Jewish scholars are divided over the issue of whether Moses was a real person.
Rabbi Norman J. Cohen believes that Moses was a real person and that he “changed the course of human history all by himself.”
Rabbi S. David Sperling from the Reform Judaism Seminary in New York City is not certain that Moses even existed or, if he did, whether the Bible provides much reliable information about him.
Read the controversy by clicking here.
Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary
Tags: Moses
11 comments:
If we are convinced by 'lack of evidence' simply by what we observe, maybe 1) We haven't looked hard enough; 2) Are looking in the wrong places; or 3) Are looking for the wrong things. ...I am refering to Rabbi Sperling's comments questioning if Moses even existed.
To me, the average Joe, if you simply read the story about Moses in Exodus, you find that this is one guy who really blew it alot. Now who would write a book about himself that was so self-incriminating? Very, very few people. Unless they truly had the humility Moses had as a leader.
Moses tells us up front about his murder of an Egyptian, outcast from royalty, shepherding for 40 years, difficulty in marriage, hesitation in 'stepping up' when called to leadership, having to appoint a sidekick--his brother, outbursts of anger, failure to keep control of the people, having to go to his father-in-law for advice, rejected by God from going into the promised land, and on and on.
To me, these are strong evidences of Moses' life at one period of time in the past and the Bible's authenticity. Real people, with real problems... wrestling with and relating to a loving and just God.
If a bunch of 'religious' people would have written this book (the Bible) we have definitely cleaned it up and made ourselves look ALOT better. Wouldn't have we?
Mike,
Some things to think about:
Perhaps 'religious' people would have made themselves look better, but those who honor their god as the most high who is merciful and just (and their sole benefactor) would certainly debase themselves before suggesting that God has failed his people in anyway. Also, when the king has your life in his hands, you certainly wouldn't try to make yourself look good when doing so would dishonor the king.
If you were to see a non-biblical ancient text which portrayed a human in a similar manner as Moses, would you readily accept it as truth?
This post, the article and your comment has inspired me to write about the topic of Bible accuracy and faith on my blog. If you are interested, you can read it here:
http://journalofheresies.blogspot.com/2007/01/bible-truth-lies-and-faith.html
fencekicker
First of all, there are several books that have been plagerized from the more ancient " Egyptian Book of The Dead ", There are also, at least two contradictions in the Bible Genesis 22:14 & Exodus 6:2&3. In addition, there are several books the Bible mentions that are not contained in the Bible, why aren't they there and who decided we should see or read them? See Numbers 21:14, Joshua 10:13, 2nd Samuel 1:17&18, 1st Chronicles 29:29, 2nd Chronicles 9:29 2nd Chronicles 12:15 and 2nd Chronicles 20:34. The Bible is not the truth but it has truths in it. Even its history is skewed. They can't find anything to substantiate the exitence of most of the so-called famous perosanges in the Bible. These are the facts. If you can, please present your facts, and not your beliefs to refute what I'm saying.
Dear Olatunji,
It is clear from your comment that you do not understand how the Bible was formed. If you study a little of the history of the Ancient Near East and if you look at the archaeological record you will discover that there are several synchronisms between secular history and biblical history.
You have also to understand that the purpose of the Bible is not to provide a historical account of events. The purpose of the Bible is to reveal what God has done in Christ.
Thank you for visiting my blog.
Claude Mariottini
Dear Dr. Claude,
I think that the biblical history is Bull Sh.. The people are confused with this nonsense because IT'S WRITTEN in the way you can not interpret it right. There are or contradictions or wrong translations.
And every one who clams WITH facts that biblical history and Bible stories are MITH, to those persons would be told... "you do not understand ... "
Right!
Dear Anonymous,
Your disparaging remarks about the Bible does not take away the fact that the Bible has made an impact in our society because of its teaching. When properly understood and interpreted the Bible has much to teach our society.
Thank you for visiting my blog.
Claude Mariottini
Dr. Mariottini,
I agree the bible has much to teach humanity. However, proper understanding and interpretation of the bible are very subjective concepts. Many people think they understand the bible, when, in fact, they only parrot non-sense that others have said.
Dear Anonymous,
This repeating of non-sense of what other people have said is what I call "popular theology." Many people's knowledge of the Bible is based on "popular theology."
Thank you for visiting my blog.
Claude Mariottini
@ Mr. Mariottini
" ...if you look at the archaeological record you will discover that there are several synchronisms between secular history and biblical history."
A few synchronicities do not verify the veracity of the bible on the whole.
"...the purpose of the Bible is not to provide a historical account of events. The purpose of the Bible is to reveal what God has done in Christ."
And if we critically look at the revelation of Jesus through the Synoptic Gospels, we clearly see the lack of historicity, not to mention consistency.
Dear Atheist,
Since you do not believe in anything that has to do with God and religion, why do you worry so much whether the Bible is true or not?
Claude Mariottini
1) "Your disparaging remarks about the Bible does not take away the fact that the Bible has made an impact in our society because of its teaching"
2) "Since you do not believe in anything that has to do with God and religion, why do you worry so much whether the Bible is true or not?"
3) "The purpose of the Bible is to reveal what God has done in Christ."
Hello, Dr. Claude Mariottini (Dr.),
A few questions and a few comments.
When attempting to understand the reasoning of one whose position is (seemingly) dogmatic I often take their statements in context and apply them to known parallels. My initial thought after reading the first statement was, "The KKK, Hamas, Al Capone, and every Gangster crook and drug king pin could have that same sentiment equally spoken about their actions." One could honestly claim any of the aforementioned to have made an impact on society because of their influence. I'll even go one step further than you and add the word "positive" to those impacts. Each handed out food, school supplies, clothing, jobs, medical services, holiday gifts, and a sense of belonging to their constituent societies. What exactly does that have to do with the wrongness of their actions? The murderous, pedophile, kidnapping, and genocidal nature of a Dictator should not take away from the fact that he passes out super sized Snickers bars (instead of those small, "fun" sized ones), for Halloween, right? Oh, and remember, He loves you!
Next, because a person does not share your beliefs, you would question their motivation for seeking the truth. Notice, you aren't concerned with whether or not they have the truth, that would be a different discussion. However, instead of hearing the argument for what it was, your bias dismisses any consideration for those who do not share your opinion. You launch ad hominem to attempt to avoid the actual validity of those arguments which you were unable to challenge. You sought to discredit their points of view by discrediting them, however the status of one who questions holds no bearing on the truth of one's claim.
Even while you hold this behavior as a sure way of dealing with those in the minority, you remain oblivious to the desperate irony of the answer you gave. An intellectually honest individual who cannot see the need to verify the conflicting fact claims of a specific doctrine which exists in competition with over 35,000 equally feasible conflicting doctrines is using a different definitions of "intellectual", and "honest".
Lastly, the final statement. The book tells what it is for. It states in black and white, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-1). "Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it." (Deuteronomy 12:32). Yet, man removed entire books of teaching, bundling those which they saw/deemed fit to keep into a single, King authorized, "Word of God". How are we to know all that was taught if some of the teachings were removed?
I was looking for an authoritative word on the possible truth behind a Biblical account of the man called Moses, but after reading through and seeing the methods of reasoning you employ it is beyond obvious that you are not qualified to speak on the subject.
If I am wrong or in error with my judgement of you, please do not hesitate to attempt to correct my wrong view. I seek to have every opinion I hold reflect a rational logic based on proof, evidence, and demonstrable fact. I do not run from honest reproof, nor from the direction facts and evidence lead.
Fair tidings.
M. A. Mowatt Jr.
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