HISTORICAL REFUTATION VS SCRIPTURAL REFUTATION

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#CC9900" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="043005a0dwnjzk.gif"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="EDWARD WATSONS WEBWORLD"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B> | </B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>EDWARD WATS</B><B>ON'S WEBWORLD</B></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id118.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="INTRO"><U><B>INTRO</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id120.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="KNOWING TRUTH"><U><B>KNOWING TRUTH</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id121.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="WHY MORMONS?"><U><B>WHY MORMONS?</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id122.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="INTELLECTUAL APPEAL"><U><B>INTELLECTUAL APPEAL</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id123.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PURPOSE AND USAGE"><U><B>PURPOSE AND USAGE</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id124.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ADAPTABILITY"><U><B>ADAPTABILITY</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id125.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="WHAT IS MORMONISM?"><U><B>WHAT IS MORMONISM?</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id126.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="THE CHURCH IS THE BRIDE OF CHRIST"><U><B>THE CHURCH IS THE BRIDE OF CHRIST</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id127.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="BIBLICAL EXPERTS"><U><B>BIBLICAL EXPERTS</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id128.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="IS MORMONISM A CULT?"><U><B>IS MORMONISM A CULT?</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><B>HISTORICAL REFUTATION VS SCRIPTURAL REFUTATION</B><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id130.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CREDENTIALS"><U><B>CREDENTIALS</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id131.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="BIBLICAL VIEW"><U><B>BIBLICAL VIEW</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id132.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PERSONAL NOTE"><U><B>PERSONAL NOTE</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id133.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="BOOK OF MORMON"><U><B>BOOK OF MORMON</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id135.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ABBREVIATIONS"><U><B>ABBREVIATIONS</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> HISTORICAL REFUTATION VS SCRIPTURAL REFUTATION</div> <div> <A HREF="id118.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="INTRO"><U><B>Introduction</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id120.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="KNOWING TRUTH"><U><B>The best way to know the Truth</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id121.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="WHY MORMONS?"><U><B>Why are we called “Mormons”? </B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id122.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="INTELLECTUAL APPEAL"><U><B>The intellectual appeal of Mormonism</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id123.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PURPOSE AND USAGE"><U><B>What these books are for and how to use them</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id124.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ADAPTABILITY"><U><B>The adaptability of Mormonism</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id125.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="WHAT IS MORMONISM?"><U><B>What is Mormonism?</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id126.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="THE CHURCH IS THE BRIDE OF CHRIST"><U><B>The Church is the Bride of Christ!</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id127.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="BIBLICAL EXPERTS"><U><B>The four types of biblical experts</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id128.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="IS MORMONISM A CULT?"><U><B>Is  Mormonism a Cult?</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id129.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="HISTORICAL REFUTATION VS SCRIPTURAL REFU"><U><B>Historical refutation vs Scriptural refutation</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id130.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CREDENTIALS"><U><B>The issue of credentials </B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id131.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="BIBLICAL VIEW"><U><B>My view of the Bible</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id132.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PERSONAL NOTE"><U><B>A personal note</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id133.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="BOOK OF MORMON"><U><B>Coming back to the Book of Mormon</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>[MORMONISM. The Faith of the Twenty-first Century. Volume 1. Edward K. Watson. (Liahona Publications. Copyright © 1998 Edward K. Watson.) pp. lxxxiii-lxxxiv. MORMONISM: Series Introduction. All rights reserved.]</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Historical refutation vs Scriptural refutation</B></div> <bR> <div>       I am not concerned at the sophisticated historical arguments our opponents use because the LDS church is true biblically. Non-scriptural historical writings which cast doubt upon the validity of the accounts found in the Latter-day Scriptures and concerning the legitimacy of Joseph Smith are in reality, unable to disprove the LDS faith. How can the church's history invalidate its validity when it is reflected accurately in the Bible as being the true church? <B>Historical arguments can't disprove the church since any insistence that they can will also invalidate Jesus and Traditional Christianity.</B> How would Christianity fare if all that were utilized were historical writings of the early centuries “by non-Christian contemporaries” (the opponents of Christianity who were referenced by Porphyry, Celsus and in the Rabbinical Literature)? Jesus wouldn't be viewed as the Savior/God & man/Son of God but would be known  as Yeshua-ben-Pantera, the son of the Roman soldier Pantera whom Mary allegedly had an adulterous affair with.<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >1</FONT> Jesus learned magic tricks in Egypt that he used to dupe the people,<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >2</FONT> and was excommunicated and condemned for worshiping an idol.<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >3</FONT> He was the leader of a band of hooligans who stirred up trouble in Palestine and was executed by the Romans for being a terrorist and sorcerer.<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >4</FONT> </div> <div>      These descriptions of Jesus are so foreign to what society thinks about him, since our society's image of Jesus is colored by the writings of those who believed in him and by the records about him that are considered “Scripture” by Christians.</div> <div>      Baptists don't care that   Roger Williams, the founder of the first Baptist church in America, which all other Baptist churches came from, denounced the very church he created stating he didn't have any authority from God to organize such a church and consequently the church he made didn't possess any legitimacy either. They don't care that the original Baptists, the Anabaptists practiced polygamy at Münster.  Lutherans don't care that  Martin Luther had extreme anti-Semitic views and was responsible for the deaths of many thousands of “non-believers.”  Catholics don't care about the millions of people both Christians and non-Christians who died because of the actions and permissions of the popes and Ecumenical Councils, especially during the Crusades and under the Inquisition. Neither do they care about the Papal Declarations that various native Indian tribes were nonhuman (as a result weren't descendants of Adam and Eve) which enabled them to be enslaved by the Europeans.  Anglicans don't care about the existence of their church was due to  King Henry VIII's “itch.”  Presbyterians don't care about  John Knox's abuses.  Reformed Christians don't care about  John Calvin's nasty temper and  Huldrych Zwingli's willingness to use the sword to spread the Word.  Why then do anti-Mormons think we care if  Joseph Smith drank and smoked the day before his death, or if he had a temper, or that he booted an abusive and hostile minister? At least he didn't chop anyone to pieces unlike the biblical prophet Samuel (1 Sam  15:33).  </div> <div>      Frankly, historical arguments only furnish a supporting role for one's faith and are only secondary to scriptural accuracy. <B>They are irrelevant to the legitimacy of one's faith.</B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >5</FONT> It is enlightening any sole adherence to historical arguments which “disproves” Mormonism, disproves many of the prominent branches of Christianity, and even disproves Jesus Christ's authenticity. </div> <bR> <div> <B>[ENDNOTES]:</B></div> <bR> <div> 1.<I>b. Sanh.</I> 106a;<I> b. Hag</I>. 4b; <I>b. `Abod. Zar</I>. 16b-17a;<I> t. Hul. </I>2.24; <I>Qoh. Rab</I>. 1:8. §3; <I>Yal. Šimeoni</I> on Mic 1 and Prov 5:8. Taken from NWNTI. pp. 143-145.</div> <div> 2.<I>b. Sanh</I>. 107b; <I>b. Sota</I> 47a; <I>y. Hag. </I>2.2; <I>b. Sanh</I>. 43a; <I>t. Šabb</I>. 11.15; <I>b. Šabb.</I> 104b; Justin Martyr. <I>Dialog. </I>69.7; Origen. <I>C. Cel. </I>1:6,38,71; DJG. p. 842.</div> <div> 3.<I>b. Sanh.</I> 107b; <I>b. Sota</I> 47a; <I>y. Hag</I>. 2.2;<I> y. Sanh</I>. 6.6. Taken from NWNTI. p. 144.</div> <div> 4.<I>b. Sanh. </I>43a; <I>t. Sanh</I>. 10.11; <I>y. Sanh.</I> 7:12; <I>b. Sanh</I>. 67a; <I>y. Sanh</I>. 7.16;<I> t. Sanh.</I> 9.7; <I>Tg. Est</I>. I. 7:9. Taken from NWNTI. p. 145.</div> <div> 5.Anti-Mormon works that focus on historical arguments such as those done by the  Tanners can never disprove the church since the realm of history is outside the spiritual realm. Things of the Spirit can only be known by the spirit. No matter how hard they fight against this truism, it's still true.</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="mailto:ewatson@shaw.ca" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:ewatson@shaw.ca"><U>e-mail me!</U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>