Answering Common BAD Assumptions About The Book of Abraham (vis-à-vis Capturing Christianity)

Key Concepts

• Book of Abraham
• Joseph Smith
• Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar
• Facsimiles
• Egyptology
• Translation vs. Revelation
• Pre-mortal existence
• Ancient Apocryphal Writings
• Secular vs. Spiritual Knowledge

Analysis of Cameron Bertuzzi's Criticisms

The video analyzes Cameron Bertuzzi's (Capturing Christianity) criticisms of the Book of Abraham, focusing on errors and omissions in his arguments. It acknowledges the watchability of Bertuzzi's video but highlights its reliance on flawed assumptions.

The Kirtland Egyptian Papers

• Cameron's Claim: Joseph Smith used the "Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar" to translate the Book of Abraham.
• Counter-Argument: Joseph Smith never claimed to use the Egyptian alphabet and grammar for the Book of Abraham translation. The historical record suggests that W.W. Phelps was more involved in the alphabet and grammar project. The papers were likely a secular attempt to translate ancient languages that began before the arrival of Chandler's papyri.
• Evidence: A letter from W.W. Phelps to his wife containing characters with proposed pronunciations and translations was written weeks before the Saints learned that papyri even existed.
• Conclusion: Cameron assumes the Kirtland Egyptian papers are the source of the Book of Abraham translation, a weak assumption that undermines his arguments.

Critique of the Facsimiles

• Cameron's Claim: Egyptologists in 1912 refuted Joseph Smith's interpretations of the facsimiles.
• Counter-Argument: Egyptology was less developed in 1912. The Joseph Smith papyri were produced in 200 BC, a time of cultural mixing, including Jewish and Egyptian influences.
• Evidence: A study of over 750 Egyptian texts found many references to biblical figures, with Abraham and Moses being the most mentioned. There are examples of Abraham being associated with a figure lying on a lion couch, similar to Facsimile 1. Examples exist of scenes similar to Facsimile 3 where Osiris is on a throne, but instead, it is labeled as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
• Example: Jesus's story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16 is presented as a repackaging of an Egyptian story.
• Conclusion: While these correlations don't prove Joseph Smith gave an accurate 2nd-century BC Theban explanation, they challenge the idea that he completely fabricated the interpretations.

Church's Response to 1912 Experts

• Cameron's Claim: The Church dismissed top egyptologists as people who just didn't get it because they weren't Mormons.
• Counter-Argument: The Church's response included page after page of analysis and responses to the claims made by the experts. The quote Cameron used was not even from the First Presidency, but from Dr. Frederick J. Pack, a professor of geology at the University of Utah.

Metropolitan Museum of Art Fragments

• Cameron's Claim: Modern egyptologists studied fragments of papyrus that once belonged to Joseph Smith and determined they were not Abraham's writings.
• Counter-Argument: The text may not be the text Joseph Smith claimed to translate.
• Evidence: In Egyptian papyri, the text correlates to the picture next to it only about 50% of the time. Abraham 1:11-12 suggests the picture and the text were not next to each other. Witness accounts agree that the Book of Abraham was on only one of the rolls of papyrus Joseph purchased. It is estimated that we only have about 2-3% of the papyri originally in Joseph's possession.
• Conclusion: It's convenient for Cameron to assume we have the exact papyri Joseph translated, but chances are we probably don't.

Theological Arguments

• Cameron's Claim: The Book of Abraham introduces radical new ideas that clash with mainstream Judaism and Christianity, such as polytheism and pre-mortal existence.
• Counter-Argument: These ideas are not entirely foreign to Jewish and Christian traditions.
• Evidence: Trent Horn, a Catholic apologist, states that the earliest parts of the Old Testament affirm henotheism. Romans suggests that God had knowledge of man from eternity.
• Conclusion: Cameron is wrong to claim these are made-up doctrines unknown to canonical Jews and Christians.

Five Things Cameron Doesn't Want You to Know

The video presents five points that contradict Cameron's narrative:

1. Plane called "Olem": Joseph Smith predicted the existence of a plane called Olem. A record of King Naram-Sin was discovered that dated to a little before the time of Abraham and listed a place called Ulum in Syria near Abraham's homeland. Olem and Ulum are a good linguistic match.
2. Sun called "Shinehah": The Book of Abraham calls the sun Shinehah. The pyramid texts show that Shinehah is a plausible rendering for the word they use to describe the sun's orbit during Abraham's time.
3. Woman named "Zepta" discovered Egypt: The original manuscript for the Book of Abraham says a woman named Zepta discovered Egypt when it was underwater, which aligns with some Egyptian texts that say Isis discovered Egypt rising out of the water. Zepta would mean "daughter of P," and some Egyptian texts name Isis as the daughter of P.
4. Biographical Details of Abraham: The Book of Abraham adds biographical details to Abraham's life not found in the Bible, such as his idolatrous father, an attempt on his life, his interest in astronomy, and the fact that he wrote his own book. These details show up in ancient apocryphal writings and historians' writings.
5. Correct Interpretation of Figures in Facsimiles: Joseph Smith assigns the correct interpretation to many figures in the facsimiles. In Facsimile 2, he correctly says that four figures represent the four corners of the Earth. In Facsimile 1, he correctly calls vertical lines the pillars of Heaven and angled lines the firmament over our head, and a crocodile Pharaoh.

Conclusion

The video concludes that Cameron's arguments rely on assumptions rather than facts. It suggests the Book of Abraham has real ancient elements and encourages viewers to seek spiritual knowledge. It acknowledges that we don't have all the answers and that sometimes the best answers we do have are unsatisfying. It also suggests that the papyri might have been a catalyst for revelation, and Joseph wrongfully assumed he was receiving a translation of the papyri themselves. The video encourages viewers to engage in further discussion in the comments.