Book of Abraham and the Latest Apologetics

[_Dwight Frye]

I am aware that I am but the spittle of a cockroach, discarded on a soggy fag butt in the gutter.

Ha! "Soggy fag butt" had a totally different meaning for me until I realized you were referring to a cigarette.

[_Brent Metcalfe]

Hi CaliforniaKid,

I just sent you an email that I suspect may turn that frown upside down.

My best,

</brent>

http://mormonscripturestudies.com
(© 2009 Brent Lee Metcalfe. All rights reserved.)
——————————
The thesis of inspiration may not be invoked to guarantee historicity, for a divinely inspired story is not necessarily history.
—Raymond E. Brown

[_Kevin Graham]

Is anyone ever going to answer Danna's question about the Chaldeans?

It was directed towards an apologist, and we don't seem to have many on this forum anymore. But CK has talked about this in these threads:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3705&p=89235&hilit=#p89235

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3726&p=89559&hilit=#p89559

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=8646&p=226843&hilit=#p226843

[_Brackite]

Hi CaliforniaKid,

I just sent you an email that I suspect may turn that frown upside down.



My best,

</brent>

http://mormonscripturestudies.com
(© 2009 Brent Lee Metcalfe. All rights reserved.)
——————————
The thesis of inspiration may not be invoked to guarantee historicity, for a divinely inspired story is not necessarily history.
—Raymond E. Brown

turns upside down into

[_CaliforniaKid]

turns upside down into

Have I ever mentioned that brackite is one of my favorite posters? Because he is.

[_Kishkumen]

The hard cold facts are that, whether you like it or not, and despite the fact that my experience with the documents is substantially less than yours, I am still the closest to a peer in these matters that you can find on the planet at this particular moment in time.

I wasn't aware that you had published anything, anywhere. I would be interested in reading what you have published. Could you post a short bibliography of your publications. I would like to see exactly how much of a peer of Brent Metcalfe you are.

Prepared to be informed,

Kish

[_Kishkumen]

And, as you point out, the Book of Abraham is directly polemical not only against pagan Egyptian deities but against the pharaohs' claim to priesthood. It also flies in the face of Egyptian nationalism, making Abraham the author of the astronomical science. When the Egyptian priests try to slaughter Abraham on an altar for his blasphemy, they are foiled by the Hebrew deity. Hardly the sort of document that would be of interest to Hor, a priest of Min Who Slaughters His Enemies.

With all due respect to one who knows the particulars on the Book of Abraham much better than I, you might want to investigate further the issue of Judaism in Alexandria as envisioned by insiders and outsiders. Tacitus, the Roman historian, describes Judaism as a purposeful inversion of Egyptian religion. The sources he consulted for his views may have been, at least in part, Alexandrian Greek sources. Their criticisms of Judaism, in turn, may have been informed by something going on in the Alexandrian Jewish community itself.

Although I agree with you on the whole, your opponents are no doubt relying in part on the tendency for ancient religious groups to appropriate and reuse the materials of other cultures and systems. For example, although Gee's argument about Pap. Leiden I 384 is almost tragically wrongheaded, observe how it shows the willingness to use the name Abraham in a magical papyrus. Or think of how Greek philosophical texts show up in the Nag Hammadi Library. At the very least, you should nuance your view of the possibility that such cultural mixing, even seemingly incompatible mixing, could exist.

As I said, I think that you are, in the end, correct, but be prepared to face these issues as you make your argument.

[_Kevin Graham]

I wasn't aware that you had published anything, anywhere.

ROFL!

Are you kidding?

Will has spent all day trying to present a grammatically perfect response to these posts. I'm sure his wife is tired of serving as his spell checker. Sadly, he really thinks this makes up for being stupid in everything he defends.

[_Kishkumen]

Are you kidding?

Well, only half kidding. I mean, who knows what the FROB might be willing to publish? One can never be too careful on the off chance of being caught with one's toes on one's teeth.

But seriously, I was kind of confused that he would consider himself a peer to Brent Metcalfe only on the basis of neither one of them possessing PhDs or working as university faculty. Since I own some things that Metcalfe has written, edited, or both, I thought I would ask for similar bona fides from a man who was claiming to be his peer.

[_Kevin Graham]

Well, only half kidding. I mean, who knows what the FROB might be willing to publish? One can never be too careful on the off chance of being caught with one's toes on one's teeth.

True, but I think FARMS has learned a lesson on credibility by publishing amateur hacks like Shirts. I doubt it will repeat the mistake. Though I'm sure nothing would please Will more than to be published by either FAIR or FARMS, the truth is he serves no real purpose. He offers nothing of real value, aside from being Hauglid's lapdog. He has no researching talent or rudimentary understanding of any subject upon which he chooses to bloviate. He is merely a rhetoric specialist with way too much time on his hands as a stay-at-home Dad.