RLST 210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 31: Documentary Hypothesis

• School: Towson University
• Department: Religious Studies
• Course: RLST 210
• Professor: Deborah Barer

Document Summary

Core questions: did the revelation on mt. Traditionalist view: that g-d revealed the torah in discrete words and letters . G-d spoke and moses wrote down what g-d said: that everything in the torah is divine and all by g-d, nothing from moses. Might put more respect and holiness on something that is divine. If g-d revealed his will clearly to moses at mt. Sinai, and moses recorded it accurately in the torah, then every detail in the torah is binding: this leaves little room for personal autonomy. Advantages: view is clear and consistent, authority of torah is absolute. Disadvantages: what if you nd a moral or textual problem in the torah, view does not outline a clear response. Biblical criticism: the documentary hypothesis challenges the idea that moses wrote the torah, raises two main questions: Monday, november 28, 2016 will: if it is not from g-d directly in some way, then it can"t be authoritative.