For my discussion and criticism of Card as a defender of the Book of Mormon, see: http://packham.n4m.org/card-bom.htm
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Most cultures in the world have a creation myth that explains how the world came to be, how mankind began, etc. Most of them include a myth about how mankind acquired fire. But there is no story about that in the Bible. Why not, I wonder?
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Christmas is one of the happiest times of year. For most of us, Christmas brings back memories of Christmases past, the Christmases of our childhood, when joy reigned and wishes came true. The fragrance of fresh fir, the glow of candles, the tinkle of little Christmas bells, the glitter and glisten of decorations which brighten everything at this time of year, the very colors of green and red and
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There is plenty of literature to answer your question. Try these. You may be able to get them on interlibrary loan: Ehrman, Bart D., Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions In The Bible, Harper One, 2009 Ehrman, Bart D., Forged: Why The Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are, Harper One, 2011 Finkelstein, Israel, and Neil Asher Silberman, The Bible Unearthed: Archaeolo
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Years ago there was a proposal in Texas to teach foreign languages in Texas high schools. One Texas legislator objected: "If English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it's good enough for our Texas schoolchildren!"
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Nightingale Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- >.... > On a different note, I wonder if RfM Admin would > put a sticky note on page 1 here so people can > find your new group, Richard. Thanks for the encouragement, Nightingale. That's a good question for admin.
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Distraught wrote: >Can you please share your support group information with me. My daughter starting pushing us (her family) away once she married into a Mormon family. Now she won’t speak to us at all and I haven’t see my grandchildren in two years That support group was a Yahoo group, and all Yahoo groups will disappear on December 15 of this year. It had about 300 subscribers. The
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I think you and I agree: a baby does not have the ability to believe in God (or gods). Belief is a learned behavior. Our difference seems to be only in the definition of the terms "atheist" and "atheism." You appear to define "atheist" as "one who has decided not to believe in God." That is the definition that is preferred (I think) by most theists.
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Get Fact Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The notion that all babies hold any theological > position - including atheism - is pure nonsense. As has been often pointed out here, "atheism" is NOT a theological position. Rather, it means merely "not having a belief in God or gods." One could just as well (and correctly) point out th
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On March 10, 1844, Smith prophesied that Christ would not return in any year in which a rainbow occurred. ( History of the Church 6:249-254, Teachings of the Prophet JS p 341) Of course, a rainbow occurs somewhere every year, whenever there is sunshine after a rain, and Christ has not yet returned.
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Apparently now, because of covid, the JWs are no longer standing in public displaying copies of AWAKE or knocking on random doors. They are dialing phone numbers. I just got a phone call from Bill, who wanted to share the message with me. He got more than he bargained for. He started by saying "the Bible says..." I interrupted him and asked him why he beieved what the Bible says.
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See also my article on this problem: http://packham.n4m.org/linguist.htm#KINGJAMES
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I think that I probably know how you feel, since my own alcoholic TBM sister took her own life a few years ago. She and I had been superficially "close" but she was always aloof with me because of my apostasy, and she insisted that I "really do believe it." We were close enough emotionally that she could be honest with me about her feelings (negative) toward her husband, an
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Ardern, in case you don't know, is exmormon and is in her first term as the prime minister of New Zealand. https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/10/asia/jacinda-ardern-new-zealand-election-intl-hnk-dst/index.html
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question for admins
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You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. You can lead a Saint to knowledge, but you can't make him think.
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And I have been trying to get in touch with YOU. Could you drop me a line? I can't post an email addy here, but you'll find it in the article you helped me with at http://packham.n4m.org/animals.htm "Animal Resurrection"
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For a partial list of failed prophecies (Mormon and Biblical) see: http://packham.n4m.org/prophet.htm http://packham.n4m.org/byoung.htm#PROPHECIES http://packham.n4m.org/bible.htm#PROPHECY
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GNPE Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > is there anything in the CES notes about the Bof > A? like a 'clarification' (cough!!) What does this have to do with my post?? It doesn't even mention the BoF.
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The Book of Mormon's opening book of 1 Nephi presents a dream/vision in which prophets describe a detailed scene involving a narrow path with an iron rod, leading to the tree of life laden with the most desirable fruit. A river that is both good and bad flows alongside, on the other side of which is seen a large, high building filled with the proud people of the world. The scene is fraught w
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Joseph Smith himself (as well as anyone whose lineage is from Ephraim or Manasseh) was unworthy for the priesthood, since those two sons were born of Asenath, who was the daughter of an Egyptian priest. (Genesis 41:45, 50-51). They were therefore half Egyptian and passed their blood down. According to the Book of Abraham, Egyptians and anyone with Egyptian blood were denied the priesthood (1:2
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IIRC, Apostle William McLellin was disgusted that the dedication of the Kirtland temple was a "drunken orgy" because of the sacramental wine.
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When I was a kid in the 1940s I got a weekly allowance of 25¢. Every Sunday after church, I walked up to the bishop on the stand and gave him 2¢ or 3¢, alternating. And he would write me a receipt. What a good boy I was!
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Actually, in the 25 years +/- that I have been active in exmormon affairs and maintained a website, I have been a major cause of several Mormons deciding that it wasn't believable and leaving the church. They have told me so. I think I have also contributed in a lesser degree to others' leaving Mormonism. An excellent article in the latest issue of Freethought Today is by an atheist who freque
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Dave the Atheist Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Either way your name is not removed. The church has two sets of records. One set is present members of the church. The other set is FORMER members of the church. When you resign, your name is removed from the active list. They (like magazine publishers and other legitimate enterprises) keep a record of forme
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Brother of Jerry is absolutely correct. The result is exactly the same. "Name removal" is what the church calls "resignation". The church refuses to use the term "resignation."
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All right. I give up. I quit. But please, since you are obviously much more learned in this than I am.... How would YOU have responded to the missionary?
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Lot's Wife wrote: >What you wrote was that the "Hebrew derived from 'Egyptian' (rather, 'proto-semitic') writing." That indicates that Egyptian and proto-Semitic writing are identical or at least closely related. Read up on the origin of the alphabet. Start with (for easy access) the Wikipedia article "History of the Alphabet" which says: " Its first origins
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I discuss the problem in my article "Linguistic Problems of Mormonism" at http://packham.n4m.org/linguist.htm#ENGRAVED
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Lot's Wife Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Quibbles regarding some of your assertions. > > First, Egyptian was not a Semitic language, nor a > descendant of proto-Semitic. It was a separate > branch of Afro-Asiatic languages. > > Second, while there was contact between ancient > Egypt and Mesopotamia, and perhaps a realization
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