Everything in the Bible is historical in the sense that it was written in historical times. The Bible is a small library of literature that was written over the course of about 1,000 years–a period that ended nearly 2,000 years ago. So the biblical books are historical documents in that sense.
But what about the content of the biblical books? If you open up the Bible to a random passage, does that mean what you are reading is automatically history?
An Obvious No
In one sense, the answer is an obvious no. Not all books in Scripture are trying to recount historical events.
The Gospels are. The Acts of the Apostles is. Many books of the Old Testament are. But relating history is not the purpose of other books.
For example: the epistles of St. Paul or the epistles of James, Peter, John, and Jude. These are concerned with building people’s faith, but they aren’t narratives. They don’t tell the story of what happened in a particular period in history the way that Matthew, Acts, or 1 Kings does.
We can learn certain historical facts from them, but these historical items are things mentioned in passing, not the principal purpose of the epistles.
Similarly, in the Old Testament we find books like Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. These also may make passing references that are of value to historians, but they aren’t intended to tell us the story of particular historical periods.
What About Prophecy?
What about the prophetical books? Don’t these tell us about history?
Yes, but they also are not straightforward historical texts.
Continue at Jimmy Akin blog here.
I am a young Christian living in Africa. If you've enjoyed my posts, you might like to check me out on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ as well. Thank you. I am one of the few African Catholic Apologists active online today. Most people know me for my work Catholic Apologetics Guide 101, Let’s talk about the Rosary and Cathoolic - New Evangelization and Apologetics. Countering “sheep-stealing” from the Catholic Church.
