FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Difference between revisions of "Criticism of Mormonism/Video/Search for the Truth DVD/Book of Abraham"
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+ | '''The Church always forthright''' | ||
The Church has always been frank and open about what is on the papyri in its possession. When the papyri were rediscovered in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art and donated to the Church on 27 November, 1967, the Church immediately published an article in their official magazine less than two months later. A follow-up article on an additional papyrus fragment was published the following month, complete with photos: | The Church has always been frank and open about what is on the papyri in its possession. When the papyri were rediscovered in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art and donated to the Church on 27 November, 1967, the Church immediately published an article in their official magazine less than two months later. A follow-up article on an additional papyrus fragment was published the following month, complete with photos: | ||
* {{IE|author=Jay M. Todd|article=Egyptian Papyri Rediscovered|date=January 1968|start=12|end=16}} | * {{IE|author=Jay M. Todd|article=Egyptian Papyri Rediscovered|date=January 1968|start=12|end=16}} | ||
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* "The largest parts of the...papyri in possession of the Church consists of fragments from the Egyptian Book of the Dead..." (pp. 56-57) [[{{nw}}|See image.]] | * "The largest parts of the...papyri in possession of the Church consists of fragments from the Egyptian Book of the Dead..." (pp. 56-57) [[{{nw}}|See image.]] | ||
− | + | '''Oversimplifying the translation issues''' | |
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The issues surrounding the translation of the Egyptian papyri that resulted in the Book of Abraham are much more complex than critics would like us to believe. Foremost, it is significant to realize that we don't have all the papyri that was originally owned by Joseph. Of the five scrolls originally owned by Joseph, only eleven fragments of two scrolls have survived—one of which is an Egyptian ''Sensen'' text containing the vignette for Facsimile 1 from the LDS Book of Abraham. Basically, we don't know exactly what was missing, so we can't say for certain that Joseph Smith's papyri collection didn't contain a document that could translate into the Book of Abraham. | The issues surrounding the translation of the Egyptian papyri that resulted in the Book of Abraham are much more complex than critics would like us to believe. Foremost, it is significant to realize that we don't have all the papyri that was originally owned by Joseph. Of the five scrolls originally owned by Joseph, only eleven fragments of two scrolls have survived—one of which is an Egyptian ''Sensen'' text containing the vignette for Facsimile 1 from the LDS Book of Abraham. Basically, we don't know exactly what was missing, so we can't say for certain that Joseph Smith's papyri collection didn't contain a document that could translate into the Book of Abraham. | ||
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Some Egyptian papyri, for example, contain Egyptian instructions on one side and Semitic writings on the back side—in one case Psalms chapters 20–55. One Egyptian temple archive (with an extensive collection of Egyptian rituals), provides an early copy of the “Prayer of Jacob” and two copies of the “Eight Book of Moses” with a discussion of the initiation into the temple at Jerusalem. Both Moses and Abraham are mentioned in this collection and the most commonly invoked deity is Jehovah. | Some Egyptian papyri, for example, contain Egyptian instructions on one side and Semitic writings on the back side—in one case Psalms chapters 20–55. One Egyptian temple archive (with an extensive collection of Egyptian rituals), provides an early copy of the “Prayer of Jacob” and two copies of the “Eight Book of Moses” with a discussion of the initiation into the temple at Jerusalem. Both Moses and Abraham are mentioned in this collection and the most commonly invoked deity is Jehovah. | ||
− | Finally we know that ancient Israelites sometimes used Egyptian symbology to convey religious teachings. Many Biblical scholars, for instance, believe that an ancient Egyptian book—the Instructions of Amenemope—may have been the source for portions of the biblical book of Proverbs. An acient ''Testament of Abraham'' also seems to have a connection to the Egyptian Book of the Dead. | + | Finally, we know that ancient Israelites sometimes used Egyptian symbology to convey religious teachings. Many Biblical scholars, for instance, believe that an ancient Egyptian book—the Instructions of Amenemope—may have been the source for portions of the biblical book of Proverbs. An acient ''Testament of Abraham'' also seems to have a connection to the Egyptian Book of the Dead. |
It is not unlikely—in fact it seems plausible in light of other documentary discoveries—that an ancient Book of Abraham was attached to the Egyptian papyri owned by Joseph Smith. Properly interpreting the Egyptian elements in the Facsimilies may well require that we understand how ''Jewish'' authors understood and adapted such elements. | It is not unlikely—in fact it seems plausible in light of other documentary discoveries—that an ancient Book of Abraham was attached to the Egyptian papyri owned by Joseph Smith. Properly interpreting the Egyptian elements in the Facsimilies may well require that we understand how ''Jewish'' authors understood and adapted such elements. | ||
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+ | The critics' "irrefutable evidence" is anything but. | ||
* {{Ensign|author=Daniel C. Peterson|article=News from Antiquity [‘Evidence supporting the book of Abraham continues to turn up in a wide variety of sources’]|vol=24|num=1|date=January 1994|start=16|end=21}}{{link|url=http://www.lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b12f9d18fae655bb69095bd3e44916a0/?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=19bd425e0848b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1}} | * {{Ensign|author=Daniel C. Peterson|article=News from Antiquity [‘Evidence supporting the book of Abraham continues to turn up in a wide variety of sources’]|vol=24|num=1|date=January 1994|start=16|end=21}}{{link|url=http://www.lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b12f9d18fae655bb69095bd3e44916a0/?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=19bd425e0848b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1}} |
Revision as of 09:29, 20 March 2007
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