Comment:

I notice that you do not include deutero-Isaiah in the
list of books that were completed after the Persian conquest. In this,
you differ from modern scholars of the Old Testament and I would be
interested to know your reasons for so doing. I am currently in the
process of reading through the old Testament from Genesis onwards. I
have now got as far as Deuteronomy. It is interesting to note that so far
there is no hint of any beliefs regarding the afterlife other than a
belief in Sheol. This is totally at variance with the belief systems in
Judaism which one encounters in the Scriptures produced after the Persian
conquest. It is also maintained by many scholars that there was a final
redaction of earlier Scriptures as a result of the Exile which
caused those Scriptures to be brought into line with the later beliefs.

I do not believe that it is imperative on me to prove that
cross-pollination took place since it is common to all religions that they
are syncretist. You may say that that does not apply to Christianity or
Judaism but you would then be saying that these are the only religions in
the whole world which have never functioned in this manner. As a scholar
this is a very difficult position to maintain since it runs counter to the
position of all other scholars in this field. I know you will say that
Judaism and and Christianity are revealed religions and therefore they can
be exempted from the the generality of other religions. It is however a
matter of record that there are many signs within Judaism and and
Christianity of borrowings from other cultures and religions and these are
not difficult to find. It

takes a very determined person to go against this stream and maintain
that the facts are otherwise.

Response:

I have looked at the evidence that “deuteron-Isaiah” was written after the
Persian conquest. I do not agree that the argument is strong. I believe
the principal reason some scholars reach this conclusion is that they are
predisposed to assume that the Bible cannot possibly be inspired by God.
It is my opinion, having looked at the evidence, that the language
evidence support the entire book of Isaiah having been written pre-exile.
I am prepared to accept, at least on principle, that parts may not have
been written by the historical prophet Isaiah, but the book is
pre-exilic. There is a lot of fame and fortune to be made on “proving”
that the Bible is inaccurate, not inspired, etc. There is little money or
fame to be had from accepting the obvious truth, which is that it is the
inspired word of God. Many scholars have allowed their wish for fame and
fortune, as well as their lack of willingness to repent of their sins, to
influence their interpretation of the evidence.

I agree that the doctrine of heaven and hell are part of “progressive
revelation.” There are hundreds of hints with regard to heaven and hell
and judgment and so forth scattered throughout the Old Testament. See my
book on Daniel for material on that. Yet, the revelation is at least to
some extent progressive. It is not until we come to Daniel that we have
the clearest picture of judgment day, heaven and hell. I do not agree at
all with this final redaction to read the doctrine back into earlier
passages. I have never seen a shred of credible evidence supporting this
claim. This is the case of a group of people creating a scenario and
reading their pre-conceived idea into the text. In other words, what they
do is that when they find a passage from earlier which obviously hints at
the doctrine, they simply decree that this is post-Persian. This is a
blatant case of circular reasoning. You would do well to have a healthy
skepticism toward such “scholarship.”

As for the statement below:

I do not believe that it is imperative on me to prove that
cross-pollination took place since it is common to all religions that they
are syncretist. You may say that that does not apply to Christianity or
Judaism but you would then be saying that these are the only religions in
the whole world which have never functioned in this manner. As a scholar
this is a very difficult position to maintain since it runs counter to the
position of all other scholars in this field. I know you will say that
Judaism and and Christianity are revealed religions and therefore they can
be exempted from the the generality of other religions.

You put it wonderfully. Thank you for stating my case for me. Your
circular reasoning (and that of scholars) speaks for itself. I need
evidence, and every time you have showed me this “evidence” it has been
weak or non-existent. Yes, it is true that Christianity and Judaism are
the only religions in the world which have functioned this way. That is
the whole point. This may be a “difficult position to maintain” in the
arrogant world of scholars, but that is because of the arrogant, prideful
attitude of the scholars who choose, for reasons they will have to explain
to God, to ignore the dead-obvious fact that the Bible is inspired by
God. The biblical passage which comes to mind for me is 1 Cor 1:20.
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of
this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

John Oakes, PhD