Am currently reading this book. Would like to share some excerpts from same.
Take note Mr. Gladden is objective in his writing.
See Wikipedia for Gladden bio. Gotta go start dinner, excerpts to follow SOON.
WHO WROTE THE BIBLE, A book for the People, Washinton Gladden, Pt. 2
by Quentin 6 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Quentin
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Quentin
CHAPTER 2
What Did Moses Write?
"We are now to study the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch...Pentateuch is not in the Bible; it is a Greek word signifying...the Five -fold Work..."
"The Jews in the time of our Lord always considered these five books as one connected work...[ called ] "Torah," or The Law, "The Law of Moses," sometimes "The Five-fifths of the Law."...originally one book...not easy to determine at what time its division into five parts took place"
"Later criticism is also inclined to add ...the Book of Joshua...to say that the first six books...were put in their present form by the same hand...it will be more convenient to begin with the traditional division..."
Now Mr. Gladden is prepared to begin his duologue of "Who Wrote The Bible" after establishing that, Gladden concludes with our Bible Cannon. None of what Gladden writes is boring, it is objective and educational, to the point even an atheist will find it of interest.
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Mat
Have you compaired it to Who Wrote The Bible by Richard Elliott Friedman? I think they will probably say the same thing, except Frideman reckons the P script was earlier, and explains his reasons which seem plausible.
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Quentin
I'm not good at multi-tasking Mat. I will take a look and review your suggested reading, should be interesting.... In the meantime will stick with Gladden's book....
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Quentin
This topic has run its course, I encourage every one interested in the Bible to obtain Mr. Gladden's book. You will find it objective, straight to the point, he pulls no punches. Mat has also recommended a book with almost the same title. It too should be of interest. Gladden's book can be downloaded in PDF form from a number of sites.
Want to study and learn about the Bible? READ AND STUDY EVERYTHING YOU CAN GET YOUR HANDS ON, history, philosophy, history of the Bible Canon, how the Bible was composed in written form, history of Bible translations, church history. Best place to start, as Terry mentioned, on another thread, is who wrote the Bible. Read, read, read the most important thing when doing so is read both pro and con. Also, study evolution, you will be surprised.
I leave you with a few more quotes from Washington Gladdens "WHO WROTE THE BIBLE?, A Book for the People"
"But these English titles[ first five books ]...partly translated ...partly transferred to English from older Latin and Greek titles , tell us nothing trustworthy about the authorship of the books. There is good reason...for believing that a large part of this literature was written in the time of Moses...under the eye of Moses, if not by his hand." ( Pg 15-16 )
"But this reference does by no means warrant the sweeping conclusion that the five books of the law were all and entire from the pen of the lawgiver. Our Lord nowhere says that the ...books...were all written by Moses." ( Pg 16 )
Once again I encourage ALL of you to study, study, study.... educate YOURSELF,if you go to college take Philosophy, Comparative Religion, Bible critic courses as electives. You can BET Seminary graduates know the truth, break the bonds of religious entrapment. Do that, and you will not become ensnared in a cult. Don't WASTE your life, as many of us did believing MAN MADE lies.
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Mat
Sure, I'll have to read this one . I've already downloaded it, but am too busy to concentrate on this book quite yet.
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Quentin
Appreciate your comments Mat. I will obtain a copy of the book you recommend. A comparison of the two, 19th century, 20th century should be interesting.