Who Wrote the Bible?

Religion is one of the most significant causes of terrorism, wars and discrimination in the world, and the reasons for such dangerous acts are often based on interpretations of holy texts. Robert Beckford, a theologian, contrasts various parts of the Bible with the archeological research. This film presents several inaccuracies and has led to a dispute concerning the authorship of particular parts of the Bible. Based on evidence from other historians, it seems that the changes made to holy texts through the centuries were done in accordance with the political and cultural requirements of the time. Not only do various parts of the Bible give different views of the same events, but the changes in these texts, their translation into Latin and later into national languages, have probably all been for political reasons. While this is the film’s main theme, it is accompanied by issues concerning the relationship between Christianity and Judaism, and by the demand of various religions in the city of Jerusalem. The most interesting of these associated topics is the question of whether we can consider the Bible to be fiction written by people, or to be the text of God, that must be accepted and not subject to criticism. This question seems to be answered when we learn that the Bible is the work of dozens of authors, translators and editors, all of whom based their efforts on the cultural and political ideologies of their time. (Academia Film Olomouc)