The Father of All Lies: Implications of the Catalyst Theory

[_Holy Ghost]

The ship has sunk. There's barely any more gurgling from bubbles rising to the surface. The provenance of the Book of Abraham, as "A Translation of some ancient Records that have fallen into our hands from the catacombs of Egypt. The writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus.", is now just ludicrous, many, many leagues under the sea.

Now the mopologetic eyes turn their lonely eyes to the catalyst theory. No, Virginia, the characters on the Egyptian papyrus do not translate to be the Book of Abraham. The papyrus is just a "catalyst" used by God to prepare and prime Joseph Smith's mind to be ready and receptive to then receive by inspiration into his cranium the story of Abraham. Sure, Joseph Smith thought he was really translating, then trying to reverse engineer an Egyptian alphabet and grammar. Never mind that it was a deception of Joseph Smith about what was happening, or that Lucifer is the father of ALL lies. God indulges in them from time to time, such as when dealing with hard-headed prophets--even one to whom other scripture had been revealed (Book of Commandments-cum-Doctrine & Covenants) and Elohim and Jehovah had appeared, in the flesh. As late as 1835-1842, Joseph Smith remained incredulous about all this. He needed a prop (the papyrus) and to think he was really doing "translating".

The catalyst is a two-fer when it comes to throwing persons under the bus. God is a deceiver, and Joseph Smith remained a hard-headed, stubborn resister to inspiration from God and needed to think he was "translating." All just to save "the Church."

Bring it on, mopes, bring it on!

[_Shulem]

Bring it on, mopes, bring it on!

That's what I say. Let them bring it on. The pain and misery of the Book of Abraham inflicted upon the scabby wounds of the bloody Mormon church is still in the beginning stages as the world stage of public exhibition and spectacle is now being set up by the Internet and will be played out as a grand performance.



Oh the wonders of Karma! It's coming, baby, it's coming.

[_jfro18]

The catalyst theory is a dead end and can be debunked/killed/whatever is just a few words:

1. Abraham 1:12-14 literally tells us that the facsimiles are there to help explain the story. If the papyri were simply "channeling" a revelation a la Givens, then there would be no way that God would then point us to the facsimiles to illustrate the revelation.

2. The manuscripts show the characters that correspond to the Egyptian characters around the facsimile. Again, if it was simply a revelation why is Joseph Smith writing down characters on the papyri over a 7 year period.

3. And most importantly, Joseph Smith himself tells us over and over again this is a translation. At no point does he claim this is just a revelation or that the papyrus is merely the vehicle to get another story. If we take Joseph Smith at his word, the catalyst theory is dead on arrival.

This isn't hard... it's just all the apologists have left, and I am pretty sure they know just how weak and impossible it is.

[_Shulem]

Be prepared for the screams and awful howling that will come out of the mouths of the apologists as they foam at the mouth and scream bloody murder in a vain effort to defend the newly instituted CATALYST THEORY. It's going to make for an awful sound as Mormon apologists howl like wolves having been rounded up and cornered for the kill.

It's going to be a party, folks. And I'm going to be there.

[_Shulem]

The Catalyst Theory is all about believing in things that are not true while not believing in things that are true. In this state it is impossible for one to be edified with God. It is confusion and disorder.

[_Dr Moore]

This confuses me the more I think about it.

Doesn't the catalyst theory support the notion, as introduced in D&C 19, that God intentionally deceives mankind when it serves His purposes?

At least, on the surface it appears to.

Not to be misunderstood, I think the catalyst theory has real problems, not the least of which is the material itself (the Book of Abraham text and the facsimiles with their explanations, do not appear, to me, inspired whatsoever).

[_Themis]

Bring it on, mopes, bring it on!

It's all BS and one will be taken to the cleaners even from some who don't have a great understanding of all the evidence. This is why they avoid discussion boards that allow open discussion.

When it comes to those who are going with the CT, they don't want to explain it even in their own minds. They just want to go with it and focus on vague beliefs harder to disprove.

[_Philo Sofee]

Be prepared for the screams and awful howling that will come out of the mouths of the apologists as they foam at the mouth and scream bloody murder in a vain effort to defend the newly instituted CATALYST THEORY. It's going to make for an awful sound as Mormon apologists howl like wolves having been rounded up and cornered for the kill.

It's going to be a party, folks. And I'm going to be there.

Me too! Hey! Have you heard Terryl Givens is now writing a book on the Book of Abraham? True story Shulem.

[_Shulem]

Have you heard Terryl Givens is now writing a book on the Book of Abraham? True story Shulem.

Have you ever wondered why one of the apostles has never written a book on the subject? Heck, they have nothing but time on their hands as they sit on those long flights going from place to place making fare speeches about how special they are. Wouldn't it be fun if an apostle came out with a book on the subject? Just imagine the fun we could have tearing it apart.

[_Shulem]

Doesn't the catalyst theory support the notion, as introduced in D&C 19, that God intentionally deceives mankind when it serves His purposes?

Smith developed a theology attempting to override the basic understanding of the very definition of eternal or forever. Smith played his God up as someone who plays with our minds in order to get us to obey -- in other words, incite fear into the minds and hearts of the followers. That is exactly what Smith did. He used fear to develop and craft his doctrine in an attempt to scare people.

Nevertheless, it is not written that there shall be no end to this torment, but it is written endless torment.

Well, if it's endless than that means it's endless. If it's eternal damnation then that means it's eternal. The same would be said for endless joy or eternal joy. It doesn't end, period.

Stupid damned Mormons!!