Was the Bible Written by Men or God? Understanding the Human Lens of Scripture

The Human Lens of Scripture: How Cultural Context Strengthens, Not Weakens, God’s Word

One of the most overlooked truths about the Bible is that it was written by human authors—real people living in real cultures, writing in real languages, and addressing real historical circumstances.

For many skeptics, that fact becomes a reason to dismiss Scripture. “If humans wrote it,” they say, “then it can’t be the Word of God.” They point to cultural assumptions, ancient practices, or differences in writing styles as proof that the Bible is just another collection of man-made ideas.

But this argument misunderstands how divine inspiration actually works—and why recognizing the human lens of Scripture can strengthen our faith, not weaken it.

God Speaks Through People, Not Around Them

The Bible’s miracle is not that it dropped from heaven untouched by human hands, but that God worked through human authors to reveal His truth.

When Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “all Scripture is God-breathed,” he doesn’t mean God dictated words robotically. He means the Holy Spirit guided each author to express divine truth through their own vocabulary, perspective, and personality.

Think of sunlight passing through stained glass—the light is pure, but it shines through different colors and shapes. Likewise, the same divine truth shines through the poetic beauty of David, the prophetic passion of Isaiah, and the careful precision of Luke.

Far from being a flaw, this diversity is what makes Scripture so powerful—it shows God’s willingness to speak through real people, meeting humanity right where we are.

Cultural Context Isn’t a Threat—It’s a Key

Skeptics often highlight how the Bible reflects ancient customs—about law, family, or even warfare—and claim this proves it’s merely human. But understanding those cultural details doesn’t discredit the Bible; it helps us interpret it.

When we understand the world these authors lived in, their messages become clearer, not weaker. For example, understanding how covenants worked in the ancient Near East helps us grasp the weight of God’s promises. Recognizing how ancient nations viewed honor, justice, and sacrifice sheds light on stories that otherwise seem strange to modern readers.

Cultural context is not an obstacle to divine truth—it’s the medium through which divine truth was communicated.

No Contradiction Between the Divine and the Human

Some assume that if the Bible bears human fingerprints, it must not bear divine authority. But the Bible, like Christ Himself, is fully divine and fully human. The two natures are not in competition—they work together in perfect unity.

When we recognize this, what skeptics label as “contradictions” often turn out to be complementary perspectives. The four Gospels, for example, don’t conflict—they provide four distinct, inspired viewpoints of the same story, each shaped by its author’s audience and purpose.

Seeing the Bible through this lens doesn’t diminish its authority—it magnifies its beauty. It reminds us that God is not a distant deity dictating from the clouds, but an intimate Creator who enters human culture to reveal Himself.

The Bound in Lies Perspective

At Bound in Lies, one of our driving missions is to help readers see that the Bible’s complexity is not proof of contradiction—it’s proof of authenticity. The same divine message that guided ancient Israel still speaks today, but to hear it clearly, we must understand how and why it was written.

When we accept that the authors of Scripture wrote through their own cultural lenses, we don’t lose faith—we gain depth. We begin to see the Bible not as a static list of commands, but as a living revelation of God’s relationship with His people through time.

Recognizing the humanity of Scripture doesn’t take away from its divinity. It shows us a God who speaks in ways we can understand—through our history, our culture, and even our flaws.

That’s not a contradiction. That’s a miracle.