Noun
the scientific study of biblical writings to determine their origin and meaning
Source: WordNetHollywood movies of the Fifties, like The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur, with their epic clash of pagan and Judeo-Christian cultures, tell more about art and society than the French-infatuated ideologues who have made a travesty of the "best” American higher criticism. Camille Paglia
His venture into higher criticism led him to regard the Pentateuch as reflecting power struggles between the Pharisees on one hand, and the Saducees who had their own pre- Mishnaic Halakha. Source: Internet
Haredi Judaism thus views higher criticism of the Talmud as inappropriate, and almost certainly heretical. Source: Internet