aussieguy55 Posted September 25, 2018 Posted September 25, 2018 Thanks for your reply. I obviously disagree with you on a lot of things you write "the still missing scroll' argument" for example. I think there is evidence that the "slave/anubis" in Fac 3 has had his face de-dogged. (Check out the printer's plates). Anyway I find discussion on these matters with LDS ends up giving me a migraine because one has to answer with extreme certainty every point raised. I have read and listened to Gee and Ritner's arguments and find nothing compelling to support the historicity of the book. Klaus Baer in several letters to Walters considered Nibley's interpretations as bizarre and come for the fringes of Egyptology. Anyway thanks and I'll leave it at that.
RevTestament Posted September 26, 2018 Posted September 26, 2018 11 minutes ago, aussieguy55 said: Thanks for your reply. I obviously disagree with you on a lot of things you write "the still missing scroll' argument" for example. There is lots of evidence that there was another large scroll. Emma Smith reported that the last scroll found was the largest, and indicated it was the scroll from which Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Abraham. Further, there is enough written about Emma and Lewis Bidamon to have confidence that the scrolls did indeed get parted to different persons, and that the scrolls with pictures, ie the Book of Breathings was the scroll that survived, because it didn't go to the Chicago Museum like the first. All this is found recorded and written before the Book of Breathing scrolls were found in 1967 when modern Egyptologists were available to independently examine the surviving scrolls. Quote Anyway I find discussion on these matters with LDS ends up giving me a migraine because one has to answer with extreme certainty every point raised. I have read and listened to Gee and Ritner's arguments and find nothing compelling to support the historicity of the book. Klaus Baer in several letters to Walters considered Nibley's interpretations as bizarre and come for the fringes of Egyptology. Anyway thanks and I'll leave it at that. I am not going to grill you over particulars about the Book of Abraham. I realize it has unresolved issues, and frankly I have not devoted a lot of time to addressing them, because I don't feel I have an answer that would satisfy a secularist. Further, I have felt no inspiration from the Lord on the subject, so I conclude it is not my area to really clarify at present. Perhaps this will change when I finish my work on the Book of Mormon, but I doubt it. I am just trying to be frank with you that I don't expect to give answers here which would appeal to one with a secular viewpoint. I feel I can do this with the Bible and the Book of Mormon. I think my inability to do this with the Book of Abraham shows up in your response "I obviously disagree with you on a lot of things...." My own response at this point is based on personal experience and testimony - that is something I can't really impart to you. If I were to rely on strictly a scholarly analysis, I think I would have problems with the Book of Abraham. I believe it is from the Lord for other reasons. What I am saying is that I am really sharing my own way of mentally juggling the Book of Abraham, and I realize that it is not going to be sufficient to satisfy even some basic questions - which often leaves an unsatisfactory taste in one's mouth. Hence, I think the issues with the Book of Abraham have been a source of dissatisfaction with some members of the Church who have left after trying to investigate the issues for themselves. To someone who is truly investigating the Church my advice would be to examine the Biblical prophecies, and read the Book of Mormon, and pray according to its promise. If it is true despite the somewhat audacious claims, then Joseph Smith was doing the work of the Lord. Also read D&C and try to appreciate it in light of the Bible. In my experience the Lord has hidden things in the Bible for His own reasons - not everything is plainly spelled out. I see the issues with the Book of Abraham on a somewhat similar plane. And actually, Joseph's comments about the third facsimile show that its secrets will remain hidden for awhile. This does not support a plain translation process. Nor does it support an idea that it should be understood like a 2nd century Egyptian scribe would understand it. Did Egyptians adopt ideas they came across and put them into their own iconography which the Lord is unscrambling? There are a lot possibilities but I seem to be digressing, and feel that this issue gets too cryptic to satisfy most people. I realize that to believe the Book of Abraham takes a leap of faith. I make that leap for myself largely because of personal revelation and experience. It is just not the place to start investigating the Church, but I think just saying that makes most people pick it up and read all the pros and cons currently available like you have tried to do. For that I commend you, but ultimately I think it takes a willingness to believe on faith. Nevertheless, I certainly understand a desire to try understand the various issues involved.
Anakin7 Posted September 26, 2018 Posted September 26, 2018 From my LDS, Saint, Christian, Sentinel, Son Of Thunder, Kryptonian Warrior Archives on the Book of Abraham issue - http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDSFAQ/FQ_Abraham.shtml The Atonement It is The Central Doctrine Washing My Garment/Robe In His Blood In His Eternal Debt/Grace Anakin7, LDS, Saint, Christian, Sentinel, Son Of Thunder, Kryptonian, Warrior
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