In Deuteronomy 34:7, Moses wrote of his own death? If not Moses, who really wrote Deuteronomy? - Ahmed Deedat

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Is The Bible The Word of God? - Debate - Sheikh Ahmed Deedat VS Pastor Stanley Sjoberg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVJjmj6FPXM

How Could Moses have Written the Book of Deuteronomy When it Contains the Account of His Death?
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Though orthodox Christians and Jews alike argue that Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament, some people deny his authorship of the fifth book, Deuteronomy. They do this partly on the grounds that chapter 34 contains the account of Moses’ death.

Since no one can write an account of his own death, they argue, doesn’t this mean the Book of Deuteronomy had to have been written later than the time of Moses?

Probably some orthodox Christians and Jews would attempt to argue that all of chapter 34 in Deuteronomy was written by Moses, although it is possible that the chapter was prophetic. A more plausible explanation is to assume that it was written after the death of Moses, by Joshua. This does not force one to attribute the rest of Deuteronomy to someone besides Moses.

It is quite common that an obituary is placed at the end of a final work by a great author. It would be amazing if the death of Moses weren’t recorded, seeing that his entire life otherwise had been told in great detail. The appearance of the account of Moses’ death in no way affects his authorship of the preceding 33 chapters.

Gleason Archer, A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, rev. ed., Moody Press, 1979

R.K. Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament, Eerdmans, 1970

About Ahmed Deedat:

Born in the Surat district of India in 1918, Ahmed Hoosen Deedat had no recollection of his father untill 1926. His father a tailor by profession had emigrated to South Africa shortly after the birth of Ahmed Deedat.
• With no formal education and fighting off the extreme pangs of poverty, he went to South Africa in 1927 to be with his father. His farewell to his mother in India in 1927 was the last time he saw her alive for she passed away a few months later.

• In a foreign land, a boy of nine with no formal schooling nor any command of the English language he began preparing for the role he was to play decades later without realizing it.

• Applying himself with diligence to his studies, the little boy not only was able to overcome the language barrier but excelled in school. His avid passion for reading helped him gain promotions until he completed standard 6. Lack of finance interrupted his schooling and at the early age of about 16 he took on the first of many jobs in retailing.
• The most significant of these was in 1936 where he worked at a Muslim owned store near a Christian seminary on the Natal South Coast. The incessant insults of the trainee missionaries hurled against Islam during their brief visits to the store infused a stubborn flame of desire within the young man to counteract their false propaganda.
• As fate would have it, Ahmad Deedat discovered by pure chance a book entitled Izharal-Haq, meaning the Truth revealed. This book recorded the techniques and enormous success of the efforts of Muslims in India in turning the tables against Christian missionary harassment during the British subjugation and rule of India. In particular the idea of holding debates had a profound effect on Ahmed Deedat.
• Armed with this new found zeal, Ahmed Deedat purchased his first Bible and began holding debates and discussions with the trainee missionaries. When they beat a hasty retreat in the face of his incisive counter arguments, he personally called on their teachers and even priests in the surrounding areas to discuss and debate topical issues of the day.
• These successes spurred Ahmed Deedat in the direction of Da’wah. Not even his marriage, birth of Children and a 3 year sohourn to Pakistan after its independence dampened his enthusiasm or dulled his desire to defend Islam .
• With missionary zeal to project the truth and the pure clinical beauty of Islam, Ahmed Deedat immersed hiself into a host of activities over the next three decades. He conducted classes on Bible studies and gave numerous lectures. He established the As-Salaam, an institute to train propagators of Islam. He, together with his family, almost single-handedly erected the buildings including the masjid which is still a landmark today.
• He was a founder member of the Islamic Propagation Centre International (IPCI) and became its President. He has published over 20 books and distributed milions of copies free of charge. He has delivered thousand of lectures all over the world and successfully engaged Christian Evangelists in public debates. Several thousand people have come into the fold of Islam as a result of these efforts.