tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093286514666765146.post5220331238114803699..comments2023-05-29T03:51:51.259-04:00Comments on A Pasta Sea: Mistakes of Moses Expanded Universe: Genesis 7The Apostatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07849387032571497899noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093286514666765146.post-77721084193488729872021-04-05T11:18:48.301-04:002021-04-05T11:18:48.301-04:00Sorry it took me so long to reply :)
By "Ser...Sorry it took me so long to reply :) <br />By "Serious Theologian," I meant an actual, serious, accredited theologian graduating from some respectable seminary, or an historical student from some secular school. <br />I'm fully aware that Preacher Bubba or whomever (Most of whom have no training at all) or some graduate from Bob Jones University believes Moses wrote it, but these people aren't "Serious" in the sense that no one who studies religion or theology academically takes them seriously.<br /><br />Probably not the best word choice on my part.<br /><br />I went to a pretty good Bible College in Tennessee in the late 1980s, and they were pretty explicit about the evolution of scripture over time, the fact that Moses didn't write nothin, that Deuteronomy was undoubtedly written in the time of King Josiah, and backdated to Moses' day. <br /><br />I guess my point from six years ago (assuming I recall correctly) was simply that there's hayseed preachers and then there's *real* theologians, and the real ones don't believe that, even if the folks in the trenches do.Mahatma Randyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12107695677530467614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093286514666765146.post-65593091602665012622015-02-03T08:04:57.588-05:002015-02-03T08:04:57.588-05:00there's not a serious theologian or historian ...<i>there's not a serious theologian or historian in the world that believes Moses wrote any of this stuff. I'm not sure if his authorship is an article of faith in any particular church, but in my Bible college they flat out told us that Moses didn't write it, and that most of it wasn't literally true.</i><br /><br />Oh, how I wish this were true everywhere. I’m not sure where you're from Randy, but here in the United States, Mosaic authorship is vehemently defended by quite a number of prominent theologians. This defense ranges from some Catholics who claim that Moses compiled and edited the documents and carried the “spirit” of their content to the standard evangelical position that he pretty much wrote everything but his own obituary and even that is attributed to Joshua.<br /><br />Thanks to the so-called "Conservative Resurgence" that took place in the 1980s, every seminary run by the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the US, teaches Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch. Virtually every major accredited evangelical seminary including Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Dallas Theological Seminary, Gordon-Conwell, etc. teaches it as well. In fact, if you look at the list of the 10 largest seminaries in North America, only one (Fuller) doesn’t. Even suggesting that Moses wasn’t the principal author of the Pentateuch will get you fired at most seminaries and bible colleges in the US.<br /><br />If I emailed the clergy of the 100 churches closest to my house and asked them who wrote the first five books of the Bible, without a doubt the vast majority would say Moses. This isn’t really surprising in a country where around half of the people believe Adam and Eve were real people and that the Bible is the actual or inspired word of God without errors. Nearly 40% believe God created the universe in six literal 24 hour days.<br /><br />I agree that no theologian and certainly no historian who believes Moses wrote any of this stuff should be taken seriously. However, there are quite a number of theologians in this country who <i>do</i> take it very seriously to the point where they believe denying Mosaic authorship is tantamount to calling Jesus and Paul liars and undermining the foundations of the Christian faith. I wish that were not so, but it is.The Apostatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07849387032571497899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093286514666765146.post-17910751962554399252015-02-02T22:55:44.549-05:002015-02-02T22:55:44.549-05:00Obviously Genesis (And the entire Pentateuch) is t...Obviously Genesis (And the entire Pentateuch) is the result of multiple authors, as has been adequately proven. It appears to have culled from different sources, and *THEN* it appears to have been revised several times over the centuries, reaching its present form in the 5th or 6th century BC. The result is kind off a hash job.<br /><br />Moses is purported to be an author because the ancient Jews believe that the main character in a story wrote the story. As Moses is the primary protagonist from Exodus on, he must have been the author. They told Christians, Christians believed them. Since Job is set during Genesis, Moses often gets the credit for that one, too.<br /><br />Thing is: there's not a serious theologian or historian in the world that believes Moses wrote any of this stuff. I'm not sure if his authorship is an article of faith in any particular church, but in my Bible college they flat out told us that Moses didn't write it, and that most of it wasn't literally true. Mahatma Randyhttp://www.mahatmarandy.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093286514666765146.post-88158897123634099352015-01-22T10:34:47.875-05:002015-01-22T10:34:47.875-05:00That makes sense. I guess the image of the Black S...That makes sense. I guess the image of the Black Sea roaring in like the end of the world is just more appealing to our movie-driven minds :) Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04610329975697581047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093286514666765146.post-83604038865857788432015-01-12T08:42:32.690-05:002015-01-12T08:42:32.690-05:00Yes. That could be the basis of the cultural memor...Yes. That could be the basis of the cultural memories that produced these stories. From what I've read of that event, though, it was a more gradual event (most people could've simply fled from it on foot) and it is dated much, much earlier than the internal Biblical markers would indicate for Noah's flood.<br /><br />Early civilizations formed near bodies of fresh water like the Tigris, Euphrates, Mekong, Yangtze, Indus, etc. These often flooded at intervals and sometimes quite considerably in a very short period of time in ways that probably seemed to the inhabitants like the end of the world or the judgment of a deity. I think that alone is enough to account for the existence of early flood myths among a variety of cultures.The Apostatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07849387032571497899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093286514666765146.post-43069296608566395712015-01-11T18:01:34.815-05:002015-01-11T18:01:34.815-05:00A massive localized flood (like the Black Sea delu...A massive localized flood (like the Black Sea deluge hypothesis) could make sense as being the origin story for all the later flood myths. But yeah, that's about it. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04610329975697581047noreply@blogger.com