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The other day my teen age son said he read a list of 10 facts about ancient Egypt. Among the most staggering news – No Hebrew Slaves built the pyramids. Not a one. Hebrew contractors, maybe, but not slaves. After we talked I ran a quick google search and sure as shootin’ archaeologists can find no evidence to support the ancient tale of Hebrew slaves, massive Exodus and so on. The more I read on the subject the more I saw our struggle reflected in theirs and it hurt. It hurt because theirs stretches farther, more traditions, life tragedies, more world history is bound up in Hebrew beliefs. It even affects non-Jews. Does this wipe out the 10 commandments? So many religions use them as their basic set of rules.
Today, when I look at our little Mormon history, stories, books, scriptures I am less anxious. The world doesn’t revolve around our story, for better or worse. If our story is just as “inspired” as theirs, we are all doing okay. I know traditional practicers might not see it the same, but I can let me grip of authenticity go now. Thanks my Jewish friends.
Here are a couple of articles on the subject. The second one references the Book of Mormon.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/staks-rosch/the-biblical-exodus-story-is-fiction_b_1408123.html Yes, I’m school we have long talked about it I’m high school in the 1990s. Mostly because I grew up near the city that perpetuated that myth”Hollywood”. Yes, it’s mostly a culture myth. I’m fact the evidence suggest that there we’re Hebrew slave owners on the out skirts of Egypt for further demystifying. Weird huh? How it all comes about. I was part of a weird nerd demystifying club trying to dispel, urban, cultural, science and history myths. Testing the “truths”. Inspired by the show “fight back with David Horowitz”. Anyway thanks for posting.
I was having this conversation with orthodox Jewish people, including some rabbi. Some new it and talked about it as point of fact. Others, well.
mom3 wrote:Does this wipe out the 10 commandments?
No, no more than LDS church history changes the fruits that the church continues to produce in the present day. If the fruit is good, it’s good. The history of how we obtained the fruit might only exist to satisfy curiosity or be nothing more than a mnemonic to help us remember a pattern that helps us produce the fruit.
BTW: It goes back further, there’s even speculation that Abraham never existed. I don’t know how one would go about proving that one way or the other but imagine the implications of that.
There are a lot of possibilities. Firstly, they are recorded, but by a different name – for example Germans are referred to as Deutsch, Allemand, Tedesco, Gearmailtich, Nemetz etc in other languages which are all quite different to the English name.
Secondly, there is some evidence that Hebrews were nomadic. They could have easily picked up quite a few runaway slaves on their travels and absorbed them and their traditions.
Thirdly, as a hierarchical society, the lower rungs of Egyptian society were painted small and barely recorded.
I have a fourth theory – but that’s for later.
As for Moses, the name means an Egyptian, and is the same element found in RaMESES etc.
Excellent post, mom3. I’ve said for a long time that the Bible (especially the Old Testament, but also much of the New Testament) has just as many problems with being seen as an accurate historical record as the Book of Mormon does – and that it’s hypocritical to accept one as the word of God and reject the other one as the same type of word of God. That doesn’t invalidate the “teachings” or power of either; it just requires modern people who understand the issue to adjust how they see and appreciate what we call scripture.
I love everyone’s reply’s. This topic was such a fantastic one for me. As a member of the Church – I haven’t really had a tough time with our unique scripture. I did voluntarily drop my reading of LDS cannon and stuck to the New Testament Gospels. Not because they are inerrent, but because I choose Jesus of Nazareth as a life model, mentor and instructor. So far those are the closest writings to him I can get. Where I had wrestled, and didn’t even know it, until my teenager came with the information and questions – was how much I valued my take on scriptures. Whether I believe or disbelieve a set of scripture was valuable to me in a clenched fisted way. At moments I would cringe in Sunday School when someones interpretation didn’t meet my own. I became easily agitated if say in the Gospel Doctrine, we totally skip one Old Testament story and it’s message – but grab another that discredits the one we missed. Internally I would become enraged. Little personal temper tantrum there.
Yet after spending a few days doing the reading for my OP – I found my impassioned passion sort of wash away. If I find a personal lesson, road map, or example in Holy Writ – then it’s mine and I get to practice, touch, try and create my own testimony of it. Whether it’s real or metaphor or parable – is there a nugget of good that I can collect and go forward with? If so – is it really necessary for me to create a war with someone else over it? No. The scriptures are tools for me. Tools.
Ironically, I have renewed interest in scripture just from this. It’s like a fresh beach with new shells. So many to collect. Again I thank my Jewish Friends for their crisis. I needed it.
Sorry to resurrect an old thread but archaeologists are still mystified about who built the pyramids, how old they are, or their purpose. Some say they were tombs but I don’t recall any sarcophaguses found in them. Some say they are power sources and part of a world wide grid. We still can’t figure out how or why they were made. But the biblical account says the Israelites were making bricks not hewing stone from quarries and transporting them. I don’t think the biblical narrative supports Giza as the locale. A more interesting approach would be whether the Israelites were the Hysko-shepherd kings or not. That said… I was only wondering why the googlebot can log me out and make my gmail account my user name? I searched Google not and I got this thread. Why? Heck if I know. Ask the Lord.
I have found it very shocking…but then a bit comforting to realize the faith questions I wonder about are so not unique to mormonism, or our generation. It is just the world we live in. And it is interesting to see so many still move forward, and be faithful Jews, and mormons, and other religions. There is a way to StayReligious, even StayLDS.
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