Windy Sydney

The comment left on my blog yesterday got me thinking.

Dangerous, I know.

I thought I would express some of the reasons the Book of Mormon is far from scientific and in some ways laughable at best. The same can be said for the Bible, but I will save that for another post on another day.


These points couldn't be made without the wonderful website: The Skeptic's Annotated Book of Mormon. Well, let me take that back... they could, but it would certainly take me a lot longer. :)

So, here we go...

1 Nephi

"I make a record in the language of my father ... the language of the Egyptians." That's a strange language an Israelite around 600 BCE to write in! There is no evidence of the use of Egyptian writing in pre-Columbian America. 1:2

It only took Nephi and his family three days to travel from Jerusalem to the Red Sea. (A distance of 250 miles) 2:6

Nephi named a "continually running" river that flowed from Arabia to the Red Sea after his son Laman. But there are no permanent rivers in Arabia, and there hasn't been since the Pleistocene. 2:8

God made the New World just for Nephi and his family. (For though it had been occupied by the Native Americans for tens of thousands of years, God made it for Nephi, not for them.) 2:20

Laban's sword blade was made of steel, long before steel existed. 4:9

Nephi breaks his bow, "which was made of fine steel." But the technology for making steel did not exist in 600 BCE. 16:18

They come to a place that they call Bountiful, "because of its much fruit and also wild honey." But the Arabian coastline does not abound in fruit or honey, and hasn't for many thousands of years. 17:5

After arriving in the New World, Nephi and company planted all of the seeds that they brought from "the land of Jerusalem" and "they did grow exceedingly." Yet there is no evidence that Near Eastern crops ever grew in the New World in pre-Columbian times. 18:24

Nephi found cows, horses, oxen, asses, and goats and goats when he arrived in the New World in 590 BCE. Yet none of these domesticated animals existed in North America before the Europeans brought them over 2000 years later. 18:25

2 Nephi

In 590 BCE, Lehi and company found the Americas completely uninhabited. 1:8-9

According to this verse, the moon produces its own light and the earth does not move. 23:10

Dragons will live in Babylonian palaces and satyrs will dance there. 23:21-22


Jarom

The Nephites fortified their cities. (Why is there no evidence for these fortified cities?) 1:7

The Nephites "multplied exceedingly" and "became exceedingly rich" in gold, silver, iron, copper, brass, and steel making tools and weapons "of every kind." This was before steel existed, of course, and no evidence for any of these Nephite weapons, tools, cities, or technologies have ever been found. 1:8

Mosiah

Lehi, a 7th century Israelite, was taught in the language of the Egyptians. 1:4

The Nephites had to hand over half of their barley to the Lamanites. But that wouldn't have been a big deal since barley didn't exist in the New World at the time. 7:22

Zeniff arms his people with swords and cimeters. No evidence for these pre-Columbian weapons has ever been found. 9:16

"And of their brass and their iron ... fatlings ... and grain." -- none of which existed in the New World before being introduced by Europeans. 11:3

"King Noah built many elegant and spacious buildings" ornamented with gold, silver, iron, brass, copper, and ziff. Why is there no evidence for these fancy buildings? There were many of them, decorated with gold and silver. Where are they now? And the metallurgy technology for iron and brass didn't exist prior to European contact. But there was plenty of ziff around at the time so that wouldn't have been a problem. 11:8


Alma

No metal coins (ezrons, senines, ontis, etc.) have been found from pre-Columbia America. 11:4-19

The New World in 78 BCE had many temples, sanctuaries, and synagogues that "were built after the manner of the Jews." Yet no evidence of these magnificent buildings has ever been found. 16:13

Ammon had lots of horses an chariots, at a time when neither horses nor chariots existed in the New World. 18:9-10

More metal swords, cimeters, and breastplates, none of which has ever been found. 43:18-20, 43:37-38, 44:8, 44:17

Helaman

The Lamanites (Native Americans) had "an innumerable army" that was armed with swords and cimeters. Yet no evidence for such weapons in the Pre-Columbian New World has ever been found. 1:14

The Nephites "began to cover the whole earth." Yet no evidence for Native Americans of Israelite descent has ever been found. 3:8

"From the west sea [Pacific], even unto the east [Atlantic]; it being a day's journey for a Nephite." (Nephites could walk 5000 kilometers in one day.) 4:7

3 Nephi

And God's prophecy came true! That night "there was no darkness when night came ... but it was as light as thought it was mid-day." 1:15, 19

More talk of horses and chariots at a time and place in which neither existed. 3:22

Domesticated horses did not exist in per-Columbian America. 4:4, 6:1

When Jesus died, the inhabitants of many great cities died with him. Entire cities were sunk into the ocean, or were burned, or destroyed by earthquakes. 8:8-10, 14

For three days after Jesus died, there was absolutely no light -- not from the sun, moon, or stars, or from candles, campfires, or fireflies. 8:20-22

Ether

The Jaredites were Israelites who lived at the time of the Tower of Babel. (Genesis 11:1-9) 1:33

The Jaredites brought domesticated old world animals and plants "of every kind" to the New World. 1:41

"They did also carry with them deseret, which, by interpretation, is a honey bee."
There were no honey bees in the New World before they were introduced by Europeans in the 17th century. (Wikipedia: Origin and distribution of the genus Apis) 2:3

The brother of Jared made 16 small stones, as clear as glass, out of molten rock. He then asked God to touch the stones to make them into lights to light up the inside of the barges. God did as the brother of Jared requested. 3:1-6

"All manner of cattle, of oxen, and cows, and of sheep, and swine, and of goats ... horses, and asses, and elephants" None of these animals existed in the New World at the time it was supposedly occupied by the Jaredites . 9:18-19

"Coriantum took to wife, in his old age, a young maid, and begat sons and daughters; wherefore he lived until he was an hundred and forty and two years old." 9:24

Brass, iron and silks -- none of which existed in the Pre-Columbian New World. 10:23-24