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Author Archives: robbowman
Christianity vs Mormonism: Atheist Bob Seidensticker Cross-Examined
Bob Seidensticker is an atheist with a blog at Patheos called Cross Examined. Two days ago (May 20, 2020), another atheist blogger at Patheos, Jonathan M.S. Pearce, posted “Using Common Sense to Not See God: Christianity versus Mormonism,” part of … Continue reading
Mrs. Palmer and the First Vision: Doing Research Mormon Apologists Won’t Do
Serious historical investigation of the First Vision, Joseph Smith’s story of seeing the Father and the Son in the spring of 1820, properly focuses on Joseph’s own multiple accounts of the vision as well as the other accounts from Joseph’s … Continue reading
Posted in Mormonism
Tagged Dan Vogel, Daniel C. Peterson, FairMormon, First Vision, Joseph Smith, Robert Boylan
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Suppression of Documents: Joseph Smith’s 1832 First Vision Account versus the Noncanonical Gospels
The second article in the recent Book of Mormon Central (BMC) series of “Insights” on the First Vision is entitled “The 1832 First Vision Account.” In that account, Joseph reported seeing only “the Lord” Jesus, not of the Father and … Continue reading
Posted in Biblical Studies, Jesus and Christology, Mormonism
Tagged canon, First Vision, Gospels, Joseph Smith, LDS
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Four Contrasts between Joseph Smith’s Four First Vision Accounts and the Four Gospels
The first article in the recent Book of Mormon Central “Insight” series provides an overview of “Joseph Smith’s Firsthand Accounts of the First Vision.” These include the 1838/1839 canonical account in Joseph Smith–History (part of the collection known as the … Continue reading
Posted in Biblical Studies, Jesus and Christology, Mormonism
Tagged First Vision, Gospels, Joseph Smith
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The Last Word Has Not Been Spoken on the First Vision
According to the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), in the early spring of 1820 the Father and the Son appeared to their founder Joseph Smith Jr. when he was a boy. At its General … Continue reading
How Do We Know Jesus Died on the Cross? The Strong Hand in Defense of the Historicity of the Crucifixion
It is surely one of the oddities in the history of human thought that millions of people today deny that Jesus died on the cross. The historical evidence that Jesus died by crucifixion at the order of Pontius Pilate is about as strong as it could be for any historical event in the ancient world. However, today many skeptics and most Muslims dispute this historical fact. We should therefore be prepared to present good reasons in defense of this fact, which is so basic to our hope as Christians (1 Peter 3:15). I can think of no better day to reflect on the evidence than Good Friday. Continue reading
Did the First Vision of Joseph Smith Happen 200 Years Ago?
Some Mormons believe that yesterday—March 26, 2020—marked the 200-year anniversary of the First Vision, in which Joseph Smith saw the Father and the Son in the woods near his home. If the First Vision had taken place in the spring … Continue reading
Was Mary Magdalene Far from or Near the Cross? A Case Study in Gospel Differences
According to the Synoptic Gospels, the women who witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion, including specifically Mary Magdalene, were looking or watching “from a distance” (Matt. 27:55-56; Mark 15:40-41; cf. Luke 23:49; 24:10]). However, John states that the women were “standing by the … Continue reading
Did Moses Literally See the Face of God?
Exodus 33:11 says that the Lord spoke “face to face” with Moses, but Exodus 33:20 says that Moses could not see the Lord’s face. Is this a contradiction? Two preliminary observations may be helpful. First, we should notice that Exodus … Continue reading
30 Days, 30 Books: The History of Christian Apologetics in One Month
In the Apologetics Book Club on Facebook this month, I am doing a series entitled “30 Days, 30 Books: The History of Christian Apologetics in One Month.” So far we have highlighted six key books in ancient and medieval church … Continue reading