Keywords
Book of Abraham polemics, Dan Vogel, Joseph Smith
Abstract
Dan Vogel’s latest book claims to offer clear-cut evidence showing what, when, and how Joseph Smith fraudulently translated the Book of Abraham. While he claims to use an objective approach, he instead weaves a polemical agenda that ignores some of the most important scholarship in favor of the Book of Abraham. He ignores crucial evidence and relies on assumptions and hypotheses as if they were established facts. The arguments of apologists, which he claims to be reviewing and critiquing, are often overlooked or, when treated, attacked without letting readers know the substance of the apologetic argument. He neglects key arguments and important documents that don’t fit his theory. The work is a valuable tool to explore Book of Abraham polemics, but it is not even-handed scholarship by any means. Vogel’s latest contribution does not overturn the evidence against his paradigm nor overthrow the growing body of insights into the antiquity of the Book of Abraham.
Recommended Citation
Lindsay, Jeff
(2021)
"Book of Abraham Polemics: Dan Vogel’s Broad Critique of the Defense of the Book of Abraham,"
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship: Vol. 47, Article 7.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/interpreter/vol47/iss1/7
