In 2003 the world was abuzz with wizardly anticipation. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was scheduled to be released in June, and millions of readers just couldn’t wait to see what surprises author J.K. Rowling had in store for the characters and fantasy world they had grown to love.
I was totally on board. I had read and re-read all the previous books a few months prior to the release date so that I would be primed and ready for the new adventure. I had always been a techie, and reading them as digital books on my PocketPC device was the preferred means. Keep in mind that official e-books had not been released at that time, so I had to find those digital files on shady peer-to-peer filesharing networks. In the final months that preceded the official release of the Order of the Phoenix, digital ebook files began appearing on these networks purporting to be early release versions of the long awaited book.
Yes!! I could actually read the new adventure before any of my square relatives who were waiting for the pedestrian printed paperweights to be hauled out to outdated brick and mortar peddlers. I immediately downloaded the largest of these e-book files that I could find; I assumed that the larger the file, the more likely it would actually be the full book.
[toc]I was on a busy rotation at the hospital but that didn’t stop me. In the elevator, during slow periods between cases and any time I could sneak a moment, I would whip out my Compaq iPAQ PocketPC device and read a few pages.
The Order of the Phoenix?
The story was amazing. It started, like all Harry Potter stories do, at the Dursley household. Many other elements of the story made me feel right at home in the wizarding world of Harry Potter – Hermione’s brusk know-it-all attitude, the quirky Weasleys and the amazing description of magic spells, mystical artifacts, dark stories from the years before, and Harry Potter’s brave yet vulnerable character. There were some new surprises in store as well, including a Dudley Dursley who had softened his attitude towards Harry, the three major characters becoming Animagi themselves, each learning how to transform themselves into an animal like Sirius Black who could turn himself into a dog.
I eagerly plowed through the whole book. It turned out that the “order” in the Order of the Phoenix was a special endowment granted by the Golden Phoenix long ago to Garde Delafer. Garde had helped to save the Phoenixes at a time when they were hunted for sport and their healing power. After saving the Golden Phoenix, this magical beast blessed him so that every one of his descendants would have the power to order the healing of one person or creature who could be revived – even from death. That was the Order of the Phoenix – and all of Garde’s descendants were said to belong to the Order of the Phoenix! Guess who happened to be in that Order – Harry Potter!
It is a good thing too, because during their adventure in this book, Harry decides to use his order to revive his mother Lilly. Just as he is about to do so, Voldemort appears in the form of a black phoenix and steals Harry’s order! There are magic battles, Dragon duels and a lot of drama – until finally Voldemort unleashes an Avade Kadavra killing curse which hits Hermoine – killing her instantly! Harry is devastated, and the Golden Phoenix himself appears and restores Harry’s Order allowing Hermoine to be brought back to life.
As you can see – the story is thrilling and has all the elements of the wizarding world. While reading it I was elated – it contained all sorts of cool new insights into Hogwarts and the history of Voldemort, as well as new magic spells and abilities. I really enjoyed reading it.
Now if you are familiar with the Harry Potter saga, something should be very evident to you now. Everything that I described above has absolutely nothing to do with the real story of the Order of the Phoenix, which Harry Potter fans got to read when the actual book hit the stores in June 2003. The book I read was a complete work of Fan Fiction.
Read the fake version here if you would like – it’s not bad!
Fan Fiction
Fan fiction (Also known as ‘FanFic’) is what happens when aspiring authors take a beloved universe of characters and settings, and create completely new stories with all of these familiar elements. The best fan fiction incorporates enough legitimate details from the authentic article that readers feel completely at home reading the unofficial tale. There also must be new and memorable material included, so that the story becomes captivating enough for readers to truly enjoy the story, and feel like their understanding and appreciation of the universe of characters is expanded.
Occasionally, fan fiction can be so well received that with a few minor tweaks it can take on a life of its own outside the original world that it was masquerading in (see this popular novel series which started as Twilight FanFic).
Accidentally on target
Occasionally fan fiction may serendipitously included elements of a story that turn out to be real, but that the original author had not yet revealed. This was true in the Harry Potter fan fiction mentioned above. Dudly softening towards Harry, a near lethal attack on Harry’s owl Hedwig, even a quasi alliance with Draco Malfoy; all are elements which would eventually be incorporated into the real Harry Potter saga. Are these proof that the story is authentic?
No.
Sometimes two people making things up independently will get some things sort of similar to each other. That is chance, made more probable by the fact that the fiction is being created around elements and characters which are common between them. This Harry Potter fan fiction is proof of that.
Discovering the FanFic
The bottom line is that no matter how well crafted or captivating a FanFic story is, there is no escaping the fact that it is a complete fabrication. There’s a problem though – how can you discover whether a FanFiction that is as believable as the Harry Potter one described above is not legitimate? In the extreme case, what if an author just as skilled as the original author creates a completely believable fabrication? How could you detect the illegitimacy of the fiction?
Others had the same problem that I had in trying to figure out where my Order of the Phoenix Story came from – they couldn’t tell if it was fake or real. How can you get to the truth of the matter?
Can you go by whether or not the right characters and settings are used? Well my fake story had all the right characters and settings – each showing their unique personalities and features, just as would be expected by the real deal.
Can you go by whether or not you experience the same feelings about the story? Well, my fake story had me captivated with the intrigue and adventure, and had me caring deeply about each of the protagonists and even feeling unprecedented compassion for Dudly and Malfoy. I was also devastated when Hermoine died. Those feelings came about because the events of the story conveyed significance to me, even though they were totally not the authentic tale. The feelings are not proof of authenticity.
Then how can you detect the fiction?
The answer is that you have to trace the unverified text back to where it came from. In the case of my Harry Potter fiction I had to go back and learn that a fan fiction author named Orion11 had created the story and put it on the peer-to-peer networks in the hopes that he would fool people into reading his book thinking it was the real deal (and heaping praise on it).
You see, the history of the text of the story is very important in detecting the fiction. You have to see exactly who created it and how they did it. If that investigation shows you that it is not an authentic text, then it doesn’t matter how detailed and consistent and meaningful the text is – it is still not an authentic story.
It is Fan Faction.
The Book of Abraham
The LDS Church recently released an essay covering the “Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham.” In the essay, the authors provide official acknowledgement of certain features of the source of the book, which the Church has never so unabashedly conceded before.
No Connection with papyri
The most significant statement is regarding the relevance of the papyri to the text of the Book of Abraham:
“None of the characters on the papyrus fragments mentioned Abraham’s name or any of the events recorded in the book of Abraham. Mormon and non-Mormon Egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do not match the translation given in the book of Abraham, though there is not unanimity, even among non-Mormon scholars, about the proper interpretation of the vignettes on these fragments.”
So the papyri have nothing to do with the text of the Book of Abraham. This is akin to discovering JK Rowlings notes that she used in creating the real Order of the Phoenix and comparing them with the text of my Fan Fiction and declaring that they have nothing whatsoever to do with each other. Actually I am wrong. That comparison would at least show that there were similar characters and background elements. The comparison here with the papyri is worse – it shows that there is absolutely nothing in common between Joseph’s text and what was previously considered the source documents.
That comparison alone should completely impeach the Book of Abraham as non-authentic and expose it to be in the category of fan fiction.
“translation” or ‘translation’?
But no. The essay goes on to redefine what is meant by the concept of “translation”
“This view assumes a broader definition of the words translator and translation. According to this view, Joseph’s translation was not a literal rendering of the papyri as a conventional translation would be. Rather, the physical artifacts provided an occasion for meditation, reflection, and revelation. They catalyzed a process whereby God gave to Joseph Smith a revelation about the life of Abraham, even if that revelation did not directly correlate to the characters on the papyri.“
So what are members to make of the many times that Joseph Smith recorded in his journal that he was “translating characters”? Take this example:
“I commenced the translation of some of the characters or hieroglyphics, and much to our joy found that one of the rolls contained the writings of Abraham, another the writings of Joseph of Egypt, etc.,–a more full account of which will appear in its place, as I proceed to examine or unfold them. Truly we can say, the Lord is beginning to reveal the abundance of peace and truth.”
(History of the Church 2:236, archive.org)
Should members now believe that he simply mis-spoke and should have stated that he was meditating over the papyri and having the story of Abraham unfolded to his mind? That is what the essay is asking us to consider and believe.
This is akin to the Fan Fiction writer claiming that we should redefine the meaning of “legitimate authorship” to mean something else so that we can continue to accept his product as authentic. It is an embarrassing argument.
Historical Proof
Next, the essay points out a few examples of where some elements in the Book of Abraham sort of match up to the record of history.
It says that the Book of Abraham mentions human sacrifice and states that there is evidence that some cultures in the region executed people. There is an ancient inscription recently uncovered referring to a town called “Ulisum” which we are led to believe is a plausible equivalent for “the plain of Olishem.” If we assume both that that Ur was in the north and that Elkenah really should have been ‘El’ then it sort of matches with a Canaanite cult which did perform child sacrifices (thought it doesn’t cover why the priest of Pharoah would be involved with performing sacrifical rituals in an unrelated cult). It states that there are sources which describe Abraham’s fascination and learning about astronomy, though it doesn’t point out that all the references are authored by LDS “scholars” who have a powerful reason to draw certain conclusions which independent scholars don’t have.
These “proofs”, each of which have to be peppered with certain caveats are offered as a support for the authenticity of the text. This is akin to the features of the fake Order of the Pheonix which are sort of similar to what turned out to be the real story. Just as those similarities did not suddenly make the Fan Fiction authentic, these “proofs” cannot do so either.
What really matters
After putting up the defense that it does on the “translation” and “historicity” of the Book of Abraham, the essay concedes that none of that matters. As believers we are then relieved from having to really study those claims and see if they have merit (whew). The essay informs us of what really matters in determining the authenticity of the Book of Abraham:
“The veracity and value of the book of Abraham cannot be settled by scholarly debate concerning the book’s translation and historicity. The book’s status as scripture lies in the eternal truths it teaches and the powerful spirit it conveys. The book of Abraham imparts profound truths about the nature of God, His relationship to us as His children, and the purpose of this mortal life. The truth of the book of Abraham is ultimately found through careful study of its teachings, sincere prayer, and the confirmation of the Spirit.“
This is akin to saying that the authenticity of a story of unknown origin can be determined by how the story makes you feel when you read it. Just as the feelings I had about the characters, moral, and events of the Fan Fiction Order of the Phoenix did nothing to imbue that story with authenticity – this standard of truth applied to the Book of Abraham also falls short.
Conclusion
When faced with a text of unknown origin, which seems absolutely compelling and to have all of the elements of the genuine article it is essential to examine its author and origin in order to see if it is authentic. Orion11 – the author of the fake Order of the Phoenix is not JK Rowling. Tracing the text from where I discovered it back to its author and finding that it was not produced in the legitimate manner, through legitimate channels and from the legitimate author left me with an unavoidable fact – it was fake.
Did I enjoy the story? Yes! Do I wish that elements from it had made their way into the real Harry Potter adventures? Absolutely – how cool would it have been to have Draco Malfoy be an Animagus who could turn into a chimeric dragon more fierce than a Hungarian Horntail? Does the good experience I had while reading the book and the remarkable and consistent characterizations in the book overcome the fact that it is absolutely a false article?
Sadly, no.
When the lds.org essay tells us that examining the details of translation or the historicity of the Book of Abraham are not important, but it is how you feel when reading the story – they are asking you to accept what could very well be Fan Fiction without bothering to look into the details which could inform of the authenticity of the work.
You see, when I finally got ahold of the real Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I had no problem determining that it was real. The book itself, the sellers and publishers involved and the author welcomed any and all investigation into the source of the book because they had nothing to hide. A legitimate article stands on the merits of it’s status as the real deal. It doesn’t tell you to ignore problems with how it came to be or it’s place in history – because those very things establish it as the authentic article.
Fan Fiction has a place. It allows people remove from the official source of authorship to play the game of “what if” and give readers more of what they are craving in stories about characters whom they love. When you know the stories are not official cannon, it is a fun diversion. When someone creates fan fiction and tries to pass it of as legitimate, then there is fraud. If these stories completely alter your view of the world such as how you treat minorities and your relation to God, then the stakes are much higher and the need to confirm legitimacy is paramount. It is only those who are trying to deceive who would tell you that the origin and authorship of the story is not important. In doing so, they rob you of the very tools that are required to establish the truth.
The papyri we possess are not the ones Joseph used to
translate the Book of Abraham. There were something like 15+ scrolls of
Egyptian papyri which ended up in the museum in Chicago. Emma sold them after
Joseph’s murder and they ended up in a museum in Chicago. When the great
Chicago fire broke out the scrolls were destroyed along with half the city. So sadly,
we don’t have the original scrolls that the book of Abraham was translated
from. What scroll portions we have left are just sections from the Book of the
Dead (and a rather poor copy at that). The
description of the scroll that the Book of Abraham came from, was described as
fully intact, and of perfect preservation, in beautiful color and with rubrics.
Does that picture of the papyri look perfectly preserved, in color, and with
rubrics? No, of course not.
This is from the Book of Ani, but it gives you an idea of
what an intact, beautiful, perfectly preserved, in color scroll looks like.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=papyrus+of+ani&id=922D30A6E0FE230EC7D692E46D89DD2BB8CA6BA0&FORM=IQFRBA#a
I think if we had the 15+ scrolls that were destroyed in the
Chicago fire, they would look like somewhat like this.
So while I can appreciate your analogy with the Fan Fiction
story, you don’t have all the facts regarding the Book of Abraham. As much as I
hate agreeing with the Church on anything, they are right on this one. The
papyri we have are just poor copies of the Book of the Dead and have nothing to
do with the Book of Abraham, which was translated from entirely different
scrolls.
I misspoke, the papyri we have is not the Book of the Dead, Nibley describes it as a Book of Breathings text. For more information on this may I refer you to Nibley’s book, The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment, pages 1-5 where he discusses this very thing.
Also your post on the Long Lost Book of Joseph…same thing applies. The scroll was also lost in the Chicago fire.
Bruce, you have a reasonable point, which is not disputed. But the fact remains that the facsimiles, with Joseph’s translations of them, are completely ignored. They fail spectacularly, and with them Joseph’s credibility.
Well actually Nibley goes into detail about the Facsimiles
in that same book I referenced. Fac 1 is all about the sacrifice of all things,
Fac 2 is about ascent through the heavens though eternal progression, and Fac 3
is about the coronation as a God and Goddess at the end of progression to join with all the other Father and Mother Gods. Some of what is
attributed to Joseph about the Facsimiles is correct and some of it is
incorrect. As with anyone, I think he grew in knowledge as he went along. Nibley
(who had a second doctorate in Egyptian), expresses the idea that our religion and
the endowment is based in Egyptian religion. Our rituals are not Masonic…our
rituals are Egyptian, and Nibley proves (in my mind at least) that in his book.
Rather than pick at what Joseph got
wrong, Nibley is in awe of the massive amount Joseph got right.
While I’m thinking of it. Moses was a prince of Egypt. Moses spoke Egyptian. (Hebrew
doesn’t even become a language until 750 years after Moses.) Abraham goes to
Egypt to get his knowledge. Joseph of Egypt marries the daughter of the high
priest of On and then becomes the high priest of On himself. (The city of On or
Heliopolis is where the temple of Karnak is.) The rituals of the Mosaic
Tabernacle were Egyptian…which carries
over into the rituals of the temple of Solomon…all Egyptian. The brass plates
were written in Egyptian. (Mosiah 1:4) The Book of Mormon was written in
Egyptian. The Book of Abraham was translated from Egyptian scrolls. Our
endowment is lifted straight out of the Egyptian temples.(see Nibley) The Facsimiles are
Egyptian. Egypt is freaking everywhere
in our religion. (a good thing by the
way!)
Finally, I’m not defending the current Church. I’m pointing this out to defend Joseph. He really was amazing. He really was a prophet. He really did translate Egyptian documents. He really did have the heavens opened to him. Now what the hell the Church has done to screw up what Joseph originally gave us is another story.
Bruce,
Here is a secret. I have the missing papyrus you think burned in a fire. It is hidden in my garage and protected by a magical invisible pink unicorn. Pink so that we know it is real and invisible so we can believe by faith.
The problem with the missing papyrus theory is the the facsimiles that exist bookend the narrative. Studies have been done to determine the scroll length.
See:
https://dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/The-Original-Length-of-the-Scroll-of-Hor.pdfAnd
Formulas and Facts: A Response to John Gee http://institute-re.net/images/article17/Dialogue_V45N03_120.pdf
And frankly the missing scroll theory is about as plausible as my unicorn.
There are other problems. Anachronisms galore, made up names for gods, and you can’t get past the “translation” provided by the explanations of the facsimiles. FAC. 3 is a nightmare of invented names, turning and Egyptian god into a slave, etc etc. There is one hit, being the flour gods in the canoptic jars representing the corners of the earth. Even a blind pig finds a truffle. All the other hits trotted out by the church and apologist are so tenous as to be laughable. Elkenah….. What a stretch!
It is biblical fan fiction done poorly.
Oh here is another secret. There is 0 archeological evidence for the exodus. Moses is most likely a literative figure.
Luis,
Hey, I was skeptical too. All I can say is to read what the early members of the church said about the seeing the scrolls and how different that description is from the poor book of Breathings text we are left with. Read what Nibley said on the subject. It changed my mind, it may change yours. Nibley wrote extensively on the topic and it consumed the latter half of his life, because he felt the truth was all contained in Egypt. I know the book is expensive because it is so large, but you may find it is worth the investment of time and money.
Why do you keep bringing Nibley into this? You do realize many of the things he has said and researched are not accepted as fact by the actual church, right?
So for you to continue quoting Nibley is conflicting with what the actual modern Church believes.
Yes, I’m glad you picked up on that point! Who cares what the modern Church believes as most of the stuff the modern Church believes is nonsense. That Nibley is out of step with what the modern Church says is in Nibley’s favor…not against him.
It was David O. McKay who assigned Nibley the task of writing the priesthood manual during McKay’s time as President of the Church. It was President Spencer W. Kimball who asked Nibley to write articles for the first two years of the Ensign on the Book of Enoch. These Presidents of the Church saw in Nibley a man of superior knowledge that they wanted to use. So if Nibley was not out of step with the Church just a few short years ago, why all of a sudden he’s now verboten? All of a sudden he’s in conflict with what the modern Church believes? What changed? Certainly not Nibley. He’s been dead for years now. So it must have been the “modern Church” changing their positions and doctrine. Funny how that happens. What is accepted as truth earlier, is now out of fashion, so to hell with it.
I’m looking for the truth and I believe Nibley had it.
Bruce, I don’t need Nibley to know when Joseph Smith was pulling a story out of his hat.
http://www.mormoninfographics.com/2014/07/a-rare-copy-of-joseph-smiths-egyptology.html?m=1
Keep drinking the kool aide!
So are you not a believing mormon? Your post confuses me. If you don’t believe 100% of what the modern church teaches, doesn’t that make you an apostate? What did you feel about the latest church essay about the Book of Abraham issues? Your posts both defend and subtly attack the church.
This thread reminds me of this sketch called “the expert” http://youtu.be/BKorP55Aqvg
what’s remarkable to me is the expert actually delivers. He takes something impossible and finds a solution. It really is the only acceptable answer since if you do have 100% transparency you can use whatever color ink you want.
lol -thanks for sharing
Yes, zingers are the fountain of truth, not to mention the source of brotherly love. I’ll be so happy getting cozy with people who treat believers with contempt. I feel as degraded as Oliver test, ” please, sir, can I have some more?”
Unfortunately…we do have the facsimilies, which have all the same problems — what Joseph said about them has nothing to do with what they actually portray.
Bruce,
I have heard this before, but could never find an actual source to justify it. Could you provide a link to an original church publication, journal, history or otherwise which explains that there were 15 scrolls or long scroll or whatever you are referring to?
I ask as a mere curiosity. The incorrectness of the facsimile translation makes all these other excuses a moot point. Otherwise we are asked to believe that yes, the facsimile translations don’t match, the character identities and genders don’t match, but trust us – there are missing scrolls that Joseph DID get right.
It defies credibility.
Somehow things that Joseph Smith translated from disappear. We can’t find any document supporting the Book of Mormon, neither B. of Abraham. How convenient. The Bible has around 50 000 old documents, even a whole the NT of 22 books from 165 AD in Khabouris Codex of Eastern Peshitta Family of 360 manuscripts. Where do we find documents to BofM?
And, I would suggest one use one’s logic when it comes to what we find in BofM, as this which is outside the topic but needs be mentioned:
Moroni 8:18
“For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.”
Joseph Smith King Follett Sermon 1844: “We have imagined and supposed that God is unchangeable from all eternity, but I will refute that idea and take away the veil…”
Here are these two in clearer display:
“…he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.”
“…God is unchangeable from all eternity, but I will refute that idea and take away the veil…
These two statements are fighting each other. Logic cannot be used by LDS to explain this, so they conveniently pretend as though this contradiction doesn’t exist.
I can become a Mormon, because then I can make things disappear by using my feeling and pretend everything is all right even though it isn’t all right.
I don’t see any thing proving what I believe, so I can continue feel that it is right, everything has conveniently disappeared, as all the traces of Lamanites and all other tribes of BofM.
No offense, because Mormons can say that Moroni 8:18 is not a contradiction to Joseph Smith’s King Follett sermon, since Mormons have an easy way to add words into the text so that it reads differently.
Unchangeable from all eternity or not, that is the question, my dear. It rubs my mind, but it isn’t true if I can stop thinking on it.
The Book of Abraham can be true, even if someone suggest, without proof, that the evidence burnt up. Somehow that sounds familiar.
A different example from your Harry Potter fan fiction, yet illustrative of the same principle is the series of books written by Newt Gingrich on the Civil War wherein he starts out with basic historical facts and then intertwines fictitious events leading to vastly different outcomes; I.e., General Custer is killed at Gettysburg, President Lincoln fires Secretary Stanton (I can’t cite more because I gave up reading, they were so ludicrous). Entertaining, perhaps to some. Illuminating, not hardly.