On Sun, 22 Sep 2002 08:50:05 -0400 "David Miller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
writes:
> Blainer wrote:
> > ... the area most scholars believe to be the setting for most
> > of the events described in the BoM is also part of what is
> > called the Ring of Fire--which is where the continental plates
> > meet. Earthquakes and volcanic activity are frequent in these
> > areas. Japan is part of this ring, and has earthquakes so
> > frequently that houses and buildings are built to sustain them
> > with minimal damage.
>
> Sloppy scholarship. You know full well that Japan was not part of
> what the
> Book of Mormon was talking about.
Blainer) Japan is part of the area known as the "Ring of Fire," where
the Pacific plate meets other continental plates. Any 7th Grade
Geography book will tell you more about this phenomenon. It is a "hot"
area, frequently disturbed by seismic activity of different sorts,
including volcanos and even more frequently, earthquakes. It includes
the California coast, and Australia, as well as affecting the plate in
close proximity to Central America. Also, Hurricanes are well known
phenomenon in the Mexico area. In fact Hurricane Isodore is currently
causing many on the Yucatan peninsula to flee their homes. The BoM
describes both a storm lasting three days, as well as violent
earthquakes. It describes many common earthquake features, including
after-shocks. I may be assuming too much to think there was also a
volcanic eruption, but I would not preclude the possibility, considering
the description.
>
> Blainer wrote:
> > The darkness described in the BoM was so thick it could be felt.
> There
> > were lightnings and quakings. There was a great storm. Anyone
> familiar
> > with the Mt. St. Helens volcanic activity in recent years knows
> that the
> > BoM describes quite well what happens when there is volcanic
> activity in
> > a specific area. The ash that came from that volcano spread for
> hundreds
> > of miles, and created darkness so thick it could be felt--people
> could
> > hardly breath. There were thunderings and lightnings all over
> the
> > place.
>
> But Mount St. Helen's lasted much more than 3 days, and most areas
> were not
> at all affected with darkness. Was it dark for 3 days at your house
> when
> Mt. St. Helen errupted? Furthermore, the Book of Mormon says that
> not even
> fires could not be made for 3 days. I think you either need to go
> with a
> miraculous viewpoint here, or a natural one, but stick with whatever
> viewpoint you choose. Otherwise, it is impossible for us to
> consider your
> arguments.
> Blainer) Mutually exclusiove events are not necessarily going to be
exactly alike. I was simply stating there were some similarities in
general, which I maintain was the case.
> Blainer wrote:
> > The cataclysmic events in the Americas during BoM times were far
> more
> > devastating, however, than the activity around Mt. St. Helens.
> Smooth
> > places were made rough, and mountains were made level. Entire
> cities
> > were dumped into the sea, and others were swallowed up in the
> earth.
> > Many cities burned. This was no ordinary event. That there was
> an
> > earthquake corresponding to the death of Christ supports the
> probability
> > that earthquakes were happening elsewhere.
>
> >From a scientific viewpoint, an earthquake happening in Israel says
> nothing
> about an earthquake happening in Mexico.
Blainer) True. I should have considered this statement more carefully
before writing it. The two events were probably mutually exclusive.
Again, you need to choose
> whether
> this was a natural event or a supernatural event. Why try and give
> natural
> explanations for this if it was supernatural?
Blainer) I believe there is always a natural explanation for events
described in either the Bible or the BoM.
Please be consistent.
>
> Now the point is that if this event were supernatural, the effect
> would be
> so severe that every culture affected by it would reflect evidence
> of its
> event. None of them do. Not a single clue from any early American
> culture.
>
> The primary objection I have is that the death of Christ was not a
> time of
> judment upon the earth. Joseph Smith took some things from the book
> of
> Revelation and mixed them in with the death of Christ. This is
> completely
> out of character for what God was doing at this time. God was
> opening up
> salvation to mankind, and Joseph Smith presents in the Book of
> Mormon a time
> of cataclysmic judgment for sin. Such foolishness, a spiritual man
> with
> even dim sight can see the foolishness of this passage that Smith
> wrote.
Blainer) I like my explanation better--JS must have been a real "Wizard
of Oz" con artist, to hear you talk. LOL
>
> Peace be with you.
> David Miller.
>
> ----------
> "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you
> may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6)
> http://www.InnGlory.org
>
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