A few More Good Quotes:
I feel, like all modern Americans, no consciousness of sin and simply do not believe in it. All I know is that if God loves me only half as much as my mother does, he will not send me to Hell. That is a final fact of my inner consciousness, and for no religion could I deny its truth. ~ Lin Yutang
I've come to the conclusion that there can be little or no dialogue between 'proclaimers of truth' (religious and secular ideologues) and 'discoverers of truth' (empiricists). The former tend to debate, the latter tend to discuss.
~ Edward H. Ashment
I never told my own religion nor scrutinized that of another. I never attempted to make a convert, nor wished to change another's creed. I am satisfied that yours must be an excellent religion to have produced a life of such exemplary virtue and correctness. For it is in our lives, and not from our words, that our religion must be judged. ~ Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Mrs. H. Harrison Smith (1816)
About Me
- CyberKitten
- I have a burning need to know stuff and I love asking awkward questions.
7 comments:
As I've been reading my book on Mormon Fundamentalism and I've been researching on the net, I've seen Ashment's name pop up a few times. Who is he?
dbackdad said: I've seen Ashment's name pop up a few times. Who is he?
I'm afraid that I have no idea who he is.
A minimal google search tells me he is a theological historian (not sure if thats a real title, but it's what I'd call him) who wrote what was obvioulsy a very influential paper on The Book of Abraham & corroborating Egyptian evidence.
this internet thing is ever so clever, innit?
Thanks JM. I had done some searching but I could never find an actual title. That sounds like an apt description of him.
To whom it may concern,
I hope this doesn't intrude on a blog that I wasn't invited to . . . Ed Ashment (Edward H. Ashment) is a historian specializing in LDS (Mormon) history and scriptures. He is largely responsible for revealing the truth about the Book of Abraham as a composition of Joseph Smith. His refusal to back down from presenting his evidence cost him his membership in the LDS church and the loss of many friends, and a great deal of slander. Some of his seminal articles on the topic are "Reducing Dissonance: The Book of Abraham as a Case Study" in The Word of God: Essays on Mormon Scripture (article available online at www.buchabraham.mormonismus-online.de/reducing_dissonance.htm ) and "The Facsimiles of the Book of Abraham: A Reappraisal" Sunstone 4 1979. (available at www.sunstonemagazine.com).
His wife told his story for PBS' documentary on the Mormons at this website: http://www.pbs.org/mormons/themes/whyiamnot.html
Sorry to intrude. Whether you agree with him or not, Ashment took a stand in what he believed was the truth.
To whom it may concern:
I also hope this does not intrude on a blog to which I have not been invited. Sadly, Edward H. Ashment, took an incorrect stand in a field, Egyptology, in which he had insufficient background to correctly analyze the relevant documents and other data. Take a look at this book: "A Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri" by John Gee, a genuine Egyptologist, who has a Ph.D. in Egyptology from Yale.
Um... having read John Gee's book, as well as ALL of the Hugh Nibley books on Abraham, and also Michael Rhodes, it kind of becomes obvious that Ashment's views are correct. Why stop at 100 pages of evidence from Gee when you can go the whole nine yards and collect the thousands of pages from Nibley and Rhodes as well? And better yet, form your own opinions by seeing both sides? (As all sides listed above are the pro-Mormon side)
In the end I had to sacrifice my beliefs for intellectual honesty, but is that really much of a sacrifice? I hope the God of this universe prefers our honesty over our devotion.
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