How was the Bible created? Filmmaker explores the proof and truth of God’s word

The Bible – the world’s best-selling book – has shaped cultures and societies for millennia, but what do we know about its origins?

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A new documentary from CBN Films, “Oracles of God: The Story of the Old Testament,” draws on re-enactments, expert interviews and stunning visuals to help bring the Bible’s story to life, featuring director Erin Zimmerman explaining how God placed the project on her heart.

The filmmaker remembers watching past documentaries about the Bible and quickly coming to an important realization.

“I haven’t found one that I thought was doctrinally correct, or from a Christian perspective, or even historically correct,” Zimmerman said. “They all seemed to come from the position that the text of the Bible is corrupt, that there was some chicanery in the choice of books, and that it was for political influence, and all these things.”

Realizing the need for a documentary honoring the Bible with truth and scholarship, she decided to focus on “facts without an agenda.” And thus “Oracles of God” was born.

As Zimmerman delved into the Bible, she quickly realized that the formation of the Old Testament was relatively rapid and solidified.

Watch Zimmerman explore how the Bible was formed:

“The New Testament canon, while it took about 300 years to develop, the Old Testament, or Hebrew Bible canon, was pretty quick,” she said. “There weren’t really any conflicts. The Jewish people…they kind of accepted the books as they came in.

In addition to the fact that the books presented in the Old Testament were well received, she was also captivated by something else.

“What really struck me was the continuity of the text,” Zimmerman said. “And that really couldn’t have been proven until 1947, when the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.”

The director said the film explores how the Book of Isaiah – the only fully complete scroll among the Dead Sea Scrolls – is a standard that dates back to before the life of Christ. Before its discovery, the oldest copy of Isaiah dated back to 1000 AD, but the older version had the aforementioned continuity.

“When they discovered the scroll of Isaiah in 1947, they made comparisons and found that the two texts are 95% identical, and that the remaining 5% can be attributed to differences in grammar and spelling on a thousand years.”

This remarkable fact makes the Bible particularly reliable.

“What our experts say is that the Bible is the most stable of all the ancient texts that exist,” Zimmerman added. “And we have proof of that in the Dead Sea Scrolls.”

Zimmerman said “Oracles of God” takes viewers on a remarkable journey of understanding the unique story of the Bible, with the project also having a profound impact on his own faith journey.

The filmmaker said she grew up in the church, attending Christian schools and universities. But the film opened “a whole new avenue” to prove the beliefs she had always held.

Despite her continued confidence in biblical truth, she previously lacked the answers needed to answer various questions. After the project, she said she was now able to defend the truth of Scripture.

“I see (now) why we need this evidence, because there are all kinds of allegations against it,” Zimmerman said. “And I think that really showed me… as Christians… the Bible says we have to be ready to always have an answer regarding our faith. »

She hopes people will watch the film and come away with confirmation that “the Bible is not a corrupted text.” Zimmerman is also preparing for a second installment of “Oracles of God,” which will focus on the New Testament. And the third film will focus on the “creation of the canon”.

Learn more about “Oracles of God: The Story of the Old Testament.”