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Course 19 · Lesson 3.2

What critics claim about authorship, sources and development

11 minute read

Lessons in this course

Course 19 outline

Module 1: The Secular Age: Humanism and Naturalism

  1. What secular, secularism and secularization mean
  2. Secular humanism: its claims and its moral vision
  3. Philosophical naturalism and its alternatives
  4. Christian responses to naturalism and humanism

Module 2: Science, Evolution and Faith

  1. Models of science and religion: conflict, independence, dialogue, integration
  2. What the theory of evolution claims and what it does not
  3. Christian positions on creation and evolution
  4. The history of the conflict story and its critics

Module 3: Criticism of the Bible

  1. The rise of historical and literary criticism
  2. What critics claim about authorship, sources and development
  3. Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant responses to criticism

Module 4: Truth, Relativism and Postmodernism

  1. What postmodernism is, and why the term is hard to define
  2. Truth, language and interpretation
  3. Moral relativism: descriptive, cultural and philosophical forms
  4. Christian responses to relativism and postmodern thought

Module 5: The Masters of Suspicion

  1. Marx on religion, ideology and economic life
  2. Nietzsche on Christianity, morality and the death of God
  3. Freud on religion as illusion
  4. The genetic fallacy, and when explaining the origin of a belief matters

Module 6: Power, Corruption and Morality

  1. Church, state and political power in history
  2. Institutional failure and abuse
  3. Critiques of Christian morality and how Christians reply
  4. Judging a faith by its failures: what follows and what does not

Module 7: Mind, Meaning and Nihilism

  1. Consciousness and the limits of materialism
  2. Meaning and purpose in secular and Christian thought
  3. Nihilism, despair and Christian hope

Module 8: Writing a Response

  1. Stating a challenge in its strongest form
  2. Building a structured response
  3. Conceding what is true in the critic’s case

All courses

Program / Course 19: Modern Challenges / Lesson 3.2

What you will learn

  • State the main claims of critical scholars about the Pentateuch, Isaiah, the Gospels and the letters of Paul.
  • Distinguish claims with wide agreement from claims that are debated.
  • Explain the arguments critics give and the arguments of their opponents.
  • Note which claims affect doctrine and which do not.

The big idea

Critical scholars have proposed that several biblical books were written by more than one hand or assembled over time: the Pentateuch from sources, Isaiah in stages, the Synoptic Gospels from a common source, and some letters of Paul by later authors. Scholars agree on some of these claims and disagree sharply about others. A student should learn what each claim is, how strong its evidence is, and what difference it makes. Some claims touch core doctrine only lightly, and others bear on how Scripture is understood.

Key terms

Documentary hypothesis
The theory that the Pentateuch was formed from four main sources, called J, E, D and P, combined over time. Its classic form is associated with Julius Wellhausen.
Synoptic Gospels
Matthew, Mark and Luke, which share much material and can be set side by side to see the likeness.
Synoptic problem
The question of how the three Gospels are related, since they agree in wording in many places.
Q
From the German Quelle, source. A hypothetical collection of sayings of Jesus said to be used by Matthew and Luke.
Pseudepigraphy
The writing of a work under the name of an earlier authority. Scholars dispute whether some New Testament letters are of this kind.
Deutero-Isaiah
The name given to the section of Isaiah from chapter 40, which many scholars date to the sixth century before Christ.
Undisputed letters
Letters of Paul, such as Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians and Galatians, which almost all scholars accept as his.

Background

Critical theories are usually proposed because of features in the text itself. Readers have long seen that the Pentateuch contains two accounts of creation (Genesis 1 and 2), repeated stories, changes in the names used for God and shifts in style. Jewish and Christian commentators noted these for centuries and suggested solutions. The documentary hypothesis tried to explain them as the result of combining separate sources.

The result is a body of proposals that vary in strength. Some, such as the existence of Mark as an early Gospel used by others, are held by a majority of scholars. Others, such as the exact dates and boundaries of the Pentateuchal sources, have been revised or challenged heavily in the last fifty years, and today there is no single agreed theory. A beginner should not take any statement of the form scholars say as settled unless the evidence is clear.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: The Pentateuch

Tradition, Jewish and Christian, ascribed the first five books to Moses, and Jesus and the apostles sometimes speak of the law of Moses. Critics have noted features such as the account of Moses’ death in Deuteronomy 34 and duplicate stories. They proposed that the books came from sources, J (which uses the name Yahweh), E (Elohim), D (Deuteronomy) and P (priestly material), put together after the exile. Many scholars still think there are multiple sources, though few hold the classic Wellhausen scheme unchanged.

Defenders of Mosaic authorship reply that Moses could have used earlier material and that later editors updated the text. Some Jewish and Christian scholars argue for the unity of the books by literary study. The question affects how the early history of Israel is understood, but Christian doctrine has not hung on the exact process of composition.

Step 2: Isaiah and other prophets

Many scholars hold that Isaiah 1 to 39 comes from the eighth century prophet and that chapters 40 to 55 speak to exiles in Babylon in the sixth century, naming Cyrus in 44:28 and 45:1. Their argument is that a prophet usually addresses his own time. Others reply that a prophet can foretell the future by God’s gift, and note that the Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah shows the book as a single scroll by the second century before Christ.

The case of Daniel is similar. Many scholars date it to the second century before Christ, because of its detailed knowledge of events up to Antiochus IV. Conservatives date it to the sixth century. The dispute concerns whether a prophetic book may contain detailed prediction.

Step 3: The Gospels

The most common solution to the synoptic problem is the two-source theory: Mark was written first and Matthew and Luke used it, along with Q. Some scholars, such as Mark Goodacre, accept Markan priority but reject Q, arguing that Luke used Matthew. A minority hold that Matthew was first, as the church fathers said. The early church tradition names Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as authors. Critical scholars often consider the Gospels to be anonymous works that were named later, though the headings are very early.

Critics also argue that the Gospels reflect the concerns of the communities that produced them. Defenders, such as Bauckham, argue that they preserve eyewitness testimony and that the oral tradition was controlled and not freely invented. Whether the Gospels give a reliable portrait of Jesus is the main dispute, and the evidence is used by serious scholars on both sides.

Step 4: The letters of Paul and other books

Most scholars accept seven letters as Paul’s: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians and Philemon. Many doubt that he wrote Ephesians and Colossians, and a majority doubt that he wrote 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, called the Pastoral Epistles. They point to differences in vocabulary, style and church order. Conservatives reply that style changes with subject and with a secretary’s help, and that the letters claim his name.

The matter is complicated by the ancient practice of writing in the name of a master. Some Christians hold that pseudonymous letters would be dishonest and so cannot be in the canon. Others note that some ancient schools wrote in this way without intent to deceive. What counts for doctrine is that the church received these letters as apostolic.

  1. What feature in the text led scholars to propose this theory?
  2. What other explanation of the same feature has been offered?
  3. Is this claim held by most scholars, or by a few?
  4. Does the claim depend on assuming that prophecy cannot predict?
  5. What would change in the doctrine of Scripture if the claim were true?
  6. How did early Christians describe the authorship of this book?

Examples

The two creation accounts

A reader sees that Genesis 1 gives an ordered account with God creating by word, and Genesis 2 gives a more intimate account with God forming man from dust. A critic says they come from different sources. A traditional reader says they are two complementary views by one author, the second zooming in on the sixth day. Both positions begin from the same observation. (A constructed example.)

Reading Isaiah 40

A pastor teaches that the comfort in Isaiah 40 spoke first to exiles in Babylon, and that Christians hear it again at the coming of Christ. He does not need to settle whether one prophet or a school of disciples wrote it. His point is the message. (A constructed example.)

Different perspectives

Catholic

The Catholic Church holds that God is the author of Scripture and that the human authors wrote as true authors (Dei Verbum). The early twentieth century decrees of the Biblical Commission on Mosaic authorship, which were strict, have been set aside in practice, and Catholic scholars now use source and form criticism widely. The Church requires that interpretation respect the unity of Scripture and the tradition.

Orthodox

Orthodox tradition receives the books as the church’s Scripture, with the traditional authorship in the liturgy and the Fathers. Orthodox biblical scholars, such as those trained in Western universities, engage critical questions with care. Many hold that the church’s reception of a book matters more than the exact date and hand of its writing.

Protestant

Conservative Protestants, such as many in the Reformed and Baptist traditions, often defend traditional authorship, and the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy of 1978 teaches that Scripture is without error in all it affirms. Others, including many evangelical scholars, accept some multiple authorship, for example of Isaiah, while affirming inspiration. Liberal Protestants accept most critical conclusions.

Jewish and scholarly views

Orthodox Jews hold that the Torah was given to Moses. Many Jewish scholars in the academy accept source criticism for study while holding the Torah as sacred. Secular scholars generally accept multiple sources in the Pentateuch, and they argue in detail about the sources, with some, such as John Van Seters, proposing later dates for the whole.

Why it matters

A student should not meet these claims for the first time from an opponent of the faith. Knowing what is held by most scholars and what is argued by few allows calm discussion. It also helps to see which questions touch the faith at its center, for example the resurrection, and which touch only the history of the writing.

Common misunderstandings

Misunderstanding: All critical scholars reject the traditional authors.

Correction: They disagree. Some defend traditional authorship for some books, and many accept it for the undisputed letters of Paul.

Misunderstanding: The documentary hypothesis is a proven fact.

Correction: It is a theory with many versions, and its classic form has been challenged. The existence of sources behind some of the text is widely accepted, but the details are debated.

Misunderstanding: If a book was written later than tradition says, it is false.

Correction: Date and authorship do not decide truth. They matter for the question of eyewitness reliability, and each case should be argued on its evidence.

Misunderstanding: Q is a lost Gospel that has been found.

Correction: Q is a hypothesis, and no copy has ever been found. Some respected scholars reject it.

Knowledge check

What is the documentary hypothesis?

It is the theory that the first five books of the Bible were formed from several sources, traditionally called J, E, D and P, combined over time. Julius Wellhausen gave it its classic form in the nineteenth century. Scholars now hold many versions, and some reject it, so it cannot be treated as settled in detail.

What is the synoptic problem and the most common solution?

The synoptic problem is how Matthew, Mark and Luke can agree so closely in material and wording. The most common solution, the two-source theory, holds that Mark was written first and that Matthew and Luke each used Mark and a source of sayings called Q. Others reject Q or hold a different order.

Which of Paul’s letters are most widely accepted as his?

Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians and Philemon are accepted by nearly all scholars. Ephesians and Colossians are debated, and a majority of critical scholars doubt that Paul wrote the Pastoral Epistles. Conservative scholars defend Pauline authorship of them all, citing a secretary and changes of subject.

Why do dates and authorship matter, and where do they not?

They matter for judging whether a book rests on eyewitness testimony and for understanding its setting. They matter less for doctrine that is taught throughout Scripture. A book’s place in the canon rests on its reception in the church, and the church has received it whatever its exact origin.

Think it through

  1. Which claim in this lesson surprises or troubles you, and why?
  2. How would you tell the difference between a scholarly consensus and one scholar’s theory?
  3. Why might it matter for faith that Luke used sources?
  4. What could you say to a friend who says the Bible was written by many unknown hands?

Independent assignment

Reading a parallel passage

In your notebook, read the story of the stilling of the storm in Mark 4, Matthew 8 and Luke 8. List the likenesses and differences in a table. Write 300 to 500 words on what these suggest about how the Gospels were composed, and on what they do not prove. Do not send it.

Further study