyright warning] By the way, both of the sources for the above quotes expressly forbid quotes like these.)

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