The Bible Says That!? - Who Wrote The Torah? Pt. 10

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Last week, we talked about some of the counter arguments that work against this Source Documentary Hypothesis. Again, this theory isn’t perfect, but it does provide a strong argument on how to make sense of all of the peculiar characteristics, patterns, themes, contradictions, etc. that we find in the Torah. Today, we’re going to bring everything together and have an honest conversation about how this hypothesis can help strengthen our faith, how we can reconcile some other challenges we may face, and how this perspective can help us understand the Word of God.

Given everything we’ve talked about, does this theory take anything away from our faith? Explain.

Does this theory make it easier or harder to explain and understand some of the contradictory passages in our Bibles? Why or why not?

How does this theory in any sense take away from the authority Scripture has? Does it take away the reliability or God-breathed nature of our Bibles? Why or why not?

How do you think this theory actually strengthens the relationship between God, His Word, and Humanity?

How does this theory help include humanity in the Bible writing process? Does humanity play a greater or a lesser role in the writing of the Bible?

How do you think this theory sits within conversations about infallibility, inerrancy, etc.?

Has anything I’ve said indicated to you that we shouldn’t believe the word of God to be God-breathed?

What challenges does this theory still face? What do opposing positions look like?

What are some of the strengths of this theory that have helped to answer some of the questions you may have had about the Torah/Bible?

For the same reason’s Jesus didn’t focus on making sure that everyone knew this theory, why is it important that we don’t go out and beat people over the head with this information–especially new Christians?

If this theory has some weight, how does that sit with you?

How can we use this theory to strengthen our faith?

Given what you’ve believed previously–whatever your views may be–how does this fit with/push against/strain/reassure your perspectives now?

What are your biggest concerns? What other questions do you have and how can I help you understand?

Take away

This theory is simply a tool that we use to better understand God’s word. We want to be honest with the text and do our best to understand the evidence that God has given to us. Faith is good, but blind faith can be damaging to our witness. We need to understand–to the best of our ability–how and why God’s Word came to be what we see today.

This theory does exactly that. Now it is not without its flaws, as we’ve discussed previously. But it does take an honest examination of God’s word and help us understand it and apply it in ways that are meaningful and helpful for the faith.