“What is the documentary hypothesis?”……Answer: The documentary hypothesis is essentially an attempt to take the supernatural out of the Pentateuch and to deny its Mosaic authorship. The Red Sea crossing, the manna in the wilderness, the provision of water from a solid rock, etc., are relegated to the area of oral tradition from which it can be "proven" that the miraculous happenings were merely products of imaginative oral traditions and not events that actually happened. The documentary hypothesis, with its JEDP theory, denies that Moses wrote the Pentetuch and instead ascribes its authorship to four (or more) different authors / redactors spread out over several hundreds of years. The documentary hypothesis is liberal theology’s attempt to relegate the Penteteuch to a errant collection of oral traditions, thereby calling its veracity into question. ……Essentially, the stand of the documentary hypothesis proponents is as follows: Instead of placing the written Pentateuch around 1400 B.C. when Moses died, the time frame has shifted 1,000 years to around 400 B.C., the time when the documentary hypothesis says that the Pentateuch was finished. A thousand-year-old memory, even passed down from generation to generation as faithfully as possible, will change from the original events. Remember, this was the time of the wanderings in the wilderness by the Israelites as a result of their rebellion against God. A journey which should take no more than ten days to a month took forty years to complete because of the Israelites' rebellion. To finally record this journey some one thousand years after it happened is to invite speculation on the genuineness of the original journey. Liberal theologians have, down through the centuries, tried to weaken the Word of God. Conservative theologians, however, strive to preserve the events of history as they actually occurred.……The question is whether this liberal theological view has any basis in reality. The date for the writing of the Pentateuch is a case in point. Liberal theology dates the five books from 400 B.C. when they were written after the Jewish nation returned to the land of their fathers after their years in captivity. This means that Moses could not possibly have written the Pentateuch, for he died some 1,000 years before the books were supposed to have been written. Yet Jesus, in Mark 12:26, said, “Now about the dead rising-have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?” Therefore, Jesus says plainly that Moses wrote the account of the burning bush in Exodus 2:3-6. To put the date of the Pentateuch some 1,000 years after the death of Moses is to deny Jesus' words, for He specifically ties the authorship of Exodus to Moses.……If Moses actually wrote Exodus, as Jesus says, then the whole documentary hypothesis is disproven, for if there is proof that Moses actually wrote one of the books of the Pentateuch some 1,000 years before the date assigned by the documentary hypothesis, then there is strong evidence that Moses also wrote the other four books of the Pentateuch before his death. Luke, in Acts 3:22, comments on a passage in Deuteronomy 18:15 and credits Moses as being the author of that passage. Paul, in Romans 10:5, talks about the righteousness Moses describes in Leviticus 18:5. This passage actually starts at Leviticus 18:1 and continues to verse 5. So, Paul is testifying that Moses is the author of Leviticus. So far, we have Jesus showing that Moses was the author of Exodus, Luke (in Acts) showing that Moses wrote Deuteronomy, and Paul saying that Moses was the author of Leviticus.……Paul, in 2 Corinthians 13:1, establishes the test that proves beyond doubt the truth of a subject. He said, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (KJV). So according to the scriptural test for establishing the truth of any subject, if two or three witnesses declare something to be true, it is true. We have Jesus, Luke, and Paul all testifying that Moses was the author of at least three of the books in the Pentateuch and his authorship for the two remaining books, Genesis and Numbers, could be proven if we took the time to research the authorship of these books as we have done for the three we have proven so far. Therefore, it is with great certainty that we can say Moses actually wrote the Pentateuch and finished it around 1400 B.C., just before his death.……To say that the documentary hypothesis is correct in placing the date of the Pentateuch around 400 B.C., well after the death of Moses, is to call into question the testimonies of Jesus, Luke, and Paul, for all of them testified that Moses had written at least three of the books of the Pentateuch, if not all five. Jewish history and tradition also credits Moses as writing the Pentateuch, giving no support whatsoever to the documentary hypothesis. Remember, the documentary hypothesis is only a hypothesis; it has never been conclusively proven, no matter how many liberal theologians claim that it has been. Were it to have been conclusively proven to be correct, in spite of the witnesses that say otherwise, it would no longer be called an hypothesis, but would be referred to as a proven fact.……“What is the Restoration movement?”……Answer: The Restoration Movement, part of the broader movement called "restorationism," began in the early 19th Century when a conglomeration of members from different Christian groups and denominations decided they had gotten away from the basics of Christianity. Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, and others abandoned their formal denominations with hopes of establishing a church based solely on the Christianity taught in the New Testament. With their belief in Jesus as the only model and the Bible as the only sacred book, they endeavored to re-establish Christ’s church as it had been during Jesus’ time. Because the different organized denominations had constructed rules and practices that did not come explicitly from the Bible, those with new ideas felt the divisions must be dissolved. Their goal was for everyone to abandon their dividing religions and become united as one church under God’s rule alone.……Among the most influential leaders of this movement were Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone. Although the fundamental views remained, in 1906 this group split. The followers of Campbell and Stone divided into two sects, called the Church of Christ (Non-Instrumental) and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Over time many additional schisms have formed from these core groups as well. Currently there are three major and several minor groups who trace their roots back to the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement: the Christian Churches/Disciples of Christ, Churches of Christ, Independent Christian Churches, Churches of Christ in Australia, Associated Churches of Christ (New Zealand), United Reformed Church (UK), and others.……Among the key principles of the Restoration Movement are:……~Recognition of the New Testament pattern of the church. Overall, the people of this movement try to pattern their practices and rituals as closely as possible to those of the New Testament. Of particular importance to them is the weekly celebration of the Lord's Supper, although there is nothing in Scripture to indicate this was a weekly function. In fact, Acts 2:46 indicates it might have been a daily ritual: "And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart" (emphasis added). In addition, Acts 2:44-45 states of the New Testament church that they also "sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need." This is not a practice of the New Testament church that those in the Restoration Movement have felt led to adopt.……~Names, creeds, and ecclesiastical traditions divide believers from one another; therefore these things are renounced, doing away with creeds and human authority. While the desire for there to be nothing dividing believers is a noble one, there is no evidence that attending a Baptist or Presbyterian church divides its members from those of other churches any more than attending a Disciples of Christ church divides its members from those of other church within the Restoration Movement. The spirit of unity or disunity is a heart issue, not a matter of church affiliation. Although a key principle of the Restoration Movement is concern for Christian unity, the history of the movement is itself riddled with numerous splits, re-splits and schisms. ……~Names of human origin divide, therefore they name only the name of Christ. They decry the use of denominational names, claiming to be "Christians only," believing this approach to be the only true scriptural one. The adherents to the Restoration Movement are careful to have no other name but Christ in their church titles, believing this to be the true to the New Testament. They deny, for instance, that the name "Presbyterians" has any biblical validity, even though the name is derived from the Greek word for elder, presbytos. Thus, the name reflects its method of governance, completely in accordance with New Testament church structure. Using the name of Christ in a church title may or may not be an indication of a church's doctrinal stand. As with any group or organization claiming to represent Christ and His church, what they believe, and how it lines up with the Bible, is of paramount importance.……When examining the Restoration Movement, of particular concern is their doctrine of salvation. According to a Christian Restoration Association publication, "What You Must Do to Become a Christian" involves four things: You must believe, repent of sin, confess Christ, and be baptized for the remission of sins. One must admit his or her sinfulness and need for forgiveness, then repent and accept Jesus as Lord of his or her life. One must then be baptized by full body immersion for the remission of sins. At this point, it is believed that one begins a new life, and is reborn. This directly contradicts the biblical doctrine of salvation by grace through faith alone, without the added condition of works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Baptism is not a requirement for salvation, but is rather evidence of it. The new believer is baptized in obedience to God's command to do so, not as a prerequisite for salvation.……Equally disturbing is the Restoration Movement belief that in order to remain a Christian, one must do four things, again according to the Christian Reformation Association: Pray, study the Bible, worship and remain faithful. If these are requirements to maintain salvation, it stands to reason according to this line of thinking, that anyone who does not continue in these four disciplines is in danger of losing his/her salvation. The Bible, however, is clear that the true believer cannot lose his/her salvation because we are saved by God (Romans 8:30), sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14),and kept by God until the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30). Just as once we are born, we cannot be made unborn, we have been made new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), and we cannot be made old again by any means.……On the positive side, the Restoration Movement has maintained belief in the deity of Christ, unlike the rest of those in the restorationist movement. Great care must be taken, however, to avoid the exclusivist mindset which says "we alone have the right way." Such thinking leads to pride, the ultimate cause of disunity in the church, the very thing those in the Movement seek to rectify.……