None of the Biblical evidence you mention support the actual supernatural EVENTS of the Bible (the creation stories, the pillar of salt, the flaming hand on the wall, the various miracles performed by Jesus and his followers, etc...). This doesn't mean they didn't happen, simply that we don't have any evidence (outside of the Bible itself) that they did. The fact that there is so much less to critique regarding the actual authors of the books of the Bible is at least partially due to the fact that we have almost no information about them. If we had full biographies for the many authors of the old and new testaments as we do for Joseph Smith, who knows how many character flaws we might find that would cause us to question their accounts?
That's where faith comes into play, you can't really prove something that happened thousands of years ago. If Joseph Smith lived in 1000 BC chances are we'd know little to nothing about him, and Mormonism would likely have never taken off. There's not a ton of information about the books of the Bible but there are findings that back its authenticity. The dead sea scrolls which were found in 1946 (I believe) are huge and confirm that the Bible has not been altered since the Jesus event. Christians before then were heavily scrutinized for changing the scriptures to make them appear to be prophecies for Jesus, because they were SO accurate and telling. But that is not the case. A lot of people don't believe the bible because of the reasons you stated, but after studying it and doing research on it's historicity I believe it to be the inspired Word of God. Not to mention it changed my life
I totally support the positive impacts that the Bible, the book of Mormon, and other holy books around the world can have on their believers -- there's is certainly no denying the fact that for many, personal religious experiences have been life-saving events. I suspect that what you mean by "authenticity" may be different than what I and others mean, however. I believe that the Old Testament books have been relatively unaltered since Jesus' lifetime. However, the gospels themselves were not formally written and compiled for DECADES after the reported birth and death of Jesus. I don't know about you, but I have trouble believing some eyewitness accounts of amazing events even mere days after they were supposed to have happened. In the case of the gospel stories, some of them had been discussed and passed around by early Christians for up to 70 years after Jesus' death before being formally written down. 70 years! Even the earliest estimates of 20-30 years after Jesus' death is too much for me to swallow -- these aren't unbiased observations taken down immediately by eyewitnesses; they are collections of oral tradition passed around by believers that were later formally written and selected for inclusion in the New Testament. Again, none of this is evidence that they are false -- it's simply an explanation of why I can't accept them as more factually compelling than any other religious text.
Well where do I sign?!?! I would love to have millions of blond babes with big breasts to have sex with on a daily basis!
Many of the books of the New Testament were written by eyewitnesses within the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. Being someone who believes the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, I don't put a lot of stock in time passing between the events of Jesus' life and the accounts of the Gospels. Call me biased, but I take the Bible as a whole and I believe that it as an entirety was inspired by God. If you believe the Old Testament documents were unchanged then what do you think of the hundreds of fulfilled prophecies that are contained in them? ^The central verses in this passage (3-8) were the original creed written the Jesus' apostles dating back to within 3 YEARS of His death. Once again it's a matter of faith and belief. I wasn't always a believer but at this point I'm beyond a doubt convinced that the Bible is the true Word of God. Take that for what it's worth...
Wow. It's been awhile since I've watched "educational" videos like this. I have to say that this was one of the more entertaining ones I've seen. Typical anti-Mormon propaganda. They take half truths of more obscure Mormon beliefs and twist them. I also found the word choice pretty funny. "Magic underwear," "Mormon Jesus," "Mormon future God," "Endless Celestial sex!" Then there was the completely false statements like, "Joseph did more for the salvation of man than Jesus." The REAL quote is, “Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it.” (D&C 135:3) Which, if you understood Mormon doctrine (whether you believe it or not), you would understand why the statement was made. I'm curious where it's documented that Joseph Smith was a great story teller (the implication, of course, being that he made the whole thing up)? Can it be found anywhere besides from sources that have a natural and obvious bias toward the man or the LDS church?
The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles? You're troubled by the same organization that existed in the church that Christ established? Each member of the Quorum of the Twelves is ordained as a prophet, seer, and revelator the same and the apostles in Christ's day were. They all speak to God in the same manner any prophet in the Old Testament spoke to Him. The "one chosen to speak directly to God" is the President (kind of like Peter was put in charge of the 12 apostles) of the church which, historically, has been whoever has been in the Quorum the longest. There's some more logistical stuff involved as well, but I doubt it would interest you.
Hey D, you a mormon? Was it true that the principle of LSD was founded by the golden tabs found by John Smith?
Actually, no. The Book of Mormon is attested to by every person who has a testimony of it. Additionally, there were several people who testified that they saw the plates Joseph translated from and/or had visions as Paul and Peter, James and John did of Heavenly messengers appearing to them. Those messengers testified as to the truthfulness and authenticity of the Book of Mormon and the Prophet Joseph Smith. Some of those individuals even assisted in the translation of the Book of Mormon. Again with this tall tales stuff... I'm really curious if anyone can find a reference for this or any other character trait that gives reason to doubt him that doesn't come from a blatantly anti-Mormon source.
Interesting assumption. I do agree with you though, but probably not for the reasons you think. The reformation didn't even happen until about 500 years ago, so it's pretty likely no faith would have survived 1000 years ago. Also, the religious freedom found only in America at that time was probably pretty important too. You might find it interesting that there was more than a passing attempt to snuff out Mormonism when it first started. In fact, it was almost a given at the time that if Joseph Smith was killed that the church would dissolve. I guess "Something" held the church together as it faced further mob attacks and treking across the Americas only to settle in some of the crapiest land in America.
This is exactly where I have a hard time with people referring to the Bible as the "infallible word of God." It's construction alone screams that there were alterations or omissions in its assembly; be they intentional or accidental. Everyone here knows that bible literally means "collection of books," right? This wasn't a one shot document which each part having the exact same origin. How could it be when the record spans several thousands of years? There are bound to be errors in the translation alone since Hebrew and Greek don't seamlessly translate into English. Do I believe God had His hand in its creation? Of course. Do I think God monitors and dictates ever little thing we do? No way. We wouldn't have the precious gift of agency. I place more weight on what God is currently saying than what he said thousands of years ago to people that lived completely different lives. The basic principles remain the same from that period of time, but it's nice to have current revelation that helps me avoid the pitfalls of today instead of worrying about whether I should hook an ox and an ass up to the same yoke.
Yes, I'm Mormon. I'm not sure what you're asking. Are you actually asking about LSD (the drug) or do you mean LDS (Latter-day Saints)? And if you meant LDS, I'm still not sure what you're asking.
And this is the fundamental difference between us -- you have already accepted the truth and wholeness of the Bible as a divinely inspired document, whereas I see it as a rich, culturally important collection of historical fiction. The many so-called fulfilled prophecies are meaningful only if you have already accepted the gospels as truth. From an objective standpoint, every single prophecy in the OT was well-known to all of Jesus' followers -- obviously they are going to have a vested interest in passing on stories showing that Jesus fulfilled them. I don't mean to imply that they were deliberately devious, only that stories spread under even the best of circumstances. Rumors and hearsay are problems even today, with photographs and eyewitnesses galore. I don't believe that humans were any better at filtering fact from fiction 2000 years ago. Again, every religion in the world, the large and the small, has verified miracles, fulfilled prophecies, and/or secret decoder rings "proving" that their version of god is the correct one. And every religion has a website somewhere with a bullet-point checklist explaining why all the other religions are flawed somehow... I don't question your (or anyone's) spiritual visions, messages, or revelations, but I do not find any of them personally convincing. Of course, if and when God chooses to knock me off of my horse, blind me, and send me a personal message explaining the error of my ways, I'll be happy to change my tune and start spreading the word.
I know it's just Wikipedia, but that was an interesting read! At least what I got through of it. I know the basic history, but that added a lot of specific events and citations. Thanks.
If you have hallucinations and see lots of pretty colors when you pray you're probably a member of the Church of LSD.
