41
votes
Why do non-LDS Christians accept the testimonies of the apostles but reject the testimonies of the 3 & 8 witnesses to the golden plates?
For those who have 'discovered' the Jesus of the Bible, resurrected from the dead and alive today, they swiftly spot that the Jesus of Joseph Smith is not the same Jesus. He is claimed to be the first ...
- 26.8k
11
votes
Why do non-LDS Christians accept the testimonies of the apostles but reject the testimonies of the 3 & 8 witnesses to the golden plates?
Even if we accept that Joseph Smith received the golden plates as LDS describes it, neither LDS adherents nor skeptics can verify the translation.
Contrast this with Bible believing Christians, any of ...
- 464
11
votes
According to Latter-day Saints, what are the strongest arguments for the credibility of the 3 & 8 witnesses to the golden plates?
Witnesses:
Testimony of Prophet Joseph Smith
Testimony of Three Witnesses
Oliver Cowdery
David Whitmer
Martin Harris
declared an angel of God appeared to them and showed them the Book of Mormon ...
- 8,697
10
votes
Why do non-LDS Christians accept the testimonies of the apostles but reject the testimonies of the 3 & 8 witnesses to the golden plates?
It is simplistic to suppose that a choice is being made by certain Christians to believe the testimony of twelve Israelites in the middle of the first century or to believe the testimony of eleven men ...
- 23.6k
8
votes
According to Latter-day Saints, what are the strongest arguments for the credibility of the 3 & 8 witnesses to the golden plates?
The Spaulding Theory
(I will address various parts of the OP's questions in separate posts, for readability)
For about 50 years in the 19th century the Spaulding manuscript was the most popular ...
- 11.2k
7
votes
Accepted
Has any Latter-day Saint published a very detailed description of how the Holy Spirit confirmed to them the truth of the BofM, as per Moroni 10:3-7?
Many times. Although it is possible that the details they provide are not the details this question specifically seeks.
One of my favorites is the account of Vincenzo di Francesca, who first read the ...
- 11.2k
7
votes
Why do non-LDS Christians accept the testimonies of the apostles but reject the testimonies of the 3 & 8 witnesses to the golden plates?
Me and my friend made an effort to read the Book of Mormon. Of the many things I could say, one is pretty strong. A miraculous translation should not produce bad grammar; neither should it produce ...
- 329
6
votes
Why do non-LDS Christians accept the testimonies of the apostles but reject the testimonies of the 3 & 8 witnesses to the golden plates?
A Christian is one who has believed the testimony of the Scriptures concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and has thus received the testimony that God has given regarding his only begotten Son. By ...
- 14.6k
5
votes
Why do Cessationists consider recent testimonial evidence for the gifts of the Spirit less reliable than 2000-year-old evidence for the resurrection?
There is no reference to tongues/healings/miracles in the pastoral epistles nor the later writings of John. References to Pentecost are about the utterance of foreign, earthly, languages.
Then no ...
- 23.6k
5
votes
Accepted
Is the book "The Supernatural Occurrences of John Wesley" a legitimate collection of Wesley's journal entries?
Yes, it appears to be a legitimate compilation from the writings of John Wesley. I haven't confirmed all of the many stories in Jennings' book, but I selected several and found them corroborated in ...
- 42.3k
5
votes
Why do non-LDS Christians accept the testimonies of the apostles but reject the testimonies of the 3 & 8 witnesses to the golden plates?
because this is one of the positive arguments for the divine inspiration of the Book of Mormon -- which should be of the utmost importance if it happens to be the case.
Over and over in the Bible ...
5
votes
Accepted
Do Cessationists reject Lee Strobel and Craig S. Keener's books collating modern-day miracle reports?
Apologies for the slightly sarcastic tone of this answer but I suppose the opinion of a Cessationist would lean towards sarcasm. The question in my mind is basically "What do doubters think about ...
- 31.7k
5
votes
Accepted
Are there published testimonies from Christians who had the truth of the Trinity revealed to them through the Holy Spirit?
Yes, my testimony of coming from an actively anti-trinitarian stance to believing in the trinity doctrine has been published. However, I'm not here to promote either that book or myself so will give ...
- 26.8k
5
votes
Accepted
How do believers in the dead being conscious explain the absence of reports about afterlife experiences by Lazarus and other resurrected individuals?
If the dead are conscious, then why is the Bible silent about the afterlife experiences of those who were resurrected and had the chance to tell us about it, but for some mysterious reason didn't?
...
- 22.1k
5
votes
Accepted
What is an overview of Christian epistemological views on scientific skepticism and the epistemic value of eyewitness testimony?
I'll offer a perspective that is compatible with many Christian denominations, though I would not claim it is representative of what all Christians believe.
Respect for skepticism
I have some ...
- 11.2k
4
votes
Accepted
What is the historical basis for the claim that there were hundreds of eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus?
Below is a paragraph from Josephus’ ‘Antiquities of the Jews’ (18:63–64). At first I was hopeful that it would provide you with a secular, historical source to support eye-witness testimony to the ...
- 29.7k
4
votes
Accepted
How do Latter-day Saints explain testimonies of profound experiences with the Holy Spirit in other denominations?
We generally don’t feel a need to explain them.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints doesn’t claim a monopoly on experiences with God (see Alma 29:8). The church does, however, make the ...
- 11.2k
4
votes
Is testimony of a women equivalent to that of a man?
Both Judaism and Islam are patriarchal societies. Since you are not asking about Judaism, but about Christianity, our starting point is approximately 600 years before the death of Muhammad and the ...
- 29.7k
4
votes
Accepted
Is testimony of a women equivalent to that of a man?
This is an interesting question. One that I didn't know the answer to and had to do some research myself. On searching the internet, sites like answering-christianity.com seem to suggest that ...
- 477
4
votes
Accepted
How do Christian apologists defend the credibility of the miracles reported in the gospel accounts?
A common issue seen in these 'higher criticisms' is that they place huge credibility on their own thought processes but start from a point that the Bible accounts must not be credible. Some of the ...
- 565
4
votes
How do 'soul sleep' adherents explain reports of astral projection, out-of-body experiences (OBE) and near-death experiences (NDE)?
How do atheists and other skeptics explain reports of astral projection, etc.?
Given that there is no scientific evidence of the reality of such events other than as a neurological effect, why should ...
- 8,292
4
votes
How do believers in the dead being conscious explain the absence of reports about afterlife experiences by Lazarus and other resurrected individuals?
Arguments from silence are no arguments at all.
With Lazarus, who had been dead 4 days, three highly significant factors are often overlooked. First, that Jesus delaying the resurrection of him until ...
- 26.8k
4
votes
According to Latter-day Saints, what are the strongest arguments for the credibility of the 3 & 8 witnesses to the golden plates?
Defending the witnesses through counter-argument
(I will address various parts of the OP's questions in separate posts, for readability)
The belief that Joseph Smith introduced a new version of Jesus
...
- 11.2k
4
votes
Accepted
According to Latter-day Saints, what are the strongest arguments for the credibility of the 3 & 8 witnesses to the golden plates?
Credible Witnesses
(I will address various parts of the OP's questions in separate posts, for readability)
Depperm's post on this question makes an effective case in favor of the credibility of the ...
- 11.2k
4
votes
What is an overview of Christian epistemological views on scientific skepticism and the epistemic value of eyewitness testimony?
The traditional Christian worldview is that of holding to an open epistemology. A classical example would be that of C.S. Lewis and what he wrote on the subject of miracles.
C.S. Lewis urges in his ...
- 3,447
3
votes
Accepted
Are there published testimonies from Latter-day Saints about their personal experiences with the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost?
This is hard to answer, as how do you properly separate instances of being inspired from having the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost?
It's hard to tell what answer exactly would do this ...
- 5,533
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