Fence Sitter wrote: ↑Sat Dec 04, 2021 12:02 pm
So if he were to embrace the catalyst theory he would no longer be qualified to hold that chair. The BYU Egyptologist are stuck between a rock and a missing scroll.
And with that point let me introduce the brutality I would exploit when ensuing a hot debate with John while exposing the weakness in his position. It boils down to TESTIMONY and pouring salt into the wounds of that testimony. I know just how to do it.
Listen and learn:
John, you claim to have a personal testimony that the Book of Abraham is true and that Joseph Smith is a prophet. That is the foundation upon which you base your claims. You believe that the Holy Ghost has born witness to you and that the Spirit of God has revealed to your mind and heart that both are true. Fine. But with that, your admission given to Scott Gordon screams one very important confession that delights me, and I want to tell you what that is:
I, JOHN GEE, DO NOT HAVE A TESTIMONY OF THE MISSING ROLL THEORY WHICH IS NOTHING MORE THAN A THEORY. I DON'T KNOW THAT IT'S TRUE.
That's right, John, you don't know. You're hanging in the breeze having a testimony of a book that you don't know how was translated or from what source. It's a mystery for you and all you can say is you know the book is true but you don't know the source from which it was translated due to the controversies of its origins.
How does that make you feel, John? Do you feel confused and maybe a little lost in confessing that you don't know and that you are depending on a THEORY that you can't prove and one that you are willing to abandon?
John, you said by your own admission that you are willing to accept an alternative THEORY to explain the source and method of the Book of Abraham translation -- the CATALYST THEORY. You do realize that this is just another theory that cannot be proven true and you will not have a testimony of it anymore than you do NOT have a testimony of the one you currently endorse. Do you see what I'm saying, John? In sum, you will not have had a testimony of either theory! The theories serve to offer an excuse to support your testimony that the Book of Abraham is somehow true. Belief in either or both theories gives you the following results:
1) I do NOT have a testimony of the Missing Roll Theory
2) I do NOT have a testimony of the Catalyst Theory
Therefore, all you can ever say is that you know the Book of Abraham is true but how it was translated and from what source you can't say for sure.
STOP!
I point out that in the above circumstances of falling back to the Catalyst Theory you are now forced to get a testimony of it and believe it absolutely as you do the Book of Abraham is somehow true as told you by the Spirit -- because, if you fail to do that then your only other alternative is to embrace the last theory which is supported by the critics, the one you fear!
So, in conclusion, if you fall back on the Catalyst Theory, then you have no other place to go should that theory be proven false. I can assure you, John, I can disprove the Catalyst Theory and destroy it completely by using logic, math, and reason. What will you do then?
Listen up...