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Difference between revisions of "Detailed response to CES Letter, Scriptures"
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It is wrong to assume that Nephi in any way wished to take Laban’s life. He was a young man, and despite a 600 B.C. world full of tensions and retaliations, he had never “shed the blood of man.” (1 Ne. 4:10.) Nothing in his life seems to have conditioned him for this task. In fact the commandments he had been taught from childhood declared, “Thou shalt not kill”; and he recoiled, initially refusing to obey the prompting of the Spirit. . . . | It is wrong to assume that Nephi in any way wished to take Laban’s life. He was a young man, and despite a 600 B.C. world full of tensions and retaliations, he had never “shed the blood of man.” (1 Ne. 4:10.) Nothing in his life seems to have conditioned him for this task. In fact the commandments he had been taught from childhood declared, “Thou shalt not kill”; and he recoiled, initially refusing to obey the prompting of the Spirit. . . . | ||
Laban, lying before Nephi in a drunken stupor, has not been guiltless in his dealings with Lehi’s family. In what little we know of the man, Laban has at least: (1) been unfaithful in keeping the commandments of God; (2) falsely accused Laman of robbery; (3) coveted Lehi’s property as a greedy, “lustful” man; (4) stolen that property outright; and (5) sought twice to kill Nephi and/or his brothers. He was, by the Holy Spirit’s own declaration, a “wicked” man delivered unto Nephi by the very hand of the Lord. ("I Have a Question, ''Ensign'' (September 1976)) {{link|url=http://www.lds.org/ensign/1976/09/i-have-a-question?lang=eng}} | Laban, lying before Nephi in a drunken stupor, has not been guiltless in his dealings with Lehi’s family. In what little we know of the man, Laban has at least: (1) been unfaithful in keeping the commandments of God; (2) falsely accused Laman of robbery; (3) coveted Lehi’s property as a greedy, “lustful” man; (4) stolen that property outright; and (5) sought twice to kill Nephi and/or his brothers. He was, by the Holy Spirit’s own declaration, a “wicked” man delivered unto Nephi by the very hand of the Lord. ("I Have a Question, ''Ensign'' (September 1976)) {{link|url=http://www.lds.org/ensign/1976/09/i-have-a-question?lang=eng}} | ||
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| + | *Hugh Nibley recalled offers an interesting story about the way Middle Eastern culture would view this event which places it in a different context: | ||
| + | <blockquote> | ||
| + | When in 1946 this writer composed a little treatise called ''Lehi in the Desert'' from limited materials then available in Utah, he had never knowingly set eyes on a real Arab. Within the last five years Aneze tribesmen and citizens of Mecca, including even guides to the Holy Places, have been his students, in Provo, of all places, while Utah has suddenly been enriched with a magnificent Arabic library, thanks to the inspired efforts of Professor Aziz Atiya of the University of Utah. As if it were not enough for the mountain to come to Mohammed, those sons of the desert who came to Provo found themselves taking a required class in the Book of Mormon from [me]. Naturally [I] was more than curious to see how these young men would react to the Book of Mormon treatment of desert themes, and invited and even required them to report frankly on their impressions. To date, with only one exception, no fault has been found with Nephi on technical grounds. The one exception deserves the attention of all would-be critics of the Book of Mormon. | ||
| + | <br><br> | ||
| + | It was in the first class ever held in "Book of Mormon for Near Eastern Students," and the semester had barely begun when of course we ran smack into the story of how Nephi found Laban dead drunk in a dark alley and cut off his head — a grisly tale that upsets Nephi himself in telling it. As we rehearsed the somber episode, I could detect visible signs of annoyance among the Arab students — whispered remarks, head-shakings, and frowns of dissent. Finally, toward the end of the hour, a smart young man from Jordan could hold out no longer. "Mr. Nibley," he said, plainly speaking for the others, "there is one thing wrong here. It doesn't sound right. Why did this Nephi wait so ''long'' to cut off Laban's head?" Since I had been expecting the routine protests of shock and disgust with which Western critics react to the Laban story, I was stunned by this surprise attack — stunned with a new insight into the Book of Mormon as a message from another age and another culture.{{ref|nibley1}} | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
}} | }} | ||
Revision as of 22:32, 23 July 2013
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| [[../Science Concerns & Questions|Science Concerns & Questions]] | A FAIR Analysis of:
[[../|Letter to a CES Director]] |
[[../Other Concerns & Questions|Other Concerns & Questions]] |
A FAIR Analysis of the online document Letter to a CES Director section "Scriptures Concerns & Questions"
- Response to section: D&C 132 [Work in Progress]
- Response to section: Numbers 31 [Work in Progress]
- Response to section: 1 Nephi 4
- Response to section: Exodus 12:12
- Response to section: Deuteronomy 21:18-21
- Response to section: Exodus 35:1-2 [Work in Progress]
- Response to section: Numbers 21:5-9
- Response to section: Judges 19:22-29 [Work in Progress]
- Response to section: "I’m asked to believe in not only a part-time racist god and a part-time polygamous god but a part-time psychopathic schizophrenic one as well" [Work in Progress]
Response Section
1 Nephi 4
Exodus 12:12
Deuteronomy 21:18-21