Code of Hammurabi: Briefly
Moses and the Code of Hammurabi
Bruce Gore
April 15 2015
Quote:
'The most enlightened example of civil legislation prior to Moses comes from the Babylonian ruler Hammurabi, who pre-dates Moses by at least 200 years. In this discussion, a comparison and contrast between the two great law-givers is provided, with a focus on the extent to which the law given through Moses shows a clearly superior approach to jurisprudence. For more free resources, please visit www.brucegore.com.'
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In his brief lecture, Professor Bruce Gore with reasonable objectivity acknowledges the critiques of higher criticism that aspects at least, of the Mosaic Law, are borrowed from earlier ancient sources. Gore briefly admits a few of the similarities and also briefly explains a few crucial differences that counter claims from higher criticism and modern critiques that the Mosaic Law is 'other' ancient mythology. In other words, with no divine source.
Not surprisingly for me, based on Canadian Christian, bible school and seminary training, and British secular education, ancient morality, ethics and law is documented in non-biblical, religious and non-religious contexts. From non-biblical sources, the morality, practical ethics and law would be presented from significantly different worldview perspectives. As I have noted in another recent post, rather than making the Hebrew Bible a 'rip-off' of older versions of world events, and therefore just different mythology, the Hebrew Bible versions claim and present as legitimate religious history with God that revealed self in several texts through scribes and prophets.
Within Christian tradition, this religious history culminates in New Testament era manuscripts and the New Testament books of the modern Bible.
As my background is British, MPhil/PhD work with both theology (biblical) and philosophy of religion (non-biblical) there are many parallels in regards to reasonable truths for God, humanity and reality. There are also significant differences and the revelatory nature of biblical theology and the bible on philosophical theology, as God communicates to humanity in reason, adds the component of God 'speaking for self' through scribes, prophets and apostles. This is different to philosophy of religion that on points can equally be God's truth, but relies on philosophy both religious and secular, with human reason, apart from revelation, in regards to God, humanity and reality.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWXbt667Y6U&t=2s
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