Posted on 01/10/2006 4:14:51 AM PST by Quester
Contradictions Between the Book of Mormon and the Bible
Copyright © 1999 Institute for Religious Research. All rights reserved.
There are many serious objections to the claim of Joseph Smith and the LDS church that the Book of Mormon is divinely inspired latter-day scripture supplemental to the Bible. However, none are more significant than the numerous contradictions between Book of Mormon teaching and the Bible. This list is illustrative only, not exhaustive.
1. The Book of Mormon teaches that little children are not capable of sin because they do not have a sinful nature (Moroni 8:8). In contrast, the Bible in Psalm 51:5 clearly teaches that we have sinful nature from birth: "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me" (NIV). (This does not mean that those who die in infancy are lost.*)
2. The Book of Mormon teaches that the disobedience of Adam and Eve in eating the forbidden fruit was necessary so that they could have children and bring joy to mankind (2 Nephi 2:23-25). In contrast, the Bible specifically declares that Adam’s transgression was a sinful act of rebellion that unleashed the power of sin and death in the human heart and throughout God’s perfect world (Genesis 3:16-19; Romans 5:12; 8:20-21). There is no Biblical support for the view that Adam and Eve could only fulfill the command to "be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28) by disobeying God’s command regarding the forbidden fruit (Genesis 2:17). The Book of Mormon teaching that these divine commands are contradictory, and that God expected Adam and Eve to figure out that in reality He wanted them to break the latter command ("of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it") in order to keep the former ("be fruitful and multiply"), has no basis in logic or the Biblical text, and attributes equivocation to God.
3. The Book of Mormon teaches that black skin is a sign of God’s curse, so that white-skinned people are considered morally and spiritually superior to black skinned people (2 Nephi 5:21). In contrast, the Bible teaches that God "made of one blood all nations of men" (Acts 17:26, KJV), that in Christ distinctions of ethnicity, gender and social class are erased (Galatians 3:28), and that God condemns favoritism (James 2:1).
4. The Book of Mormon teaches that, "it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23; see also Moroni 10:32). In contrast, the Bible teaches that apart from Christ we are dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1,5) and unable to do anything to merit forgiveness and eternal life. Salvation is wholly of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 11:6; Titus 3:5-6), not by grace plus works. Good works are a result, not the basis, of a right relationship with God (Ephesians 2:10).
5. According to the Book of Mormon, about 600 years before Christ, a Nephite prophet predicted that "many plain and precious parts" (1 Nephi 13:26-28) would be removed from the Bible. In contrast, from the Bible it is clear that during His earthly ministry, Jesus himself constantly quoted from the Old Testament Scriptures, and showed full confidence in their completeness and accurate transmission as they had survived down to His time. Jesus declared that "heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away" (Mark 13:31; see also Matthew 5:18), and promised His disciples who were to pen the New Testament that the Holy Ghost "shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" (John 14:26); Jesus further promised the apostles that they would "bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain" (John 15:16). These promises clearly imply that the fruit of the apostles — the New Testament Scriptures and the Christian church — would endure.
6. According to a Book of Mormon prophecy (Helaman 14:27), at the time of Christ’s crucifixion "darkness should cover the face of the whole earth for the space of three days." In contrast, the New Testament gospel accounts declare repeatedly that there was darkness for only three hours while Jesus was on the cross (Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44).
An earlier prophecy in 1 Nephi 19:10 implies the three days of darkness will be more than regional in scope for it says this sign will be "unto those who inhabit the isles of the sea, more especially given unto those who are of the house of Israel." The darkness then would extend over the ocean to the islands and reach as far as Israel in the Middle East.
Book of Mormon references to the fulfillment of this prophecy, however, use wording that could be understood to mean the three days of darkness was only in the Americas, stating that the three days of darkness would be "over the face of the land." (3 Nephi 8:3ff; 10:9). This appears to be the position of the late Mormon General Authority B.H. Roberts in his book Studies of the Book of Mormon, p. 292). If this is the case, then this would resolve the apparent contradiction between the Bible and the Book of Mormon regarding what happened at the time of Christ's death, for we would have 3 hours of darkness in Israel and 3 days of darkness on the American continents. However, this would make the earlier prophecies of 1 Nephi and Helaman internally contradictory with later BOM references, since their phrasing of "the isles of the sea ... those who are of the house of Israel" and "the whole face of the whole earth" is difficult to understand as merely a localized time of darkness.
7. The Book of Mormon people are said to have observed "all things according to the law of Moses (2 Nephi 5:10; 25:24). However, although they are supposed to have been Hebrews, they were descendents of the tribe of Joseph (1 Nephi 5:17) or Manasseh (Alma 10:3), not the tribe of Levi and family line of Aaron, as the Law of Moses dictates (Numbers 3:10; Exodus 29:9; Numbers 18:1-7), so they would not have had a legitimate priesthood.
8. According to the Book of Mormon, there were many high priests serving at the same time (Mosiah 11:11; Alma 13:9-10; 46:6,38; Helaman 3:25) in the New World, among those it describes as Jewish immigrants from ancient Israel who "kept the law of Moses" (e.g., 2 Nephi 25:10; Jacob 4:5; Jarom 1:5). In contrast, it is clear from the Bible that only one individual at a time occupied the office of high priest under the Old Testament dispensation (see, for example Leviticus 21:10; Matthew 26:3; Hebrews 8:6-7). (The mention in Luke 3:2 of "Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests" is not a real exception -- in Christ’s time Israel was under the domination of the Romans, who intervened to change the high priest at will. That is, this office became a kind of "political football," rather than following the appointment process dictated in the Law of Moses. See John 18:13, which describes Annas as "father-in-law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.")
9. The people described in the Book of Mormon operated multiple temples (Alma 16:13; 23:2; 26:29). This violates the dictates of the Old Testament Scriptures on two counts: First, God commanded Israel to build only one temple to reflect that fact that there is only one true God (Deuteronomy 12:5,13-14; 16:5-6). Second, the one legitimate temple was to be built in Jerusalem (Zion), the location designated by God (The Old Testament is filled with explicit references to God choosing Jerusalem [Zion] as the place where "His name would dwell" in the temple: for example, 1 Kings 8:44,48; 11:13,32,36; 14:21; 2 Kings 21:7; 23:27; 1 Chronicles 28:4; 2 Chronicles 6:6; 7:12,16; Psalm 78:68-69; Isaiah 18:7.
10. The most common biblical terms used to describe the Old Testament priesthood, temple and appointed feasts, are entirely missing from the Book of Mormon. Here are 10 examples of such biblical terms with their frequencies, that never appear once in the Book of Mormon:
"laver" (13 times in Bible)
"incense" (121 times in Bible)
"ark of the covenant" (48 times in Bible)
"sons of Aaron" (97 times in Bible)
"mercy seat" (23 in Bible)
"day of atonement" (21 times in Bible)
"feast of tabernacles" (17 times in Bible)
"passover" (59 times in Bible)
"house of the LORD" (627 in Bible)
"Aaron" – this name appears 48 times in the Book of Mormon, but never in reference to the biblical Aaron or the Aaronic priesthood
Conclusion: The contradictions between the Book of Mormon and the Bible constitute a most serious obstacle to accepting the Book of Mormon as Latter-day scripture that is supplemental to the Bible. The Bible came first, not the Book of Mormon. And whereas the Bible is organically linked to the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ by extensive surviving manuscript evidence going back as far as A.D. 125-30, the Book of Mormon is wholly lacking in any such evidences of ancient origin.
Is it not reasonable, therefore, to make the Bible the standard for judging the Book of Mormon, and not the other way around? If we accept the Bible as our "measuring stick" for spiritual truth, the Book of Mormon must be rejected.
— Luke P. Wilson
You cited this passage (minus context), Restornu ... at the end of the last large paragrah of your previous response.
Do you know what the promise to Abraham's is if man Keep his Convanent of the Lord?
This was my point!
In post #393 I did give links to the Promise to Abraham
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1555210/posts?page=393#393
Gosh, I can't keep repeating I know that you aren't familar, but there are patterns here a little there a little, line upon line, precept upon precept!
It is sad When one spend all their time trying to debunk instead of letting the Holy Spirit answer!
Are you Predestian or Free will?
"It is sad When one spend all their time trying to debunk instead of letting the Holy Spirit answer!"
restornu -- Quester IS letting the Holy Spirit answer. Through the Bible, which is where the Holy Spirit wrote it all down for us.
What in the world are you talking about with that question?
Which as stated previously was the big lie. God denied access to the tree of life and Adam and Eve did surely die.
in the context that Satan lies to tell her that 1. God's Word was not true, 2. Not only was God's word not true, but that God didn't want them to eat of the tree because it would make Adam and Eve like gods
Well, you keep saying that. But scripture only says that she desired to know good and evil, or be wise.
Eve had every possible variety and taste of fruit of all the other trees in the Garden. Her desire was prompted by the temptation that this forbidden fruit would make her wise -- i.e. 'like a god".
Again, scripture states three reasons and three reasons only why she ate...good to eat, good to look at, and it would make her wise:
Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
The temptation is that we shall be as gods. My initial idea in my post stands.
Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
The name of the tree is "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil"...not "the tree that makes you become God".
Look, Satan could have used anything to tempt Eve. He appealed to her senses and her ego. It's the same tactics he uses today to cause sin. The whole point was to get Adam and Eve to disobey God. Disobedience to God CAUSED Adam and Eve to know good AND evil...caused them to become sinners.
Rom 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Again, my original post that the original sin is not to just eat some forbidden fruit -- the lie that we shall be as gods was the temptation that caused the Fall. That's the whole Judeo Christian universe. The Fall = Need for a Messiah
The lie that we won't die (surely you won't die!) when we disobey God is what killed Adam and Eve and what makes us need Christ...our saviour.
So idolatry or the LIE that anything other than God has His creative powers becomes the very first commandment.
I think what you're doing is mixing up the desire to be independent of God with the desire to be like God. If by "like God" you mean the desire to have Godlike powers independent of God's will or control, then yes, that's egotism gone wild. But if you desire to be like God and act only in accordance with God's will then you WILL have Godlike powers. Jesus said so:
Mat 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Luk 17:6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
Faith in God implies that you are doing God's will, that you're letting his will work through you. It denotes a desire to do God's work.
All this, of course, is based on the premise that one of the six thousand interpretations of the Bible is true.
Religions are a wash. The finest people I've met go to church, also some of the worst.
He knows the outcome, but free will is at work on the field.
cool..I like that?
Not surprising though. The bible says that Satan mixes his own into the church of God. Discernment of good and evil is the key.
I cannot find any evidence that the serpent spoke to Adam. My sense is that Adam was not present when Eve was tempted. He certainly was not deceived.
1 Tim 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
Is it unreasonable to conclude that Adam choose to die with Eve, rather that to live without her?
Semantics. Adam "ate" and forsook his stand as the husband who "covers" his wife in the spiritual realm. Then he blamed her instead of taking responsibility for his actions! Real male role model, there.
Semantics? Adam was not deceived. He ate the fruit, knowing that he would die. Suicide? Adam is a figure of Christ(Rom 5:14) and Eve, the Church.
Okay, let's try another way. I've shown you scripture that explicitly says why Eve ate the fruit and disobeyed God. There's no guesswork.
Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Why do you insist that this doesn't mean what it says and where is the scripture that supports your position?
I've also shown you where scripture says that the sin in the garden was disobedience:
Rom 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Why do you insist that this doesn't mean what it says and where is the scripture that supports your position?
You keep skipping over that it does say
the woman saw... that it was a tree to be desired to make one wise.
I'm not denying it was disobedience at all. What I'm clarifying is that the itself was not that it was nice fruit to eat
IT CONTAINED WHAT EVE THOUGHT WAS SPIRITUAL POWER.
This line "Ye shall be as gods" was the thing that got to Eve.
Same thing that got to Satan.
It's putting something or something or self on the throne of your heart.
It's the reason why God asked Abraham to put his son up on the altar and raise a knife to him --
Isaac represented God's promise to Abraham.
God wanted to rule Abraham absolutely. He didn't even want Abraham to have the idolatry of the God's Promise to him be more important than Him.
Will finish later, on the phone now.
This line "Ye shall be as gods" was the thing that got to Eve.
Same thing that got to Satan.
over 2000 years later CC can still read minds? LOL
No what got to Lucifer was to over throw the Heavenly Father and take over his Kingdom!
That is what the war in heaven was about!
Isa. 14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
It makes me think of those Mythology names of gods who appeared to be petrified in the constellations and chained to a sea-cliff!
"... That is what the war in heaven was about!..."
But your quote needs to be in the present tense. The war in heaven is still rages. That's why Paul calls us to "pull down strongholds, and every argument that resists God"
Spiritual battle is portrayed perfectly when Satan tried to tempt Jesus in the wilderness. Satan used "biblical sounding" arguments from the Torah and the Old Testament to try to trip up Jesus.
But again, Jesus understood scripture's true meaning and resisted Satan's attempt to twist scripture.
(Don't forget how Satan asked Jesus to bow down to him! Such rank idolatry!)
Twisting scripture is one of Satan's biggest weapons -- as the Bible says
"to deceive the Elect".
So, when Joe Smith and company TWIST scripture. And ADD TO scripture. And MAKE MINCEMEAT out of the historicity of scripture --
uh
I have to do as Paul says and "pull down the arguments" and strongholds of Satan by using Scripture as prooftext.
That is what is called an "apologist" for the Word. That is what Jesus asks us to be.
So, don't forget, Satan also can "disguise himself as an angel of light" as well as he is master of twisting scripture.
All should be red flags to Mormons.
And I totally understand and believe in the offices of the Spirit as well as the gifts. However, they must operate in accordance with the Bible and no other book.
I told you I am dyslexic so I don't have control of the written language, tense etc as you do CC
I am the one who posted
Eph 6
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
how I wish you CC would work from a firm foundation
Quester has a good basic in the Bible and events!
At least have a firm foundation in the scriptures and events elsewise it is rambling mush!
First of all both Adam and Eve were still in a state of innocents they had no knowledge of good and evil nor understood the consequence of temptation!
people fall under the spell of temptation every day does not mean they want to become gods!
KC posted it several times
Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever:
Pss! have you notices that God is talking to someone else in Gen 3:22 and it is NOT Adam or Eve....who is us CC?
But I digree!:)
Temptation
Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Eve was tempted and if she was not tempted neither you or I or anyone else would be having this conversation for we would never have been born!
The Lord removed them from the garden so they would not eat from the tree of eteranl life!
For the day they did eat of the tree of life, they would live forever and not have an increase!
Gen 3.
22 ¶ And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
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