Do any Jews believe that the Torah is the literal word of God? Or does every scholar admit that they are later versions, knowing the earliest versions were lost?
I think lots of American evengelicals think that the entire Bible is the word of God, but I know Jews don’t buy the Christian version, right?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: As a librarian, I need to shy away from religious questions as much as I must shy away from legal, medical, and tax advice. There are a number of reference books on Judaism and religion that you’re welcome to look through. For instance, look in the index of Encyclopedia Judaica under “Torah.” A quick glance didn’t yield any clear answers.
The reference librarians at the Duke Divinity School library — who handle the subject of religion (all religions, not just Christianity) — would be most qualified to point you to discussions of this subject.
There is a term “Jewish fundamentalism” (perhaps that term itself is controversial), but it’s probably like comparing apples to oranges to make too many parallels with Christian fundamentalism. As might be expected, the article on “Jewish Fundamentalism” online in Wikipedia has a big warning at the top: “The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see discussion on the talk page.” (AP suspects that the articles in traditional published encyclopedias and reference works would also include warnings, corrections, and elaborations if their format only allowed readers to do so.)