Difference between revisions of "Book of Mormon/Anachronisms/Biblical/New Testament text"

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#REDIRECT [[The New Testament and the Book of Mormon]]
{{Resource Title|How can New Testament text be in the Book of Mormon?}}
 
 
 
=={{Criticism label}}==
 
*Critics claim that the Book of Mormon cannot be an ancient work because it contains material that is also found in the New Testament.
 
*In the Book of Mormon, Jesus quotes a paraphrase of Moses' words found in Acts 3:22-26.
 
 
 
{{CriticalSources}}
 
 
 
=={{Conclusion label}}==
 
 
 
All these parallels demonstrate is that:
 
# the Book of Mormon translation language is closely based in KJV English; and
 
# King James phrases were exceedingly common in the speech and writing of Joseph's day.
 
 
 
Neither of these is news, and neither can tell us much but that the Book of Mormon was translated in the nineteenth century.
 
 
 
== ==
 
{{Response label}}
 
{{Main|Book_of_Mormon_plagiarized_from_the_Bible|l1=Book of Mormon plagiarized from the Bible?|l2=Specific examples from Tanners|Book_of_Mormon/Anachronisms/New_Testament_text/Specific_examples}}
 
 
 
The Book of Mormon claims to be a "translation."  Therefore, the language used is that of Joseph Smith.  Joseph could choose to render similar (or identical) material using King James Bible language if that adequately represented the text's intent.
 
 
 
Only if we presume that the Book of Mormon is a fraud at the outset is this proof of anything.  If we assume that it is a translation, then the use of Bible language tells us merely that Joseph used biblical language.
 
 
 
If Joseph ''was'' a fraud, why would he plagiarize the one text—the King James Bible—which his readers would be sure to know, and sure to react negatively if they noticed it?  The Book of Mormon contains much original material—Joseph didn't "need" to use the KJV; he is obviously capable of producing original material.
 
 
 
Furthermore, many of the critics examples consist of a phrase or a concept that Joseph has supposedly lifted from the New Testament.  This complaint, however ignores several factors.
 
 
 
Chief among the difficulty is that the critics seem ignorant or unconcerned about the extent to which the language of the King James Bible dominated preaching, common speech, and discussion of religious and non-religious topics in Joseph Smith's day.
 
 
 
In a Bible-based culture like Joseph Smith's, Biblical phrases are simply "in the air," and are often used without an awareness of where they come from (this is especially true for those whose literary exposure did not extend much beyond the Bible—like Joseph).  By analogy, many modern authors or speakers will use phrases like the following, completely unaware that they are quoting Shakespeare!
 
 
 
===Common phrases originally from Shakespeare===
 
 
 
{| valign="top" border="1" style="width:100%; font-size:85%"
 
!width="5%"|List
 
!width="36%"|Phrase
 
!width="36%"|Shakespeare
 
!width="23%"|Reference
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
"All's well that ends well"
 
||
 
* ''All's Well That Ends Well''
 
||
 
* Title of play
 
|-
 
|
 
 
 
====*====
 
||
 
"As good luck would have it"
 
||
 
* ''The Merry Wives of Windsor''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=merrywives&Act=3&Scene=5&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=1822#1822 III, v, 1822]
 
|-
 
|
 
 
 
====*====
 
||
 
"Bated breath"
 
||
 
* ''The Merchant of Venice''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=merchantvenice&Act=1&Scene=3&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=433#433 I, iii, 433]
 
|-
 
|
 
 
 
====*====
 
||
 
"Be-all and the end-all"
 
||
 
* ''Macbeth''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=macbeth&Act=1&Scene=7&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=474#474 i, vii, 474]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
 
 
"Beggar all description"
 
||
 
* ''Antony and Cleopatra''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=antonycleo&Act=2&Scene=2&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=914#914 II, ii, 914]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
"Brave new world"
 
||
 
* ''The Tempest''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=tempest&Act=5&Scene=1&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=2233#2233 V, i, 2333]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
"Break the ice"
 
||
 
*''The Taming of the Shrew''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=tamingshrew&Act=1&Scene=2&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=818#818 I, ii, 818]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
"not budge an inch"
 
||
 
*''The Taming of the Shrew''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/characters/charlines.php?CharID=sly&WorkID=tamingshrew Prologue, i, 12]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
"Dead as a doornail"
 
||
 
* ''Henry IV, Part II''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=henry6p2&Act=4&Scene=10&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=2924#2924 IV, x, 2924]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||"Devil incarnate"
 
||
 
* ''Titus Andronicus''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=titus&Act=5&Scene=1&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=2173#2173 V, i, 2173]
 
|-
 
|
 
 
 
====*====
 
||
 
"Fool's paradise"
 
||
 
* ''Romeo and Juliet''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=romeojuliet&Act=2&Scene=4&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=1316#1316 II, iv, 1316]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
"For goodness' sake"
 
||
 
* ''Henry VIII''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=henry8&Act=1&Scene=0&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=1#1 Chorus, I, i]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
"Full circle"
 
||
 
* ''King Lear''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=kinglear&Act=5&Scene=3&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=3331#3331 V, iii, 3331]
 
|-
 
|
 
 
 
====*====
 
||
 
"Good riddance"
 
||
 
* ''Troilus and Cressida''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=troilus&Act=2&Scene=1&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=977#977 II, i, 977]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
"Household words"
 
||
 
* ''Henry V''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=henry5&Act=4&Scene=3&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=2253#2253 IV, iii, 2253]
 
|-
 
|
 
 
 
====*====
 
||
 
"Heart of gold"
 
||
 
* ''Henry V''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=henry5&Act=4&Scene=1&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=1890#1890 IV, i, 1890]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
"In...a pickle"
 
||
 
* ''The Tempest''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=tempest&Act=5&Scene=1&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=2357#2357 V, i, 2357]
 
|-
 
|
 
 
 
====*====
 
||
 
"Lie low"
 
||
 
* ''Much Ado About Nothing''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=muchado&Act=5&Scene=1&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=2122#2122 V, i, 2122]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
"Love is blind"
 
||
 
* ''Henry V''
 
* ''The Merchant of Venice''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=henry5&Act=5&Scene=2&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=3286#3286 V, ii, 3286]
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=merchantvenice&Act=2&Scene=6&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=944#944 II, vi, 944]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
"Melted into thin air"
 
||
 
* ''The Tempest''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=tempest&Act=4&Scene=1&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=1877#1877 VI, i, 1877]
 
|-
 
|
 
 
 
====*====
 
||
 
"Naked truth"
 
||
 
* ''Love's Labours Lost''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=loveslabours&Act=5&Scene=2&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=2648#2648 V, ii, 2648]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
"I have not slept one wink"
 
||
 
* ''Cymbeline''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=cymbeline&Act=3&Scene=4&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=1826#1826 III, iv, 1826]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
"One fell swoop"
 
||
 
* ''Macbeth''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=macbeth&Act=4&Scene=3&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=2099#2099 IV, iii, 2099]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
"Play fast and loose with"
 
||
 
* ''King John''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=kingjohn&Act=3&Scene=1&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=1149#1149 III, i, 1149]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
"We have seen better days"
 
||
 
* ''As You Like It''
 
* ''Timon of Athens''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=asyoulikeit&Act=2&Scene=7&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=1016#1016 II, vii, 1016]
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=timonathens&Act=4&Scene=2&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=1632#1632 IV, ii, 1632]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
"The short and the long of it"
 
||
 
* ''The Merry Wives of Windsor''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=merrywives&Act=2&Scene=2&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=853#853 II, ii, 853]
 
|-
 
|
 
 
 
====*====
 
||
 
"Too much of a good thing"
 
||
 
* ''As You Like It''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=asyoulikeit&Act=4&Scene=1&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=1900#1900 IV, i, 1900]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
"Wear my heart upon my sleeve"
 
||
 
* ''Othello''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=othello&Act=1&Scene=1&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=42#42 I, i, 42]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
"What the dickens"
 
||
 
* ''The Merry Wives of Windsor''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=merrywives&Act=3&Scene=2&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=1327#1327 III, ii, 1327]
 
|-
 
|
 
====*====
 
||
 
"The world's my [mine] oyster"
 
||
 
* ''Henry IV, Part 2''
 
||
 
* [http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=merrywives&Act=2&Scene=2&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=797#797 II, i, 797]
 
|}
 
 
 
{{SeeAlso|l1=Specific examples from Tanners|Book_of_Mormon/Anachronisms/New_Testament_text/Specific_examples}}
 
Would we accuse someone who used these phrases of "plagiarizing" Shakespeare?  Hardly, for they are common expressions in our language—most people are probably unaware that they even come from Shakespeare, and most have probably not read the plays at all.  In a similar way, some biblical phrases and vocabulary were likely part of Joseph Smith's subconscious verbal world.  It would be strange if it were otherwise.
 
 
 
===Other issues===
 
There are related issues to which the critics pay little attention:
 
 
 
* often the relation between the texts is not that close; only a few words are used that are the same.  It is sometimes hard to see how there would be a different way of discussing the same sort of issue.  Even if one believes Joseph forged the Book of Mormon, it seems more plausible that these cases are just a coincidence, or a case where one is almost "forced" to use the same type of language (e.g., [[Book_of_Mormon/Anachronisms/New_Testament_text/Specific_examples#1|1 Nephi 1:18]], [[Book_of_Mormon/Anachronisms/New_Testament_text/Specific_examples#20|Alma 19:10]], [[Book_of_Mormon/Anachronisms/New_Testament_text/Specific_examples#15|Mosiah 16:7]]).
 
* some phrases which approximate the New Testament are quite famous, classic renderings in the King James.  Such phrases might be used almost instinctively or subconsciously when translating (e.g., [[Book_of_Mormon/Anachronisms/New_Testament_text/Specific_examples#4|1 Nephi 12:11]], [[Book_of_Mormon/Anachronisms/New_Testament_text/Specific_examples#6|2 Nephi 4:17]]).  Even academic translators sometimes struggle to avoid using the type of scriptural language with which they are very familiar—it can take a real effort to give a different rendering than one that is well known.
 
* the Book of Mormon never hides its intent to use King James style English.  It is not surprising, then, that there are parallels in language and vocabulary.  The translation may even ''intend'' to call to mind these biblical verses or phrases, since the Book of Mormon is intended to complement the Bible
 
* Joseph is clearly able to produce huge amounts of text that do not rely on the KJV at all.  Why, if he wants to produce a believable forgery, does he adapt the occasional well-known phrase that could be noticed by even a relatively casual Bible reader?  The critics require Joseph to be clever enough to produce independent text, and yet foolish enough to betray his dependence on the Bible.
 
* Often, although the wording may be similar, the concept being explored is expanded, or the context is substantially altered in the Book of Mormon.  The critics seem to think that Joseph flips through the Bible to find something, but the Book of Mormon certainly extends and adapts this material dramatically.  The "copying" model seems more complex than needed, as it has Joseph taking small snippets of text from the Bible and other sources and somehow weaving it into the Book of Mormon text.  Yet, eyewitnesses do not describe anything like this process; it is not even clear that Joseph owned a Bible during the Book of Mormon translation.
 
 
 
:::{{SeeAlso|Book_of_Mormon/Plagiarism_accusations/Westminster_Confession|l1=Westminster Confession|Book_of_Mormon/Plagiarism_accusations/The_Wonders_of_Nature|l2=''The Wonders of Nature''—Josiah Priest|Book_of_Mormon/Plagiarism_accusations/Shakespeare|l3=Shakespeare's ''Hamlet''|l4=Did Joseph Smith own a Bible during the translation?|Book_of_Mormon_translation_method/Mainly_italics_altered |l5=Book of Mormon translation method|Book_of_Mormon_translation_method}}
 
 
 
{{Articles Footer 1}} {{Articles Footer 2}} {{Articles Footer 3}} {{Articles Footer 4}} {{Articles Footer 5}} {{Articles Footer 6}} {{Articles Footer 7}} {{Articles Footer 8}} {{Articles Footer 9}} {{Articles Footer 10}}
 
 
 
[[fr:Book of Mormon/Anachronisms/New Testament text]]
 

Latest revision as of 17:56, 5 March 2023