Kinderhook vs the Papyri

[_Themis]

The facsimiles are Egyptian.

I am asking about the explanations that Joesph gave about them. Are you saying they are not inspired and are made up by Joseph?

[_Tobin]

The facsimiles are Egyptian.

I am asking about the explanations that Joesph gave about them. Are you saying they are not inspired and are made up by Joseph?

That depends on which facsimiles we are talking about. When Joseph Smith speculates about the Egyptian ones, clearly he's speculating and wrong. When he's speaking about the ones made by Abraham, no - he was inspired by God.

[_Spektical]

Clearly that is not true.

Then why are there so many religions in the world? If there was a reliable way to find out God's will, there would be a lot more uniformity in spiritual beliefs.

[_Tobin]

Clearly that is not true.

Then why are there so many religions in the world? If there was a reliable way to find out God's will, there would be a lot more uniformity in spiritual beliefs.

There is generally a uniformity of belief in some sort of supreme being. What the exact attributes of that supreme being is simply a matter of perception. Since human beings bring a number of backgrounds, biases, etc to the table, it is unsurprising those views differ.

[_Spektical]

Then why are there so many religions in the world? If there was a reliable way to find out God's will, there would be a lot more uniformity in spiritual beliefs.

There is generally a uniformity of belief in some sort of supreme being. What the exact attributes of that supreme being is simply a matter of perception. Since human beings bring a number of backgrounds, biases, etc to the table, it is unsurprising those views differ.

So what precisely people believe about a supreme being doesn't matter? Varying beliefs about deity can lead to vastly different behaviors.

[_Tobin]

There is generally a uniformity of belief in some sort of supreme being. What the exact attributes of that supreme being is simply a matter of perception. Since human beings bring a number of backgrounds, biases, etc to the table, it is unsurprising those views differ.

So what precisely people believe about a supreme being doesn't matter? Varying beliefs about deity can lead to vastly different behaviors.

Ultimately, no - it doesn't matter. If a particular view is more useful than another, I would encourage it. Mormonism in itself does not always have the best view at times and when that is the case, those views should be deprecated for the better views espoused by other beliefs.

[_Spektical]

So what precisely people believe about a supreme being doesn't matter? Varying beliefs about deity can lead to vastly different behaviors.

Ultimately, no - it doesn't matter. If a particular view is more useful than another, I would encourage it. Mormonism in itself does not always have the best view at times and when that is the case, those views should be deprecated for the better views espoused by other beliefs.

So bringing it back to the Book of Abraham: what views does it set forth that are useful? What useful views are gleaned from Smith's bogus interpretation of the facsimiles?

[_Tobin]

Ultimately, no - it doesn't matter. If a particular view is more useful than another, I would encourage it. Mormonism in itself does not always have the best view at times and when that is the case, those views should be deprecated for the better views espoused by other beliefs.

So bringing it back to the Book of Abraham: what views does it set forth that are useful? What useful views are gleaned from Smith's bogus interpretation of the facsimiles?

The view that Abraham was himself offered up as a human sacrifice to false gods is useful. It presents a serious challenge and dilemma for those who choose to follow God.

Also, the fact that God came from and lives on another planet is interesting. But this is consistent with my view that God naturally arose and that belief in God is a very reasonable proposition given what we know about the age of the universe, how life evolves, and the likelihood that life exists on other planets and intelligent life evolved long before we did. All of this points to a very reasonable view that God is a highly advanced being and that we have attached magical attributes to, but in reality it is just the result of God being so much more advanced than we are.

[_Cylon]

Awesome! I love sci-fi God theories! That's always been one of the cool things about Mormonism to me. If we had the tech, we could just go visit God in a spaceship.

[_Themis]

That depends on which facsimiles we are talking about. When Joseph Smith speculates about the Egyptian ones, clearly he's speculating and wrong. When he's speaking about the ones made by Abraham, no - he was inspired by God.

Joseph's speculations are the explanations we see in the Book of Abraham about each part of the facsimiles. They are tailor made for them as well. You say the facsimiles are Egyptian, but that Abraham made his own facsimiles. Does this mean that for each explanation Joseph gives that Abraham's facsimiles will have the same iconography that the Egyptians use for their funerary rituals.