Most of the angst over the book of abraham comes from this first assumption and that is an assumption about the source of the book of abraham. A real egyptologist robert ritner takes down the churchs essay on the historicity of the book of abraham. Abraham and osiris facsimile 3, figure 1 pearl of great. Egyptian papyri and the book of abraham religious studies. With equally unmitigated certainty, robert ritner issued a direct response to the church essay on the book of abraham, in which he said, no amount of special pleading can change the female isis the great, the gods mother facsimile 3, fig. Quote with the book of abraham now confirmed as a perhaps wellmeaning, but erroneous invention. Dec 30, 2017 robert ritner of the university of chicago coincidentally the same college where james breasted taught recently wrote an attack piece on the book of abraham, filled with all kinds of fallacies and falsehoods. Robert ritner, provided a detailed response and rebuttal to the lds churchs translation and historicity of the book of abraham essay that is sobering and devastating. Considered one of the countrys foremost egyptian scholars, dr. Robert kriech ritner is an american egyptologist currently at the oriental institute of the university of chicago.
In addition to the above, world renowned and respected university of chicago professor of egyptology, dr. A translation of the apparent source of the book of abraham, dialogue. Robert ritner of the university of chicago, take headon the mormon claim that the book of abraham is an accurate translation of the manuscripts received by joseph smith in 1835. Robert ritner also references james breasted in his statement, who as we have already seen was a white supremacist. Professor ritners response originally appeared as a pdf document on the universitys oriental institute website. Dec 15, 2019 with equally unmitigated certainty, robert ritner issued a direct response to the church essay on the book of abraham, in which he said, no amount of special pleading can change the female isis the great, the gods mother facsimile 3, fig.
Ritner the only parallels between the book of abraham and the papyri are found in the facsimiles ptolemaic in date 35230 bce. Kerry muhlestein, egyptian papyri and the book of abraham. The book of abraham taught that there were many gods. It is a response to an essay posted on the lds church website titled translation and historicity of the book of abraham. Professor ritner s response originally appeared as a pdf document on the universitys oriental institute website. A real egyptologist robert ritner takes down the church. I promised over a month ago to provide a second blog reply to the lds essay on the book of abraham translation.
I have every reason to believe based on extensive research by dan vogel, robert ritner, and several other experts on egyptology and early mormon history i havent personally engaged with primary source material, but few have especially as deeply as vogel and others that part of. Translation and historicity of the book of abraham 2012. The book of abraham belongs as much to samuel mercer and robert ritner as it does to anybody elseit is certainly not the special province. With the book of abraham now confirmed as a perhaps wellmeaning, but erroneous invention by joseph. The translation and publication of the smith papyri must be accessible not merely to egyptologists but to nonspecialists within and outside of the lds religious community for whom the book of abraham was produced. Book of abraham and related manuscripts the joseph smith papers. Ritner s response highlights some of the weaknesses in the churchs essay far better than i ever could. The following are common criticisms associated with facsimile 3. Inscriptions from egypts third intermediate period, the mechanics of ancient. Many of you may have heard of robert ritner, a respected nevermo egyptologist who has taken a special interest in refuting the bad scholarship coming from. A faithful, egyptological point of view, in no weapon shall prosper. Public response to translation and historicity of the book of abraham 2014. Introduction a minor, if protracted, chapter in the history of american egyptology concerns a.
Critical appraisal of the book of abraham wikipedia. Ritner uses the example of baal, whom they identified with seth. Jun 15, 2018 the book of abraham belongs as much to robert ritner as it does to anybody elseit is certainly not the special province of the educated or of the apologist. Ritners response to the book of abraham essay general. A note on robert ritner for book of abraham outline. Finally, a highly credible scholar of egyptology wrote a book about the book of abraham and the papyri. Aug 26, 2014 i promised over a month ago to provide a second blog reply to the lds essay on the book of abraham translation. Book of abraham mormon stories mormon stories podcast. Simpson assistant professor of egyptology at yale university. A real egyptologist robert ritner takes down the churchs. Translation and historicity of the book of abraham the university.
The damning evidence is there for anyone to evaluate. Robert ritner, professor of egyptology in the oriental institute, housed at the university of chicago, has given such. Aug 07, 2014 the book of the dead is a much larger text than the book of breathings but the witnesses tell us that that scroll is the small scroll and the other one is larger and so that suggests to us that the scroll that had, if facsimile 1 was on that larger scroll, that that scroll had not only the book of breathings but a number of other texts, one of. A complete edition, and over 100 publications on egyptian religion, magic, medicine, language and literature, as well as social and political history. In the same way that it was inappropriate for robert ritner to bracket the term scripture in his description of the book of abraham, it would be unacceptable for me in. We know from the bible that joseph taught pharaoh about the god of abraham. J ournal of n ear e astern s tudies 162 actually a hypocephalus, and 3 enthroned abraham lecturing the male pharaoh actually enthroned osiris with the female isis. Oct 04, 2014 finding the truth about the book of abraham is not mysterious, complicated or impossible. In the book, god instructed abraham to lie to the egyptians by saying that his wife, sarai, was his sister. Ritner, the joseph smith egyptian papyri, a complete edition. As noted above, most critics have assumed that the source of the text is the hieroglyphs adjacent to facsimile 1 on the papyri, but a closer look at the ancient sources themselves and contemporary accounts of joseph smiths translation process brings that assumption into question.
With the book of abraham now confirmed as a perhaps well. The book of abraham and unnoticed assumptions fairmormon. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies, brigham young university, 2002. Ritners response to lds statement on the book of abraham. According to robert ritner, the egyptians had no problems with semitic deities. I saw this on my facebook feed, curious is people have seen this yet, it is a response by robert ritner specifically to the lds gospel topics essay on the book of abraham. The translation was called the book of abraham and incorporated into the pearl of great price which became the fourth foundational scripture of the lds church. He even provides the various translations to egyptian writings on top of his own.
Inscriptions from egypts third intermediate period, the mechanics of ancient egyptian magical practice, the joseph smith egyptian papyri. There is a reason why there is not one single respectable nonmormon egyptologist past or present who confirms joseph smiths translations of the papyri and facsimiles. Robert ritner, professor of egyptology in the oriental institute, housed at the university of chicago, has given such a thorough smashing of the essay, i can hardly add to it. Feb 01, 2018 bruce porter exposes what you need to know about the book of abraham. The breathing permit of hor thirtyfour years later.
Except for those willfully blind, the case is closed. With the book of abraham now confirmed as a perhaps wellmeaning, but erroneous invention by joseph smith, the lds church may well devote some reflection to the status of the text. The lds church issued a new article on the book of abraham on its official website in 2014, arguing that it does not matter that the text of the book of abraham does not match the text of the papyri joseph smith said he had translated. Ritner 5 early mormonism and the magic world view, 244.
Reconstruction designated as part of the book of abraham. If joseph smith didnt translate the book of abraham which is easily proven by anyone even remotely interested in egyptology like he and the church claims, then everything else comes crashing down since it is built on the fact. Ritner has concluded that the book of abraham is a perhaps wellmeaning, but erroneous invention by joseph smith. Translation and historicity of the book of abraham a. Ritner is the author of the books the libyan anarchy. The onedutv we oue to hitorv is to rewrte t oscar wllde tile ctrirc a\ at tr, the book of antiphons of the monastery of bangor, ireland, contains a poem about the monastery regimen of which the following quotation is a part. The question is only whether it serves its stated purpose and meets the approval of its commissioner. Except for those willfully blind, writes professor ritner of the university of chicagos oriental institute, the case is closed. The above donut chart shows percentages of the book of abraham section of letter to a ces director that fairmormon is in agreement, disagreement, and neutral on if one assumes that fairmormons undisputed silence is acceptance of the facts, fairmormon agrees with 90. Ritner, a leading egyptologist at the university of chicago and an expert on the joseph smith papyri, responds to the 2014 article on the book of. As people asked what was the source of the book of abraham, there was an immediate assumption made that it was the text that was next to facsimile 1 because you can see on the screen that one of the. They served as the basis for joseph smiths book of abraham, published in.
There is thus no possibility that the scenes, reworked from the papyri for the boa, can be considered. Ritner received his ba in psychology from rice university in 1975, and his ph. Joseph smith claimed to translate the book of abraham from ancient egyptian papyri. Js 14 and the hypocephalus of sheshonq salt lake city, ut.
We should begin by asking what segment of the whole body of manuscripts was the source of the book of abraham. Translation and historicity of the book of abraham. Book of abrahamjoseph smith papyrifacsimilesfacsimile 3. Religious studies center, brigham young university. Robert ritner, professor of egyptology in the oriental institute, housed at the university of chicago. Original manuscripts of the book of abraham, microfilmed in 1966 by jerald tanner, show portions of the joseph smith papyri and their purported translations into the book of abraham. Ritner, professor of egyptology at the oriental institute, university of chicago, explains. A duly credentialed hugh nibley, by the way, never called himself an apologist. History of the book of abraham in 1835, joseph smith, founder of the original mormon church the church of christ purchased several egyptian papyrus scrolls and fragments from the owner of a traveling road show which exhibited egyptian mummies and documents. Robert ritner near eastern languages and civilizations.
Translation and historicity of the book of abraham response. Did egyptologists debunk the book of abraham is a fraud. Introduction a minor, if protracted, chapter in the history of american egyptology concerns a mormon scripture known as the book of abraham, which purports to be an authentic narrative history translated by joseph smith, jr. Ritner, the university of chicago published by guset user, 20150318 14. The translation by both mormon and nonmormon egyptologists is completely at.
Studies in the book of abraham, edited by john gee. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of abraham. Robert ritner of university of chicago published his professional response to the churchs new book of abraham essay and claims. The statue of liberty and its ties to egypt, a note composed for the installation of danh vos we the people replica fragment at the oriental institute museum, september december 2012. Aug 08, 2014 ritner, like before, wants to insist that lds members must believe abraham himself wrote the text, and what we have is a perfect copy of what abraham wrote, and since there are elements in the text after abraham, therefore this book is false. Ritner is professor of egyptology at the oriental institute of the university of chicago and was from 19911996 the first marilyn m. Ritner s essay was originally posted as a pdf on the institutes website. Ritner concludes, contrary to the lds position, due to the microfilms being published prior to the rediscovery of the joseph smith papyri, that it is not true. Now that those papyri have been found, can this claim be validated. The breathing permit of hor among the joseph smith papyri. Egyptologist robert ritner with a devastating new takedown of the book of abraham essay update to mormonthink response. Ritner concluded in 2014 that the source of the book of abraham is the breathing permit of hor, misunderstood and mistranslated by joseph smith, and that the other papyri are common egyptian funerary documents like the book of the dead. This verified smiths teachings that god was one of many deities. A translation of the apparent source of the book of abraham pdf john a.
Ritner, a leading egyptologist at the university of chicago and an expert on the joseph smith papyri, responds to the 2014 article on the book of abraham that appeared on the lds churchs official website. Egyptologist robert ritner with a devastating new takedown of the book of abraham essay update to mormonthink response close. The translation and publication of the smith papyri must be accessible not merely to egyptologists but to nonspecialists within and outside of the lds religious community for whom the book of abraham. Robert ritner of the university of chicago coincidentally the same college where james breasted taught recently wrote an attack piece on the book of abraham, filled with all kinds of fallacies and falsehoods. Ritner concluded in 2014 that the source of the book of abraham is the breathing permit of hor, misunderstood and mistranslated by joseph smith.
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