"The Old Testament Documents"

Paper Summary:

The Biblical scholar and theologian Walter Kaiser offers an alternative thesis to the 'documentary hypothesis' commonly held amongst secular Biblical scholars in his book, "The Old Testament Documents: Are they Reliable and Relevant?" The paper shows how Kaiser suggests not only that the Old Testament documents are relevant, but also the Old Testament stories are actual historical accounts of real events that occurred in Israel's past.

From the Paper:

"The Old Testament books may be relevant spiritually for the moral truths that they suggest in a metaphorical way. But that does not mean they are reliable as historical, eyewitness testimony and relevance in modern terms of historical data. Kaiser does include some supporting archeological evidence for his anti-documentary thesis, such as the possibility that Sodom and Gomorrah were actual, leveled cities - but this does not mean that the ancient Hebrews did not engage in mythmaking and putting a particular spin upon these enemy cities destruction from their own historical and religious perspective."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Kaiser. Walter. The Old Testament Documents: Are they reliable and relevant? New York: InterVarsity Press, 2001.

More papers on "The Old Testament Documents":

• Analytical Essay # 7765 : "The Prophetic Tradition"
• Book Review # 118870 : "Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament"
• Essay # 64773 : "Codes of Ethics"

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