--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Modern biblical scholars have established…" description: "\"Modern biblical scholars have established that the bible is a wiki. It was compiled over half a millennium from writers with different styles, dialects..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/steven-pinker-526_bible_modern-biblical-scholars-have-establishe_1677053.jpg" --- # Modern biblical scholars have established that the bible… ![“Modern biblical scholars have established that the bible is a wiki. It was compiled over half a millennium from writers with different styles, dialects, character names, and conceptions of God and was subjected to haphazard editing that left it with many contradictions, duplications and…” quote by Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/steven-pinker-526_bible_modern-biblical-scholars-have-establishe_1677053.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/steven-pinker-526_bible_modern-biblical-scholars-have-establishe_1677053.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/steven-pinker-526_bible_modern-biblical-scholars-have-establishe_1677053.jpg) > “Modern biblical scholars have established that the bible is a wiki. It was compiled over half a millennium from writers with different styles, dialects, character names, and conceptions of God and was subjected to haphazard editing that left it with many contradictions, duplications and non-sequiturs.” [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The Bible was assembled over centuries by many authors, leading to stylistic and doctrinal inconsistencies, making it resemble a collaboratively edited wiki. **In simple terms:** The Bible is a multi‑author, centuries‑old text with many contradictions. Key Takeaway Recognize the Bible’s composite nature when interpreting it. Themes history religion textual criticism Mood analytical critical Type scholarly explanatory When to use this quote - theology classes - biblical studies - interfaith dialogue Key Concepts collaboration canon formation interpretive frameworks Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect faith? - Can contradictions coexist with spiritual truth? A Different Perspective The statement may oversimplify the theological coherence many many traditions find. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Bible Wiki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible-wiki-919864/) [Biblical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biblical/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Conception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conception/) [Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [Dialect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dialect/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different styles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-styles/) [Duplication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duplication/) [Editing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/editing/) [Established Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/established-bible-919865/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Haphazard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haphazard/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Millennium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/millennium/) [Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern/) [Modern Biblical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-biblical-919863/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholar/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) [Wiki Compiled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wiki-compiled-919866/) ## Related quotes > [“Modern biblical scholars tell us that about 90 percent of the New Testament of the King James Version was ultimately based on Tyndale’s work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-rhodes/modern-biblical-scholars-tell-us-that-about-90-percent-of-the-new/) [Ron Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-rhodes/) > [“If I have the same logic in two places, I work with the design to understand how I can have only one copy. Designs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/if-i-have-the-same-logic-in-two-places-i-work-with-the-design-to/) [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) > [Life is a mirror that magnifies. What we see 'out there' is only a duplication of what we are inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wolfe/life-is-a-mirror-that-magnifies-what-we-see-out-there-is-only-a/) [David Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wolfe/) > [If I was a locksmith, I'd be pimping that out man. I'll trade you a free key duplication for. That joke made me laugh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/if-i-was-a-locksmith-i-d-be-pimping-that-out-man-i-ll-trade-you-a/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Only in black and white can I see the design and textures. I don't consider color photography art. Black and white is an interpretation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clyde-butcher/only-in-black-and-white-can-i-see-the-design-and-textures-i-don-t/) [Clyde Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clyde-butcher/) > [We are reorganizing in order to eliminate duplication and redundancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/we-are-reorganizing-in-order-to-eliminate-duplication-and-redundancy/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [Success without duplication is merely future failure in disguise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-gage/success-without-duplication-is-merely-future-failure-in-disguise/) [Randy Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-gage/) > [“Duplication may be the root of all evil in software.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-c-martin/duplication-may-be-the-root-of-all-evil-in-software/) [Robert C. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-c-martin/) > [“Beauty is the replication and duplication of mind’s delusion. It is not uniqueness or exceptionality; it is the mentality of belonging and fitting in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/beauty-is-the-replication-and-duplication-of-mind-s-delusion-it-is/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Photographs are but one link in a potentially endless chain of reduplication; themselves duplicates (of both their objects and, in a sense, their negatives),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-owens/photographs-are-but-one-link-in-a-potentially-endless-chain-of/) [Craig Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-owens/) > [Hip-hop in Africa has been very often a duplication of an American experience, but in a context that's totally alien to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/hip-hop-in-africa-has-been-very-often-a-duplication-of-an-american/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) > [The problems of this world are only truly solved in two ways: by extinction or duplication.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-problems-of-this-world-are-only-truly-solved-in-two-ways-by/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Duplication never works for anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dulquer-salmaan/duplication-never-works-for-anybody/) [Dulquer Salmaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dulquer-salmaan/) > [Or the Department of Education and another ministry were worried about duplication of effort, so what did they do? They set up two committees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-bremner/or-the-department-of-education-and-another-ministry-were-worried/) [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) > [Our camera does not produce pretty pictures, but exact duplications that, through our renunciation of photographic effects, turn out to be relatively objective. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernd-becher/our-camera-does-not-produce-pretty-pictures-but-exact-duplications/) [Bernd Becher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernd-becher/) ## More by Steven Pinker > [Forcing modern speakers of English to not - whoops, not to split an infinitive because it isn't done in Latin makes about as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/forcing-modern-speakers-of-english-to-not-whoops-not-to-split-an/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Consistent style prevents presentation from getting in the way of content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/consistent-style-prevents-presentation-from-getting-in-the-way-of/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [The supposedly immaterial soul, we now know, can be bisected with a knife, altered by chemicals, started or stopped by electricity, and extinguished by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-supposedly-immaterial-soul-we-now-know-can-be-bisected-with-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [I've never argued that humans are massively hot-wired. What I was trying to point out was that you can't understand how we learn unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/i-ve-never-argued-that-humans-are-massively-hot-wired-what-i-was/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [As many political writers have pointed out, commitment to political equality is not an empirical claim that people are clones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/as-many-political-writers-have-pointed-out-commitment-to-political/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Since violence is largely a male pastime, cultures that empower women tend to move away from the glorification of violence and are less likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/since-violence-is-largely-a-male-pastime-cultures-that-empower-women/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [When it comes to explaining human thought and behavior, the possibility that heredity plays any role at all still has the power to shock.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/when-it-comes-to-explaining-human-thought-and-behavior-the/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Morality is not just any old topic in psychology but close to our conception of the meaning of life. Moral goodness is what gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/morality-is-not-just-any-old-topic-in-psychology-but-close-to-our/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“The biblical story of the binding of Isaac shows that human sacrifice was far from unthinkable in the 1st millennium BCE. The Israelites boasted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-biblical-story-of-the-binding-of-isaac-shows-that-human-sacrifice/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Part of the bargain of being alive is that one takes a chance at dying a premature or painful death, be it from violence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/part-of-the-bargain-of-being-alive-is-that-one-takes-a-chance-at/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [In fact, without a specification of a creature's goals, the very idea of intelligence is meaningless. A toadstool could be given a genius award…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/in-fact-without-a-specification-of-a-creature-s-goals-the-very-idea/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“The obvious cure for the tragic shortcomings of human intuition in a high-tech world is education. And this offers priorities for educational policy: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-obvious-cure-for-the-tragic-shortcomings-of-human-intuition-in-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [If you look in general at people who live in anarchy, they have quite high rates of death from either homicide or warfare or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/if-you-look-in-general-at-people-who-live-in-anarchy-they-have-quite/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“In some eras, self-control defines the paragon of a decent person: a grown-up, a person of dignity, a lady or a gentleman, a mensch.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/in-some-eras-self-control-defines-the-paragon-of-a-decent-person-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Knowledge is a continuous fabric, in which ideas are connected to other ideas. Reason-free zones, in which people can assert arbitrary beliefs safe from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/knowledge-is-a-continuous-fabric-in-which-ideas-are-connected-to/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Explore all 495 Steven Pinker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) ## More Bible quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, Sergeant,’ Anthony Payne replied. ‘That is from The Merchant of Venice, but it holds great truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arnold/the-devil-can-cite-scripture-for-his-purpose-sergeant-anthony-payne/) [Michael Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arnold/) > [When you put your hand on the Bible, you are saying something much stronger than just telling your peers that you're going to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-greenwood/when-you-put-your-hand-on-the-bible-you-are-saying-something-much/) [Lee Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-greenwood/) > [“Scripture also teaches that human beings are morally responsible creatures”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-peterson/scripture-also-teaches-that-human-beings-are-morally-responsible/) [Robert A. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-peterson/) > [“The wife of a junior officer cooped up in a horrible canvas partition in steerage for five months wrote: "I had enjoyed much peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-taylor/the-wife-of-a-junior-officer-cooped-up-in-a-horrible-canvas-partition/) [Stephen Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-taylor/) > [O Word of God incarnate . . . It is the golden casket Where gems of truth are stored; It is the heaven-drawn picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walsham-how/o-word-of-god-incarnate-it-is-the-golden-casket-where-gems-of-truth/) [Walsham How](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walsham-how/) > [How can I trust that the Bible is reliable?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-horton/how-can-i-trust-that-the-bible-is-reliable/) [Michael Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-horton/) > [Every plant which my heavenly father has not planted with be uprooted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesus-christ/every-plant-which-my-heavenly-father-has-not-planted-with-be-uprooted/) [Jesus Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesus-christ/) > [Where I come from you're not raised to think on your own. It's not that you're pushed to read the Bible. The Bible is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-ferrara/where-i-come-from-you-re-not-raised-to-think-on-your-own-it-s-not/) [Abel Ferrara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abel-ferrara/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [What comes to mind when you think of heaven? Heaven is referred to in fifty-four of the Bible's sixty-six books, and the final two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jeremiah/what-comes-to-mind-when-you-think-of-heaven-heaven-is-referred-to-in/) [David Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jeremiah/) > [“While it is in one sense a result of God’s presence within us, the New Testament also describes a process involved in our “putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/while-it-is-in-one-sense-a-result-of-god-s-presence-within-us-the-new/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [The definition of a Church is crystal clear in the New Testament. We see the picture of it. They came together the first day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/the-definition-of-a-church-is-crystal-clear-in-the-new-testament-we/) [John MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/) [Browse all 8,465 Bible quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Modern biblical scholars have established that the bible is a wiki. 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