LDS Theses #64: It [the LDS Church] has failed to provide an adequate, rational explanation for how Joseph Smith could “translate” the Book of Abraham from a set of Egyptian Book of Breathings papyri. MormonReformationDay2013.org/ SUPPORTING EVIDENCE: Summary overview from the neutal source, Wikipedia: The Book of Abraham is an 1835 work produced by Joseph Smith that he said was based on Egyptian papyri purchased from a traveling mummy exhibition. According to Smith, the book was a translation of some ancient records ... purporting to be the writings of Abraham, while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus.[2] Smiths translation of the papyri describes a story of Abrahams early life, including a vision of the cosmos. ... The Book of Abraham papyri were thought lost in the 1871 Great Chicago Fire. However, in 1966 several fragments of the papyri were found in the archives of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and in the LDS Church archives. They are now referred to as the Joseph Smith Papyri. Upon examination by professional Mormon and non-Mormon Egyptologists, the papyri were found to bear no resemblance to Joseph Smiths interpretation, and were common Egyptian funerary texts, dating to about the first century BC. As a result, the Book of Abraham has been the source of significant controversy, with Mormon apologists offering a variety of explanations as to the reason for the differences. (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Abraham ) From the Signature Books website: Scholar Says Mormon Scripture Not An Egyptian Translation... In analyzing and translating the ancient [Book of Abraham] texts, Robert K. Ritner, foremost American scholar of Egyptology, has determined that they were prepared for deceased men and women in Thebes during the Greco-Roman period. They have nothing to do with Abraham, Joseph, or a planet called Kolob, as Smith had claimed. “Except for those willfully blind,” writes Professor Ritner of the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute, “the case is closed.” ... The Mormon Church restricts access to the original papyri, which it owns. Ritner gained access to high resolution scans through a third party. He concluded that the papyri are ordinary Egyptian funeral texts, with possibly a few interesting side notes. For example, one of the Smith papyri is the “Document of Breathing Made by Isis” and is the oldest known datable copy (pre-150 BCE). Otherwise, Ritner states, anyone investigating claims of ancient evidence for Smith’s translation should not “waste his time”... (see signaturebooks/2012/02/scholar-says-mormon-scripture-not-an-egyptian-translation ) “It is difficult to deal seriously with Joseph Smith’s impudent fraud.... Smith has turned the Goddess [in Facsimile No. 1] into a king and Osiris into Abraham.” - Dr. A.H. Sayce, Oxford professor of Egyptology, printed in Joseph Smith Jun. As a Translator, by F.S. Spaulding, p. 23 “... these three facsimiles of Egyptian documents in the ‘Pearl of Great Price’ depict the most common objects in the Mortuary religion of Egypt. Joseph Smith’s interpretations of them as part of a unique revelation through Abraham, therefore, very clearly demonstrates that he was totally unacquainted with the significance of these documents and absolutely ignorant of the simplest facts of Egyptian writing and civilization.” - James H. Breasted, Ph.D, Egyptologist, Haskell Oriental Museum, University of Chicago, as cited in Joseph Smith Jun. As a Translator, p. 26-27 VIDEO: The Lost Book of Abraham youtube/watch?v=hcyzkd_m6KE Also see: The Book of Abraham Mormon Think portal page mormonthink/book-of-abraham-issues.htm Quotes on The Book of Abraham Mormon Think quote index mormonthink/QUOTES/boaquotes.htm The Book of Abraham by Bill McKeever mrm.org/book-of-abraham Egyptology and the Book of Abraham by Stephen E. Thompson lds-mormon/thompson_book_of_abraham.shtml Graphic credits: Book of Abraham; Facsimile #1 Examined, Mormon Infographics; mormoninfographics/2012/08/book-of-abraham-facsimile-1-examined.html Book of Abraham; Facsimile #2 Examined, Mormon Infographics; mormoninfographics/2012/08/book-of-abraham-facsimile-2-examined.html Book of Abraham; Facsimile #3 Examined, Mormon Infographics; mormoninfographics/2012/08/book-of-abraham-facsimile-3-examined.html The Mormon God Sitting On His Throne, Mormon Infographics; mormoninfographics/2013/01/the-mormon-god-sitting-on-his-throne.html
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 19:12:37 +0000
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