How Did We Get The Bible? Thinking Theologically about the Formation of Text and Canon

Grab Your Copy of How Then Shall We Read? A Student's Guide to Interpreting the New Testament 👉 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802883842?linkCode=ssc&tag=onamzmaxbotne-20&creativeASIN=0802883842&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.1Z0VC22LJXOFX&ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ons_mixed_d_asinCheck out our new course: Introduction to Biblical Interpretation 👉 https://the-center-for-bible-study.teachable.com/l/pdp/introduction-to-biblical-interpretationBecome a member of the Center for Bible Study: https://the-center-for-bible-study.teachable.com/p/the-center-for-bible-study-membership***How did the Bible come to be? Why do Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Bibles differ? And what role did scribes, church communities, and the Holy Spirit play in shaping the Scriptures we read today? In this episode, Max Botner explores the formation of the biblical canon, the history of manuscript transmission, and the theological significance of textual variation. From the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls to debates over the Deuterocanonical books, you’ll discover how history, community discernment, and divine guidance together shaped the Bible.This conversation unpacks major questions in biblical studies:- How the Old Testament developed, including the Masoretic Text and the Dead Sea Scrolls- What textual variants and scribal practices reveal about transmission- How the New Testament canon emerged in the early church- Why apostolicity, orthodoxy, and catholicity mattered for canon formation- How different Christian traditions (Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox) came to have slightly different Bibles- The role of the Holy Spirit not only in inspiration, but in preservation and receptionRather than imagining the Bible as a book that “dropped from the sky,” this episode presents Scripture as a divine-human gift formed through centuries of faithful transmission. Understanding canon formation and textual criticism doesn’t weaken confidence in the Bible—it deepens it.