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I was struck by how fundamentally disrespectful the accounts were—Nibley comes across as a doddering old idiot in them. I’m not sure that I get what the point was in posting them.

hauslern wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 29, 2022 9:42 pm

Dan is extolling the work of Hugh Nibley. Nibley engaged in LDS history, early Christian history and Egyptology.
He had a paper published in the journal Church History The Passing of the Primitive Church
https://byustudies.byu.edu/wp-content/u ... assing.pdf

I once asked Wesley P Walters thoughts on Nibley's scholarship and for what it's worth here is his response for you entertainment.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Zg1 ... Pm-UY/edit

Classical scholars like Trevor Luke might like to critique.

Walters was a conservative evangelical who did some good research on the revival question and the 1826 trial. (He was accused of stealing the material from the county jail).

That was an interesting series of letters. Thanks for posting.

I'm mostly working in patristics and exegetical history now. I seldom think of Mormonism anymore, but when I do, I'm left shaking my head. You have to grotesquely cherry pick the evidence from the New Testament and the early church to conclude that early Christianity looked anything like Mormonism and Joseph Smith meaningfully restored it.

MsJack,

It's always good to see you.
Please drop in as often as you can.
Your contributions to this board have been immeasurable and your perspective is unique.

FS

Fence Sitter wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 03, 2022 1:40 pm

MsJack,

It's always good to see you.
Please drop in as often as you can.
Your contributions to this board have been immeasurable and your perspective is unique.

FS

I will heartily second that proposition!

I would love to hear Ms Jacks thoughts on Nibley's view that missionary work had ceased and his idea of the "tunnell". I have a book by Michael Green Evangelism in the Early Church which shows much missionary work.

hauslern wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 03, 2022 8:39 pm

I would love to hear Ms Jacks thoughts on Nibley's view that missionary work had ceased and his idea of the "tunnell". I have a book by Michael Green Evangelism in the Early Church which shows much missionary work

Hauslern, for those of use with little interest in in depth Nibley studies could you briefly state what sort of idea is being referred to with "tunnell" and a stop to missionary work. The LDS idea of apostasy is problematic in the view of many. Many have also thought the early church does not resemble Joseph Smith's restoration. I realize Nibley saw this differently.

////
looking back to the open post link I see that the answer to my question is likely to be in that very article. I suppose I can dig that deep sometime soon. I didn't look there at first thinking it was just more tiresome complaining about Mr Peterson.

"The Great Gap:—That ominous gap in the records which comes just at the moment of transition from a world-hostile to a world-conditioned Christianity has recently received growing attention and a number of interesting labels, such as the lacuna, the eclipse, the void, the great vacuum, the narrows, the period of oblivion, etc.89 Brandon compares it to a tunnel “from which we emerge to find a situation which is unexpected in terms of the situation which went before.”90 (XXVII) The church, that is, which comes out of the tunnel is not the church that went into it. The Great Gap is more than a mere absence of documents; it is an abrupt break in the continuity of the Church, so complete as to prove to Theodore Brandt that “the living faith cannot be transmitted from past ages . . .” which is at least an admission that it has not been.91 The early Christians knew they were approaching a tunnel; they were acutely aware of “the terrible possibility of apostasy for the church” — not merely of apostasy from it,92 and never doubted “the general apostasy which would precede the coming of the Messiah.”93 And the church of the next age is just as aware of having passed through the tunnel, and losing its most precious possessions in the process" Read page 7 of Walters letter for response

Fence Sitter wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 03, 2022 1:40 pm

MsJack,

It's always good to see you.
Please drop in as often as you can.
Your contributions to this board have been immeasurable and your perspective is unique.

FS

Thanks FS! I try to drop by when I can. I appreciate everyone here.

Philo Sofee wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 03, 2022 7:44 pm

I will heartily second that proposition!

Thanks Kerry! I hope you are well.

hauslern wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 03, 2022 8:39 pm

I would love to hear Ms Jacks thoughts on Nibley's view that missionary work had ceased and his idea of the "tunnell". I have a book by Michael Green Evangelism in the Early Church which shows much missionary work

Thanks for asking! I am keeping busy (I'm actually presenting in a patristics section at ETS in the fall and have been working on that paper) but I'll try to make time this week.