Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Early Mormonism and the Magic World View/Chapter 7

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Response to claims made in "Chapter 7: The Persistence and Decline of Magic After 1830"


A work by author: D. Michael Quinn

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Response to claim: 298 - The author attributes Joseph's idea of God having a physical human form to the Jewish mystics who practiced Kabbalah

The author(s) of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View make(s) the following claim:

*The author claims that "Moshe Idel wrote that the Zohar 'is manifestly anthropomorphic'."
  • The author claims that "Gershom Scholem wrote of the Cabala's 'almost provocatively conspicuous anthropomorphism'."

FAIR's Response

Fact checking results: The author has stated erroneous information or misinterpreted their sources

The author wants to attribute Joseph's idea of God having a physical human form (anthropomorphism) to the Jewish mystics who practiced Kabbalah. But, the author twists and distorts his source, which clearly states that the anthropomorphism of God is only allegorical in Kabbalah. The author uses his sources to make it appear as if Kabbalah has a literal, rather than allegorical, conception of God in a human form.

Response to claim: 338n2, 339n60 - The author claims that the Encyclopedia of Mormonism "was an official product of the LDS Church"

The author(s) of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View make(s) the following claim:

The author claims that the Encyclopedia of Mormonism "was an official product of the LDS Church."

Author's sources: *No source provided.

FAIR's Response

Fact checking results: The author has stated erroneous information or misinterpreted their sources

The author wants to make the Encyclopedia of Mormonism an 'official' work, when the book, its editor, its authors, and publisher all assert that it is not.