[asa] Re: Historical honesty if not accuracy

>
> According to those who accept the Book of Mormon as sacred scripture, it
> was discovered buried in the New World and translated with the aid of
> some mysterious stones. There are no such fantastic claims for the
> origins of the books of the Bible, to my knowledge.

Claims somewhat like that have been made but not widely accepted. For
example, there is the legend that the OT was lost in the exile and then
dictated by God to Ezra. This was elaborated to include claims that
additional secret books were also dictated, e.g. 2nd Esdras. Luther's
approach to 2nd Esdras has much to commend it (it closely resembles the
Exodus Pharoah's recommendation for male Hebrew babies).

The relatively non-fantastic character of the Bible, even in its miracles,
in comparison to apocryphal books, classical mythology, etc. sounds much
more historical. It also raises questions about whether we should
interpret Genesis 1-10 as describing a wildly fantastic Flood, etc.

-- 
> Dr. David Campbell
> 425 Scientific Collections
> University of Alabama
> "I think of my happy condition, surrounded by acres of clams"
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