ksen

They didn't because they didn't teach that he wrote about his own death.

They taught that Joshua wrote that part.

gregor

That's convenient. Must have been the change in hand-writing styles that tipped 'em off.

ksen

Nah, I think what did it is that Moses liked using a blue Bic pen but Joshua liked using a green Sharpie.

Johnny Skeptic

The purpose of textual criticism is not to reasonably prove that every Bible story was in the originals. Some of the scholars at this forum can explain that to you better than I can.

You believe that the originals were mostly the same as today's copies. Why is that?

Clivedurdle

I am going to have a stab at this!

A bloke in the sixteenth century who behaved as many others then,

http://reformed-theology.org/html/issue02/c_vs_s.htm

put forward an interpretation of certain ancient writings to such an extent that he thought it reasonable that people who did not agree with his interpretation deserved to die. He was a bit soft though, he recommended a quick death instead of the normal torture burning etc. But he believed in predestination, so actually he thought the bloke was going to be tortured for eternity and what right have humans to do god's work?

And people five centuries later think these ideas have some value.

Harry Bosch

Why is it so important to biblical literalists that Moses wrote genesis? Does it specifically say that in the bible?

Doug Shaver

There is a real reason and an ostensible reason.

The real reason is that the patristic writers believed in Moses' authorship of the entire Pentateuch (with a likely exception for Joshua putting the coda on Deuteronomy to report Moses' death). Since so much inerrantist dogma depends on an assumption that the church fathers couldn't have been wrong about anything that important, Moses' authorship of Genesis must be defended at all costs.

The ostensible reason is that certain statements attributed to Jesus can be construed as implying that he believed Moses wrote the Pentateuch. In that case, if you're an inerrantist, then denying Moses' authorship is obviously tantamount to disagreeing with Jesus.

Clouseau

That's only Roman Catholic inerrantists, and they very rarely bother about defending inerrancy unless there is a Catholic doctrine at stake, and there isn't one, in this case.

Only for those who construe!

Clouseau

I think you mean inerrantists rather than literalists. No, it doesn't say that in the Bible.

Chris Weimer

Do you still believe their position?