To fly in the face of reality

We must bear in mind the historical situation in the writing of the Torah. The fragmentary materials might have existed for a long time. One or several redactors compiled them during the Persian Kingdom. The memory of Babylonian Captivity was still fresh and naturally the presentation of the materials showed a certain theological bending. To lend authority to this compilation of traditional materials, Moses was made the author.

Sometimes, we might read of a certain piece of prophecy which in fact was only a reporting of certain historical events. For example, the exiles which began in 721 B.C. up to 536 B.C. When the reporting was put in the mouth of Moses who lived in 1250 B.C., these historical events became prophecies. Therefore, we have the following warnings from Moses.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you are going over the Jordan to possess; you will not live long upon it, but will be utterly destroyed.
And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you.
And there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of men's hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice,
for the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not fail you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers which he swore to them (Deuteronomy 4:26-31).
A historical-critical reading of the text would tell you that this is not a prophecy, but a retelling of historical events. They had sinned. They had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They had been conquered and humiliated. At last, they repented. The Lord is a merciful God. He would honour the covenant He made with their ancestors. This is their theology.

Or take another piece of text as an example. The Jews had been conquered, sent into exiles and humiliated in front of their captors, the Gentiles. These memories were still fresh while the redactor wrote the following.
Keep them (the statues and ordinances) and do them; for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.'
For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?
And what great nation is there, that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law which I set before you this day? (Deuteronomy 4:6-8)
These words fly in the face of reality. The redactors must have been day-dreaming of another world. Had they been a great nation of wise and understanding people or had the Lord been so near to them, they would not have been conquered and sent into exile. Historical-critical reading would cast doubt upon these words. At most, the text is a psychological compensation for their defeat.

Therefore, it is not enough to employ the historical-critical method to the exclusion of other perspectives. Even so, we should take a longer time-reference and see the contribution of Jews throughout human history, especially in the last century. The Jews are really an admirable people.
From the spiritual perspective, Paul had already demonstrated the importance of faith over the Law which is inadequate without the former. "Inadequate" means keeping the Law alone does not guarantee salvation. Therefore, there is nothing to boast about in having the Law and keeping it.
Moreover, the text above affirms the superiority of Christianity over other religions in her more direct access to God. In an age of pluralism and mutual respect, it is a pity to see many Christians fail to share/uphold and insist their positions when they enter into dialogues with other religions.

In conclusion, historical-critical method helps us broaden the reading horizon and understand the text better. But it is wrong to employ it exclusively. We need to keep an open mind and allow a text to be reread in the light of modern contexts. The meanings of a text can never be exhausted in one go.

Dear Lord, Your Law is sweet and cheers up my heart. Your Law is wise and brightens up my eyes. May it guide me to come closer to You. Amen.