From: db7n+@andrew.cmu.edu (D. Andrew Byler)
Subject: Re: Is OT Valid????
Organization: Freshman, Civil Engineering, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Lines: 31

Peir-Yuan Yeh asks:

>I wonder if the OT is not exactly like Jewish history.  Are they the
same >or part of them are the same?  How about Torah? Are the first five
books >of OT as the same as Torah?????

Yes, yes, and yes.  Jewish history as recorded in the Old Testament and
as shown by archaeology are the same.  Kings, revivals, Temples, and all.

The Torah, as far as I know, is the five books of Moses.  Then come the
Prophets (all the Prophets, plus Joshua, Judges, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings)
and the Writings (Psalms, Proverbs, Lamentations, Ruth, Esther, Ezra,
Nehemiah, Ecclesiates, Song of Songs, 1&2 Chronicles, Job).

And the veracity of Isaiah, which you quoted to your Moslem friend is
quite well known.  A complete manuscript exists that dates back to past
200 BC, and is kept in a Museum in Israel.  It was found among the Dead
Sea Scrolls, which greatly enhanced our knowledge of the veracity of the
Old Testament, as they date back to around the time of Christ, whereas
before, the oldest complete manuscript in Hebrew was from around 900 AD.

Your Moslem friend is sorely mistaken, but understandably so.  If Jesus
was crucified, and atoned for our sins, he must have been God, for only
the death of God could atone for the sins of all humanity.  And as
Isaiah predicts, the messiah will be called "the mighty God."  And if he
was God, then he must have rose, for as St. Paul wrote, it was not
possible that death could hold him.  And if Jesus rose from the dead,
your Moslem friend would have little reason to be a Moslem.  Which is
why he denies the authenticity of the Old Testament.

Andy Byler