To me, the Bible is NOT the foundation of the Christian faith. It wasn’t for early first century followers of Jesus (when the Bible didn’t even exist), and it’s not now. To me, the Bible exists ‘because of’ Christianity...Christianity doesn’t exist ‘because of’ the Bible.
Christ followed the Old Testament, promoted others to do the same, and began the teachings which are documented in the New Testament. So, a big part of the Bible as we know it today was not discounted by Jesus and is a fundamental piece of Christianity.
To me, Jesus was raised the Jew that He was. He knew the Law and the Prophets, and discussed them with His followers...ALL of whom were Jews. Up until that time, the Old Covenant was all they had, and it was all they’d known. But Jesus ushered in something brand new. The Old Covenant was made between God and the nation of Israel. Whereas Jesus’ New Covenant was made between God and all of the people in all of the world. Jesus fulfilled this Old Covenant, rendering it completed...“It is finished” meant just that...and He ushered in His New Covenant. Jesus’ New Covenant is what is in effect now. The appearance of Jesus and His ekklesia was intertwined with the history which had preceded it, and the Law and the Prophets were preserved for Christians in what became the Old Testament in the Christian Bible.
