The realisation that the original Biblical manuscripts were corrupted in one way or another has been common knowledge to many people throughout the centuries. It appears that many believe that human endeavours will never restore the pure, uncorrupted text that is said to come from God.
Many religious groups have responded by appealing to Divine supernatural revelation. These groups claim that God has revealed a purer form of text to a prophet, usually the founder of their religion. This, they claim, has restored the original message of God. Many religious groups have gone down this path. Two of these religions are Islam and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (a.k.a. Mormonism).
Islam's Restoration of God's Message
Muhammad was born approximately 570 C.E. and died in 632 C.E. He is regarded by Muslims as the last of all prophets. It is said that he restored the true monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham, Moses, the prophets and Jesus.
The restoration of the Holy Word of God was required for many recognised that the Holy Scriptures handed down by the apostles were corrupted due to one reason or another.
Muhammad received a revelation from the angel Gabriel in Arabic. This process took some twenty-two years and it is said the Muhammad handed down exactly what he had heard. This revelation was recorded on a number of materials such as palm leaves, stones, bones, leather and wood. After Muhammad's death these materials were collected and collated. It is important to note that Muhammad did not write any of this down, rather he passed the revelation orally.
These writings are known as the Quran and is the Holy book of Islam in the same manner that the Bible is for Christians. The Quran is derived from the word meaning "read" and ideally should be printed and read in Arabic.
Interestingly, some debate raged over the correct reading of the Quran, similar to the debates surrounding the Biblical manuscripts. There were debates between Muslims from Syria with those in Iraq concerning the various readings. It was not until the caliph Uthman (644-656 C.E.) that the problem of different versions was sought to be rectified. There was a call for a unified text. The different versions were ordered to be destroyed. All this resembles Constantine’s attempt to have a unified edition of the Christian Bible in the fourth century. Fragments of these diverse readings survive today.
Mormonism's Alternative to Corrupted Biblical Texts
As Muhammad is known as "The Prophet" by Muslims, for Mormons, Joseph Smith is designated the same title. Born in 1805, Joseph Smith was the fourth son of mystics Joseph Senior and Lucy.
The year was 1820 when Joseph Junior, during prayer in the woods, had a vision of both God the Father and God the Son. Both God the Father and God the Son revealed to Joseph their disappointment of the state of the Christian church. Joseph was anointed to restore the Christian church from its corruptible state.
In 1823, Joseph received a further vision from the angel Moroni. This encounter eventually led to the revelation of Golden Plates the contents of which came to be known as the Book of Mormon. This Book was first published in 1830. It was to be a new witness for Christians.
Interestingly, the first edition of the Book of Mormon has a number of changes compared to today's version. These changes resemble changes made by early Christian scribes of the Biblical manuscripts as is evident in the surviving manuscripts. A number of these changes were corrections to "improve" the text.
Divine revelation to a Prophet is invoked for the restoration of God’s word. Appeal is made towards supernatural intervention. Whether supernatural intervention is adequate is a question of faith.
Sources:
- Kung, H. Islam: Past, Present and Future. Oxford: Oneworld, 2007.
- Martin, W. The Kingdom of he Cults. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1992.
- Quran.
 |
