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The Old Testament Analysis

Decent Essays

There were at least 3 views of how the Old Testament was composed which include the critical view, the compositional view, and the common view. Each view was somewhat similar and different in the aspects that gave it it's own characteristics. The main point of this discussion is to focus on the similarities and differences of each view which are but not limited to how the bible was created, the process, and design.

Julius Wellhausen was the author of the critical view. Not many scholars today believe in this view. However, his view was still important today because it still had the modern critical way of looking at the Bible. The critical view has one specific quote that defines it, "The Pentateuch is no more a product of a single author than the Grand Canyon is a product of a single landscaper." The bible has multiple ideas that came together to form one piece of work, which is similar to the compositional and common view. On the other hand, there is one major difference between the critical view and the others, it focuses on what was already present at the time. There is no focus on the design of the Bible, unlike the compositional view, but rather the mere back tracking figuring out how it was created. One good example of this found in the reading was of the Grand Canyon. …show more content…

This view does not care about how the Bible came about or the design but instead focuses on the fact that it is entirely written in their own words. As mentioned in earlier paragraphs, the common view takes into consideration the work of many individuals. This view is like a collage, many pictures and other items are brought together to make one piece of work. The common view does not see the Bible as many different pieces of work but rather one whole piece of work. The book uses this example, "The common view sees the biblical books more like a bedspread- sewn as one piece.

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