* Abraham: Today Bob presents part five of his verse-by-verse study of the Abraham from the book of Genesis. 

Today's Resource: Genesis - Abraham

The theology of the New Testament builds upon concepts that God presented through the life of Abraham. This exciting album, Genesis: Abraham & Isaac, explores those truths. Only by understanding the life of Abraham can a believer understand the Bible, since God pivots the plot of the Bible upon events in Abraham's life. And the life of Isaac reveals how each of us must choose and serve God. For over twenty-five years Bob Enyart has studied God's Word praying for the wisdom to share the truth of Scripture to a lost world. Now you can benefit from this very exciting Bible study. 

Available on MP3-CD or MP3 .

BEL SUBSCRIPTIONS: Please consider one of our monthly subscriptions that will not only help support BEL, but they also promote better understanding of the Bible and may equip you to more effectively reach those around you.

NEW Monthly Downloads: Enjoy your monthly subscription is download form rather than on disc.

Monthly Sermons: Enjoy all of Bob's sermons from the month on Sermon Video DVD, great also to watch with the family. Or, get these on Sermon Audio CDs which are standard audio Compact Discs that will play on any CD player including the one in your car. Or get them on a single Sermon MP3-CD which will play on an MP3 player, in a DVD player, or in your computer.

Monthly Bible Studies: Enjoy the Scriptures with Bob's Monthly Bible Study DVDs, great too for a small group Bible study. Or get these teachings on a single Monthly Bible Study Audio MP3- CD which will play on an MP3 player, in a DVD player, or in your computer.

Monthly Topical Videos: Coming to your mailbox, you'll get a Monthly Topical DVD to enjoy one of Bob's great videos specially selected to be entertaining and to teach about life from a biblical worldview.

Monthly Best of Bob Shows: Every month our crew selects the eight best BEL shows of the month and for the folks who might have missed some of them, we mail them out on the Best of Bob MP3-CD.

Monthly BEL TV Classics: Enjoy Bob Enyart's timeless, popular TV show delivered to your home on the Monthly BEL TV Classics DVDs with great audio and video clarity thanks to our state-of-the-art mastering from the studio-quality Sony beta tapes to DVD!

Monthly Donation: For folks who just want to make sure that Bob Enyart Live stays on the air, please consider making a pledge in the form of a Monthly Donation.

* Abraham: Today Bob presents part five of his verse-by-verse study of the Abraham from the book of Genesis. 

Today's Resource: Genesis - Abraham

The theology of the New Testament builds upon concepts that God presented through the life of Abraham. This exciting album, Genesis: Abraham & Isaac, explores those truths. Only by understanding the life of Abraham can a believer understand the Bible, since God pivots the plot of the Bible upon events in Abraham's life. And the life of Isaac reveals how each of us must choose and serve God. For over twenty-five years Bob Enyart has studied God's Word praying for the wisdom to share the truth of Scripture to a lost world. Now you can benefit from this very exciting Bible study. 

Available on MP3-CD or MP3 .

BEL SUBSCRIPTIONS: Please consider one of our monthly subscriptions that will not only help support BEL, but they also promote better understanding of the Bible and may equip you to more effectively reach those around you.

NEW Monthly Downloads: Enjoy your monthly subscription is download form rather than on disc.

Monthly Sermons: Enjoy all of Bob's sermons from the month on Sermon Video DVD, great also to watch with the family. Or, get these on Sermon Audio CDs which are standard audio Compact Discs that will play on any CD player including the one in your car. Or get them on a single Sermon MP3-CD which will play on an MP3 player, in a DVD player, or in your computer.

Monthly Bible Studies: Enjoy the Scriptures with Bob's Monthly Bible Study DVDs, great too for a small group Bible study. Or get these teachings on a single Monthly Bible Study Audio MP3- CD which will play on an MP3 player, in a DVD player, or in your computer.

Monthly Topical Videos: Coming to your mailbox, you'll get a Monthly Topical DVD to enjoy one of Bob's great videos specially selected to be entertaining and to teach about life from a biblical worldview.

Monthly Best of Bob Shows: Every month our crew selects the eight best BEL shows of the month and for the folks who might have missed some of them, we mail them out on the Best of Bob MP3-CD.

Monthly BEL TV Classics: Enjoy Bob Enyart's timeless, popular TV show delivered to your home on the Monthly BEL TV Classics DVDs with great audio and video clarity thanks to our state-of-the-art mastering from the studio-quality Sony beta tapes to DVD!

Monthly Donation: For folks who just want to make sure that Bob Enyart Live stays on the air, please consider making a pledge in the form of a Monthly Donation.

* Abraham: Today Bob presents part four of his verse-by-verse study of the Abraham from the book of Genesis. 

Today's Resource: Genesis - Abraham

The theology of the New Testament builds upon concepts that God presented through the life of Abraham. This exciting album, Genesis: Abraham & Isaac, explores those truths. Only by understanding the life of Abraham can a believer understand the Bible, since God pivots the plot of the Bible upon events in Abraham's life. And the life of Isaac reveals how each of us must choose and serve God. For over twenty-five years Bob Enyart has studied God's Word praying for the wisdom to share the truth of Scripture to a lost world. Now you can benefit from this very exciting Bible study. 

Available on MP3-CD or MP3 .

BEL SUBSCRIPTIONS: Please consider one of our monthly subscriptions that will not only help support BEL, but they also promote better understanding of the Bible and may equip you to more effectively reach those around you.

NEW Monthly Downloads: Enjoy your monthly subscription is download form rather than on disc.

Monthly Sermons: Enjoy all of Bob's sermons from the month on Sermon Video DVD, great also to watch with the family. Or, get these on Sermon Audio CDs which are standard audio Compact Discs that will play on any CD player including the one in your car. Or get them on a single Sermon MP3-CD which will play on an MP3 player, in a DVD player, or in your computer.

Monthly Bible Studies: Enjoy the Scriptures with Bob's Monthly Bible Study DVDs, great too for a small group Bible study. Or get these teachings on a single Monthly Bible Study Audio MP3- CD which will play on an MP3 player, in a DVD player, or in your computer.

Monthly Topical Videos: Coming to your mailbox, you'll get a Monthly Topical DVD to enjoy one of Bob's great videos specially selected to be entertaining and to teach about life from a biblical worldview.

Monthly Best of Bob Shows: Every month our crew selects the eight best BEL shows of the month and for the folks who might have missed some of them, we mail them out on the Best of Bob MP3-CD.

Monthly BEL TV Classics: Enjoy Bob Enyart's timeless, popular TV show delivered to your home on the Monthly BEL TV Classics DVDs with great audio and video clarity thanks to our state-of-the-art mastering from the studio-quality Sony beta tapes to DVD!

Monthly Donation: For folks who just want to make sure that Bob Enyart Live stays on the air, please consider making a pledge in the form of a Monthly Donation.

URGENT: Dr. Ritner is facing kidney failure and is in need of a living donor to secure his life and continued research. If you can help, please contact Dana McClain, Northwestern Medicine Transplant Coordinator, 312-695-0828. Living donors save lives!

Also, if you are grateful for Dr. Ritner's time and expertise with this podcast, please email him and express your gratitude!!!

============

Part 1: Dr. Ritner's story, the historical context for the Book of Abraham, and Facsimile 1

https://youtu.be/ORNYUyHg3pY

Part 2: Facsimiles 2 & 3

https://youtu.be/df4flxToFvM

Part 3: The Abraham Egyptian Papers, return of the "lost" papyrus, and an in-depth discussion of LDS Book of Abraham Apologetics

Series Description: 

For more than a century Joseph Smith's Book of Abraham "translation" has been revered as holy scripture by devout Mormons, and denounced by all credible non-LDS Egyptologists as a 100% erroneous translation -- a combination of Joseph Smith's imagination and some plagiarism (much like the Book of Mormon, the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, and the Mormon temple ceremony.

The first major scholarly analysis and critique of the Book of Abraham by world-class Egyptologists came in 1912 and was published in the New York Times.  Of course this article was neither appropriately considered nor adequately addressed by LDS church leadership, and ultimately the issue faded from LDS church membership consciousness for several more decades.

Beginning in 1966 with the rediscovery of the core Book of Abraham papyri fragments found in the archives of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (that were thought to have been lost in the 1871 Great Chicago Fire), Mormon apologists such as Hugh Nibley, John Gee, Daniel C. Peterson, Kerry Muhlestein, Michael D. Rhodes, etc. have attempted to employ apologetic tactics to rescue the Book of Abraham from a total loss of credibility - once credible translations of the papyrus demonstrated undeniably that Joseph Smith's "translation" was 100% inaccurate, and in fact, had nothing to do with Abraham at all.  In fact, the papyri were dated to be written over 1500 years after the time Abraham would have lived.

For decades questioning, doubting, and non-believing Mormons have engaged with Mormon apologists like Nibley, Gee, Muhlestein, and Rhodes to determine the historicity and legitimacy of the Book of Abraham - with the credibility of Joseph Smith and the LDS church restoration hanging in the balance.  In spite of the LDS church's century-long efforts to either hide or convolute the issues surrounding the Book of Abraham, many Mormons have lost their faith and left the church over the Book of Abraham, as it is often listed as one of the primary reasons that Mormons lose their faith.

While many orthodox, doubting, and post-Mormons have heard the opinions of pseudo-Egyptologists/Book of Abraham apologists like John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, and Michael D. Rhodes, few Mormons or post-Mormons have actually heard the opinions of a legitimate, world-class Egyptologist about the historicity and credibility of the Book of Abraham - until today.

Today, as a joint production of Mormon Stories Podcast and Radio Free Mormon podcast, we interview Dr. Robert Ritner.  Dr. Ritner is Professor of Egyptology at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago and was from 1991-1996 the first Marilyn M. Simpson Assistant Professor of Egyptology at Yale University.  Dr. Ritner is the author of over 100 publications on Egyptian religion, magic, medicine, language and literature, as well as social and political history. He has lectured extensively on each of these topics throughout the United States, Europe and Egypt.  Ritner has led Oriental Institute tours of Egypt for 30 years.  He is also the author of The Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri: A Complete Edition, and an essay entitled “Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham” — A Response - written as a response to the LDS church's gospel topics essay on the Book of Abraham, which is deeply problematic according to Dr. Ritner.

In this three-part sit-down with Dr. Ritner, we will discuss his upbringing in Houston, Texas and his scholarly background and the events that led to him becoming interested in the Book of Abraham.  We will provide a contextualizing history to the Book of Abraham story, and discuss in-depth Joseph Smith's completely erroneous translation of Facsimiles 1-3 from the papyrus.  We explore the emergence of the Abraham Egyptian Papers in the mid 1960s, along with the discovery of the "lost" Book of Abraham papyrus.  We end this series by exploring some of the seemingly unscholarly and disingenuous tactics used by Book of Abraham apologists John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, and Michael D. Rhodes to try to bolster belief in the Book of Abraham.

Finally, a HUGE thanks to Bruce MacArthur for making this interview possible. Also, a MASSIVE thanks to RFM for co-hosting, Bill Reel for all of his great work over the years, along with all of the amazing scholars who helped me/us prepare for this interview, including: Mike Brown of the Mormon Stories Truth Claims essays, MormonThink, Jeremy Runnells and the CES Letter, Dan Vogel, Brent Metcalfe, Letter for my Wife, MormonInfoGraphics.com, this super cool video, and much much more content than I could ever fully list here.

URGENT: Dr. Ritner is facing kidney failure and is in need of a living donor to secure his life and continued research. If you can help, please contact Dana McClain, Northwestern Medicine Transplant Coordinator, 312-695-0828. Living donors save lives!

URGENT: Dr. Ritner is facing kidney failure and is in need of a living donor to secure his life and continued research. If you can help, please contact Dana McClain, Northwestern Medicine Transplant Coordinator, 312-695-0828. Living donors save lives!

Also, if you are grateful for Dr. Ritner's time and expertise with this podcast, please email him and express your gratitude!!!

============

For more than a century Joseph Smith's Book of Abraham "translation" has been revered as holy scripture by devout Mormons, and denounced by all credible non-LDS Egyptologists as a 100% erroneous translation -- a combination of Joseph Smith's imagination and some plagiarism (much like the Book of Mormon, the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, and the Mormon temple ceremony.

The first major scholarly analysis and critique of the Book of Abraham by world-class Egyptologists came in 1912 and was published in the New York Times.  Of course this article was neither appropriately considered nor adequately addressed by LDS church leadership, and ultimately the issue faded from LDS church membership consciousness for several more decades.

Beginning in 1966 with the rediscovery of the core Book of Abraham papyri fragments found in the archives of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (that were thought to have been lost in the 1871 Great Chicago Fire), Mormon apologists such as Hugh Nibley, John Gee, Daniel C. Peterson, Kerry Muhlestein, Michael D. Rhodes, etc. have attempted to employ apologetic tactics to rescue the Book of Abraham from a total loss of credibility - once credible translations of the papyrus demonstrated undeniably that Joseph Smith's "translation" was 100% inaccurate, and in fact, had nothing to do with Abraham at all.  In fact, the papyri were dated to be written over 1500 years after the time Abraham would have lived.

For decades questioning, doubting, and non-believing Mormons have engaged with Mormon apologists like Nibley, Gee, Muhlestein, and Rhodes to determine the historicity and legitimacy of the Book of Abraham - with the credibility of Joseph Smith and the LDS church restoration hanging in the balance.  In spite of the LDS church's century-long efforts to either hide or convolute the issues surrounding the Book of Abraham, many Mormons have lost their faith and left the church over the Book of Abraham, as it is often listed as one of the primary reasons that Mormons lose their faith.

While many orthodox, doubting, and post-Mormons have heard the opinions of pseudo-Egyptologists/Book of Abraham apologists like John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, and Michael D. Rhodes, few Mormons or post-Mormons have actually heard the opinions of a legitimate, world-class Egyptologist about the historicity and credibility of the Book of Abraham - until today.

Today, as a joint production of Mormon Stories Podcast and Radio Free Mormon podcast, we interview Dr. Robert Ritner.  Dr. Ritner is Professor of Egyptology at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago and was from 1991-1996 the first Marilyn M. Simpson Assistant Professor of Egyptology at Yale University.  Dr. Ritner is the author of over 100 publications on Egyptian religion, magic, medicine, language and literature, as well as social and political history. He has lectured extensively on each of these topics throughout the United States, Europe and Egypt.  Ritner has led Oriental Institute tours of Egypt for 30 years.  He is also the author of The Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri: A Complete Edition, and an essay entitled “Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham” — A Response - written as a response to the LDS church's gospel topics essay on the Book of Abraham, which is deeply problematic according to Dr. Ritner.

In this three-part sit-down with Dr. Ritner, we will discuss his upbringing in Houston, Texas and his scholarly background and the events that led to him becoming interested in the Book of Abraham.  We will provide a contextualizing history to the Book of Abraham story, and discuss in-depth Joseph Smith's completely erroneous translation of Facsimiles 1-3 from the papyrus.  We explore the emergence of the Abraham Egyptian Papers in the mid 1960s, along with the discovery of the "lost" Book of Abraham papyrus.  We end this series by exploring some of the seemingly unscholarly and disingenuous tactics used by Book of Abraham apologists John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, and Michael D. Rhodes to try to bolster belief in the Book of Abraham.

Finally, a HUGE thanks to Bruce MacArthur for making this interview possible. Also, a MASSIVE thanks to RFM for co-hosting, Bill Reel for all of his great work over the years, along with all of the amazing scholars who helped me/us prepare for this interview, including: Mike Brown of the Mormon Stories Truth Claims essays, MormonThink, Jeremy Runnells and the CES Letter, Dan Vogel, Brent Metcalfe, Letter for my Wife, MormonInfoGraphics.com, this super cool video, and much much more content than I could ever fully list here.

URGENT: Dr. Ritner is facing kidney failure and is in need of a living donor to secure his life and continued research. If you can help, please contact Dana McClain, Northwestern Medicine Transplant Coordinator, 312-695-0828. Living donors save lives!