You have asked the most important question that can be asked.
So many people spin their wheels arguing doctrines when they ignore the basis of doctrine itself.
Until I took the time and effort to begin reading about the early history of the church, christianity and the bible canon I had no knowledge at all to bring to bear on the question of the Bible itself.
What I once believed was based on what I'd always heard. And, what I'd heard was strongly biased toward the authenticity of scripture.
When I first encountered Jehovah's Witnesses (through my best childhood friend), it was his seemingly solid knowledge about what the bible said and how it differed from what mainstream churches taught that most drew me in to the Kingdom Hall.
Then, my indoctrination began in earnest when I read the JW version of history as regards the twisting of scriptures and how the pagan and babylonian influences have sullied the pure messege of God's word.
We all know the drill.
However, I am on the other side of that mountain now.
I've read extensively. I have tried to balance my readings, too. I read apologists alongside of critics. I read unabashed into the deep well of scholorship and historicity.
My conclusions are well know here on JWD.
1.What we buy in the bookstore that is titled THE HOLY BIBLE is a result. It is the result of a process. The process has been ongoing. It is the work of many hands and those hands have a mind behind them. The minds who have put pen to paper or parchment were driven by ideology.
2.The bible is the state of the art in ideology. It is like the latest copy of a rough draft of a speech. But, the speech has no author! How is that possible? Because there is no FIRST DRAFT!
3.The oral histories, myths, legends and statecraft of the people who became Jews was never just ONE THING. Each faction within Judaism had their own personal VERSION.
4. After the return from exile in Babylon it became necessary to bind together a dispersed people by creating a unifying document. The bible (Or OLD TESTAMENT) was the conscious result of tying together differing parts of those versions as best as could be done. Today we'd call this trying to get everybody together on the same page.
5.As the Jews bumped into stronger, more powerful and advanced civilizations (the Greeks, for example) they adapted the Greek or Babylonian views into their own past histories and dealings with the divine. Improved versions of the retellings constantly eroded and reformed the personal saga of their nationality.
6.The culmination of the Jewish experience came with the Septuigent, or greek language, version of the Jewish omnibus of their history with their divine overlord. The "modern" Jewish religious man or woman couldn't read Hebrew and relied on a Greek conversational version instead.
7.Saul of Tarsus, renamed Paul, began circulating his own personal theory of how the Jewish Messiah could have already come as the person of Jesus; even though Jesus had been rejected and put to death. He mixed pagan Platonic thought familiar to Romans with Jewish mysticsm.
8.The Roman empire found itself ruled by a man from the Sol Invictus cult (worship of the sun god) who was sympathetic to Christianity inasmuch as their grassroots support could solidify his authority.
9.Constantine sought to end the bickering over doctrinal matters pertaining to christianity by convening a council for that purpose. It was thought that debate could settle the wounds between the natural Judaic christians and the Pauline converts.
10. A consensus was temporarily declared and those in disagreement were dealt with harshly.
11.Constantine changed his views several times and the orthodoxy changed with him. People went in and out of favor.
12.Eventually, the debate finally seemingly ended with an official canon being declared closed.
After that, the majority of christians were left to sort out their differences the same old way: arguing, debating, fighting, and violence.
Over the centuries a central clearing house for orthodoxy arose with the political and religious authority to put to death or torture anybody who disagreed with its offical declarations of what God's word said and meant: the Catholic Church.
Sects, cults, heretics and evangelizers put their respective spin on the written word.
Philosophers sought to explain the inexplicable in Christian doctrine. (St.Augustine and Thomas Aquinas chiefly).
The vast majority of Roman citizens were unable to read the bible and the official language of the Church became impenetrable Latin which dealt a double blow to self-discovery of scripture.
The Catholic Church made up whatever it needed to say to deal with political vicissitudes. What they declared righteous or wicked was accepted as such on authority.
Along came Martin Luther who decided each christian has the sole authority to interpret scripture without the majesterium of the Pope.
All translations incorporated whatever views were deemed most persuasive into the text. This meant things were added or subtracted or altered all along the way throughout history.
At first, translators were tortured and put to death. Later, their work was deemed acceptable and used as source material.
Today Christianity appears to be just one religion. In reality, it is many factions claiming authority from doctored texts changed according to ancient and political ideologies.
That is why I always say about the bible: THERE IS NO "THERE" THERE.
