Introduction

For 2000 years the Bible has provided evidence and witness for the beliefs of three major world religions. Some consider the Bible dangerous, while others have died for it, but the response to the Bible is always passionate. This book relates the story of such passions, from the Roman Empire to the present. It is a story primarily about individuals, the drama of their lives woven into the tapestry of their times: barbarian invasions, Black Death, Waldensian heresy, the pageantry of medieval romance, the debauchery of the medieval Vatican, the spirit of the Renaissance, the tradition of monk and scholar. All of these historical currents influenced the text--now corrupted and distorted and existing in a confusing number of versions. This book tells how today’s Bible came to be what it is and provides an understanding of the richness of its text.