The primary and most used sacred text of Christianity is the Bible. The word Bible is derived from the latin word biblia, which means ‘the books’. The bible has two parts, the Old and the New testament. The Old testament is nearly identical to the Jewish Bible and includes important messages about God, before Jesus Christ. The New testament is a collection of early Christian writing about Jesus' life and his preaching and teachings. The new testament also includes information about the apostles and the early work of the church. It includes 27 books, such as the four gospels, the acts of the apostles, the letters to St. Paul, Two Epistles of St. Peter, One to Jude, and one to St James, as well as the book of revelation.
The four gospels were all written at different points in time, and in different communities. The gospels tell of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. These stories have been handed down through Christian communities, except each gospel tells a slightly altered version of each story about Jesus.
These alterations can be explained by the problems and issues arising in the community at the time that the gospel was being written.
