The Bible and the Book of Mormon?

Question

Does the Book of Mormon plagiarize the Bible? Or does it contradict the Bible. I've heard both arguements. But, it can't be both. either it plagiarizes it or it contradicts it.

I knew someone would bring up Alma 7:10. But, if you look carefully, it does NOT say that Jesus was born IN Jerusalem, it says He was born AT Jerusalem. Since Bethlehem is a scant five miles from Jerusalem, it can easily be said to be AT Jerusalem. Besides, the Nephites/Lamanites/whateverelse-ites would not know very much about middle eastern geography; but they would have heard of Jerusalem. So, to say He was born AT Jerusalem says that He was not born IN Jerusalem, but that He was born very close by.

Answer 1

Well parts of it plagiarise it and some of it contradicts it . Here are some examples so you can't accuse me of lies and half truths - Alma 7:10 says Jesus was Brn in Jerusalem, whereas the Bile says he was Born in Bethlehem . A contradiction. Parts that were plagiarised include Isiah 48-49 which appear word for Word in perfect King James ENglish in 1 nephi 20 and 21and Isiah 50 and 51 are in 2 Nephi 7 and 8. Now considering that the Book of Mormon was translated word for word from the plates, and considering this was alllegedly written about 600 BC, then it is a bit suspicious that the Book of Mormon is plagiarised in areas in perfect King James English about 1500 - 2000 year before the King James Version was written. This is only a few examples. Believers are called Chrisitans in Alma 46:15 approximatel y 70 years before Christ actually was born. They use the word Christ in the Book of Mormon which is a Greek word when apparently the Jews living in the Americas at this time, were in fact Jewish so should havce been translated as Messiah etc, etc and the list goes on.

Answer 2

Joseph Smith copied the words of Christ right out of a King James Bible word for word , including some minor translation errors. Then added a footnote in the book of mormon pointing out how similar they were attempting to show the reader it was genuine. That is Plagiarism. As far as contradictions with the Book of Mormon, I am not personally aware of any, ( I do not regard the BoM as authentic and am not intimately familiar with it). The main contradictions with the Bible seem to lie with the other LDS scriptures and practices.

Answer 3

Actually, I think it does both: JS borrowed heavily from the bible, including the language. Many claim that he also borrowed heavily from "A View of the Hebrews" and the Spaulding Manuscript. There is no hard evidence to suggest overt plagiarism of either, but a lot of speculation remains.

However, it is the 'story' of not one, but several unverified civilizations that no evidence exists that suggests its human origins. The book is a hybrid of new-age (for 1830) thought, regional mysticism, and direct quotations from the KJV bible. The fact that it relates the struggle of 'good vs evil' does not make it a holy book any more than "Moby Dick", which is much more enjoyable.

If you really take into consideration the story of the Jaredites' shipbuilding techniques, how the barges were designed and the conditions they experienced, you may conclude that god was never a naval architect, much less a sailor. God did a better job with Noah's Ark.

Answer 4

Well it's a long book. Both could easily be in there. There are a few chapters from Isaiah that are in there a little differently though. There are some chapters where Jesus teaches the Nephites similar things that he taught the Jews. He's speaking to different people but his message remains the same. It does not contradict the Bible that I can remember. I haven't read all the way through it in a long time. I use to read it every night.

Answer 5

Many churches go so far as to misrepresent God as sacrificing himself for the redemption of mankind. A Catholic publication put out by the Benedictine Convent of Perpetual Adoration in Missouri makes this unscriptural claim in its title: “God Himself Our Sacrifice.” And the Book of Mormon makes a similar claim at Alma 42:15: “God himself atoneth for the sins of the world.” This gross misrepresentation of the eternal God results from the lie that Jesus is God. The Book of Mormon carries that lie to the point of having Jesus Christ say at Ether 4:12, “I am the Father.”

Rather than claiming to be God in the flesh, Jesus Christ pointed out his dependence upon the Father and his inferiority to him by saying: “I cannot do a single thing of my own initiative; just as I hear, I judge; and the judgment that I render is righteous, because I seek, not my own will, but the will of him that sent me.”—John 5:30.

The fact that the Greek word biblía, from which we get the word Bible, was not used as a title for the Scriptures until the fifth century after Christ, The Book of Mormon has the term being used more than 500 years before Christ. It says at 2 Nephi 29:3, 10, “Many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible. Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words.” The term Bible, or biblía, means “books” or “booklets” and is applied to the collection of inspired writings that are bound in codex form, that is with leaves and covers. No such collection existed when 2 Nephi was supposed to have been written. Here, then, is another inconsistency on the part of The Book of Mormon.

Measured against the detailed history of the Pentateuch, the sublime beauty of the Psalms, the concisely expressed wisdom of the Proverbs and the upbuilding counsel of the Pauline letters, The Book of Mormon stands as a shabby, uninspiring and painfully wordy imitation of God’s Word.

Answer 6

Joseph Smith uses direct scripture from the bible when he wrote the Book of Mormon. It does Sadly plagiarize and contradict. The Bible parts plagiarize and the other parts not from the bible contradict.

Answer 7

Actually there is a 3rd choice, which happens to be the correct one. The Book of Mormon neither plagiarizes nor contradicts the Bible.

Answer 8

Yes it can. It can in one area copy and paste Bible verses then contradict that plagiarism by adding a tid bit of contradictory information that is written from the mind of the author.

Answer 9

It does not contradict. And in my opinon it's only plagarism if credit is not give. Credit is given to Isaiah when quoting Isaiah, and others when they are knowingly quoting them.
But then again I believe the BoM to be another testament of Jesus Christ, not a book created by Joseph Smith as those who are calling it plagarism or are saying it contradicts the Bible do.

Answer 10

I don't think that the Book of Mormon plagiarizes the bible or contradict it. In fact, my opinion is any.