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    Bible critics – Ask the Rabbi

    Q. What is your approach to Bible critics?

    A. Biblical scholarship is often in the hands of non-believers who tend to see the Bible as a piece of ancient literature divorced from any thought of Revelation. They suggest that one can study it through literary and linguistic technicalities that make belief almost irrelevant.

    The German Jewish philosopher Franz Rosenzweig argued that the grammar and history of the text are not the real issue. He said that the Torah is Divine though recorded by fallible human beings.

    Orthodox Jews appreciate Rosenzweig’s point of view but cannot entirely support it. They cannot brush aside the question of the history of the Bible. They are not prepared to reject the traditional view that the text came from God, and there are limitations to human wisdom.

    When we see difficulties in the text we have to do three things – keep searching, keep believing and keep honouring the Biblical message.

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