Is Christianity a ‘Religion of the Book’?

The phrase “religions of the Book” is often used to describe Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, emphasizing their reliance on sacred writings. For Judaism, this is the Talmud and Hebrew Bible, mostly corresponding to the Christian Old Testament. For Islam, it is the Quran.

But is Christianity truly a “religion of the Book” in the same way that Judaism and Islam are? According to John Barton, an Oxford biblical scholar and author of A History of the Bible, the answer is more complex than it might seem​.

For both Judaism and Islam, sacred texts play a central role in defining belief and practice. The Hebrew Bible and the Talmud in Judaism, and the Quran in Islam, are foundational documents that dictate religious law, ethics, and worship. Christianity, however, does not function in quite the same way.

Barton points out that in early Christianity, authority rested primarily on Jesus himself, and not on a written text. The words of Jesus, whether written in the Gospels or preserved through oral tradition, were considered binding because of who he was, not because they were compiled in a sacred book​. Early Christian teachers, Barton argues, often quoted sayings of Jesus that were not even found in the four canonical Gospels, demonstrating that authority came from Christ rather than a fixed scripture​.

This is a significant contrast to both Judaism and Islam, where sacred texts were more immediately perceived as the ultimate authority. In Islam, for example, the Quran is seen as the direct word of God, given to Muhammad, and remains unchanged. Judaism, too, sees the Torah as divinely revealed and supplements it with a robust interpretative tradition in the Talmud.

Christianity also sees the Bible as divinely inspired. The Vatican II document Dei Verbum quotes one of St. Paul's New Testament letters to affirm: "Therefore 'all Scripture is divinely inspired and has its use for teaching the truth and refuting error ...'"

However, Christianity's understanding is nuanced.

Christianity gradually developed a scriptural canon, but Barton argues that the idea of the Bible as the sole authority is a much later development, particularly emphasized by Protestant Reformers in the 16th century. The Catholic and Orthodox traditions, in contrast, have always recognized that Christian faith is shaped by both Scripture and Tradition​.

The New Testament itself was not formally recognized as “Scripture” for several centuries. Barton notes that for the earliest Christians, writings such as Paul’s letters were valued, but they were not necessarily seen as equal to the Hebrew Bible. It was only over time that these texts were collected, canonized, and placed alongside the Hebrew Scriptures as a second part of the Christian Bible​.

This historical development suggests that Christianity is not a “religion of the Book” in the same way as Judaism and Islam. Instead, it is a religion centered on a person — Jesus Christ — whose teachings and life were recorded in writing.

This does not mean that the Bible is unimportant to Christianity — far from it. The Bible is indispensable, shaping Christian theology, worship, and moral teachings. But Barton warns against seeing the Bible as a rigid rulebook.

Unlike the Quran or the Torah, the Bible is a diverse collection of writings, including history, poetry, prophecy, and personal letters, which were not originally written as a single, cohesive law or doctrinal manual​.

For most of Christian history and today in Catholicism and Orthodoxy, Scripture has been interpreted through the lens of Church authority and tradition. Catholicism affirms that the Bible must be understood within the broader framework of apostolic teaching, while Protestantism insists on “sola scriptura,” the idea that the Bible alone is the highest authority. But even in Protestant traditions, interpretations of Scripture vary widely, proving that the Bible does not function as an absolute, self-explanatory guidebook.

So, is Christianity a “religion of the Book”?

In some ways, yes — the Bible is the foundation of Christian teaching. But in a deeper sense, Christianity is a “religion of the Word” — not just the written Word, but the living Word, Jesus Christ (John 1:1). Unlike Judaism and Islam, Christianity did not emerge primarily as a faith centered on a sacred text but rather on a divine person.

This distinction has profound implications for how Christians engage with Scripture. The Bible is not simply a legal or doctrinal code; it is a witness to Christ, calling believers not just to study a book, but to follow a person.