There is probably no book on earth that has ever had anything like so large a circulation as that which is known as the Bible; and yet few among the many millions who possess a copy ever think of asking themselves the question, “Where and how did it originate?” They are satisfied with the _ipse dixit_ of their parson that it “came from God.” That may be sufficient to satisfy the unthinking multitude, but it does not suffice for thinking people, who prefer to follow the dictates of their reason rather than rest on the mere word of a man or a number of men who are paid to preach that the Bible is the word of God, and whose incomes would cease if their followers thought otherwise. What is this Bible? Where did it come from? Let us see. As we now have it, it consists of a number of books, which are divided into two main portions, the Old and the New Testaments, the former being made up of the five books said to have been written by Moses under God’s inspiration, and called the Pentateuch, and a number of historical, poetical, and prophetic writings; and the latter consisting of four narratives of the life of Jesus, called the Gospels, a narrative of the Acts of the Apostles, a number of letters, and the Vision or Revelation of one John. The number of books which make up the Bible has varied from time to time, according to the fancy of the age; but about 360 years since a Council of Protestants determined that a number of hitherto received sacred writings were not the “Word of God,” and finally decided that only those now included in the authorised version were of divine origin. Before that time the following books had formed part of the Bible—viz., Tobit and Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, Epistle of Jeremiah, Song of the Three Children, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, and Maccabees, all of which are considered canonical at the present time by the Roman Catholic Church. Besides these writings there are a large number of others that have, at different times, occupied positions of honour in this ever-varying compilation, but which are now almost forgotten by pious divines, and entirely unknown by their credulous and ignorant dupes. Dr. Dupin, Professor of Philosophy at the Paris University, and one of the most pious and learned Christian writers of his time, gives a list of over 150 books that have, from time to time, been held sacred, and said to have formed part of the “Word of God,” as follows:— OLD TESTAMENT. _Books now Considered Canonical by Jews and Christians._ The five Books of Moses. The Book of Joshua. The Book of Judges. The Book of Samuel, or the first and second Books of Kings. The third and fourth Books of Kings. Isaiah. Jeremiah. Ezekiel. The Twelve Minor Prophets. The Book of Job. The Hundred and Fifty Psalms. The Proverbs of Solomon. The Ecclesiastes. The Canticles. Daniel. The Chronicles. Esdras, divided into two Books.