Robert
Bowman, an individual who believes in talking donkeys, creation ex nihilo, virgins giving birth, prophets calling down fire from heaven, etc.,
wrote the following with a straight face:
. . . for most of us today, including most
Mormons, the idea of searching for buried treasure by looking at a stone in a
hat is superstitious nonsense. One need not be an atheist or card carrying
skeptic to be sceptical about such claims. (Robert M. Bowman
Jr., Jesus’ Resurrection and Joseph’s
Visions: Examining the Foundations of Christianity and Mormonism [Tampa,
Fla.: DeWard Publishing Company, 2020], 182)
Interestingly, taking the approach (often informed by ethnocentricism and presentism) by many, one would also have to charge the biblical prophets, Christ included, of being engaged in “magic.” As one recent atheistic critic of the Bible and claims to the supernatural wrote:
In the earliest texts of the Old Testament (the Torah), folk magic coexists with grand supernatural events attributed to the God of Abraham, Yahweh. In the New Testament nativity stories, the signs and wonders surrounding the birth of Jesus are of a sort that would have been familiar to people of the time. Similarly, the miracles attributed to the adult Jesus in the gospels are mostly of a sort commonly attributed to priests, sorcerers, god-men, and minor deities . . . Here are just a few examples.
Divination—In Genesis (44:5), Joseph has a silver drinking cup, which he uses for divining. The passage likely refers to the practice of scrying, in which a vessel is filled with water and the fortuneteller gazes into it, similar to the technique reportedly used by Nostradamus. Exodus (28:30) refers two diving objects, the Urim and Thummim, perhaps two flat stones, that the High Priest consults to determine the will of God. In other passages, lots, meaning marked pieces of wood or stone like dice, are used by ore ordinary people for a similar purpose (Numbers 26:55; Proverbs 16:33; Proverbs 18:18). In the book of Daniel, the protagonist—a Hebrew prophet—is employed for a number of years by the King of Babylon as the manager of his “magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners” (Daniel 5:11).
Jumping ahead to the New Testament book of Matthew, a visit from three foreign astrologers known as the three magi or wise men gives credence to the divinity of Jesus. They bring gifts that portend later events in his life. Today, some Christians engage in a form of divination known as bibliomancy—seeking messages from God by opening the Bible to a random page and putting a finger on a random verse. Bibliomancy dates back to at least the 11th Century.
Potions—In Genesis, Rachel, the wife of Jacob, acquires magical mandrake roots to assist her in getting pregnant (Genesis 30:14-22). These may have been eaten in small bits or ground into a potion. The book of Numbers tells how a priest can make a magic potion that will cause a woman to abort any fetus she is carrying, but only if she had been unfaithful to her husband (Numbers 5:12-31). The potion is to be administered while the priest pronounces a curse.
Conjuring—When King Saul finds himself floundering in a war with the Philistines and can’t get God’s advice through his priests and prophets, he disguises himself, visits a witch and asks her to call up the spirit of Samuel, which she does. The spirit appears. (1 Samuel 28:11-15).
Numerology—Ancient peoples often attributed special meaning or significance to some numbers, and this pattern can be seen in the Bible. The number 12 (also significant in Babylonian, Zoroastrian, and classical Greek religions) stand out. Thin of the 12 tribes of Israel and 12 apostles of Jesus. The book of Revelation speaks of 12 pearls, 12 angels, 12x12 (144) righteous virgin men who will reach paradise, and 12 foundations of the heavenly Jerusalem, which has walls that are 12x12 stadia, 12 gates, and a size o 12,000 furlongs. Still today, some Jews and Christians analyse the numbers in the Bible for special hidden meanings.
Spellcasting and curses—in the book of Genesis (30:31-43), Jacob gets his father-in-law to agree that he can keep any spotted sheep and goats, which are uncommon. He then puts spotted sticks in front of the animals whenever they are breeding, causing them to have spotted offspring—ultimately building great flocks and becoming wealthy. In modern times, a breed of piebald sheep in England are called Jacob sheep, after the story.
Although the Bible specifically prohibits sorcery—casting spells to harm people (see, especially, Deuteronomy 18:10-11)—some of God’s messengers do just that, and they seem to do so with God’s approval. In the Hebrew book of 2 Kings (2:23-25), for example, the Prophet Elisha calls down a black magic curse on 42 boys who are taunting him, and they are killed by a bear. In the New Testament book of Acts, Paul similarly kills two people by cursing them (Acts 5:9-10) and, in another story, makes one go blind (Acts 13:6-12). Jesus himself curses a fig tree so that it withers and dies (Mark 11:12-25).
Magical healings—Miracle healings performed by Jesus are in integral part of the gospel stories. Like many other kinds of magic in the Bible, these would have fit patters familiar at the time. From the standpoint of modern trinitarian theology in which Jesus is an avatar of God almighty, he could have eradicated an entire category of malaise like leprosy or blindness. Instead, the Jesus of the gospel writers performs healings on people in front of him. Often, he cures with words or touch. One time he makes mud out of dirt and spit and then pastes it onto the eyes of a blind man (John 9:6). (Valerie Tarico, "Why Do Christians Believe in Miracles?" in John W. Loftus, ed. The Case Against Miracles [Hypatia Press, 2019], 202-27, here, pp. 205-7)
With respect to Joseph of Egypt using divinization, some Evangelical apologists have tried (lamely) to get around this. Writing in response to Norman Geisler ("Scripture" in The Counterfeit Gospel of Mormonism), Alma Allred wrote:
Geisler claims that "God's servants were forbidden to use physical objects to 'divine' things." As evidence he cites passages forbidding the practices of witches, soothsayers. sorcerers, mediums. spiritists, and interpreters of omens and conjurers or making children pass through fire. None of these restrictions mentions physical objects-nor do they apply to any of the practices of Mormonism or Joseph Smith. This is because God's servants have, in fact used physical objects to obtain the word of God. The clearest example comes from Genesis, where Joseph-a man who previously had given inspired interpretations of dreams-instructed his servant to tell his brothers that he used a silver cup for divination (see Genesis 44:4-5).
Geisler discounts this in a footnote (see p. 48 n. 3), concluding that Joseph lied as part of a ruse to trap his brothers, or. Alternatively that if he had used the cup he too would stand condemned by God. But Geisler's effort results in the unhappy conclusion that Joseph of Egypt was either an occultist or a liar. In leveling this accusation, Geisler should recall that the scripture tells us, "The Lord was with Joseph" (Genesis 39:21). Joseph's cup, however, is not the only biblical example of a physical object used in obtaining the words of God. Gideon used a fleece to determine the will of God (see Judges 6), and God's high priests used the Urim and Thummim-the same objects Joseph Smith claimed to use to receive revelation. Additionally, the apostle Paul used handkerchiefs and aprons to heal the sick (see Acts 19:12).
Biblical scholar Shawna Dolansky wrote the following about Elijah's use of "magic":
The use of magic to support Elijah’s claim to be a
prophet of Yahweh is explicit in 2 Kgs 1:9-14. Ahaziah king of Samaria sends
several army troops to bring Elijah into custody. When the first two approach
and request that he descend from his mountain and accompany them, Elijah
answers each captain of fifty in the same way: “If I am a man of God, let fire
come down from the heavens and consume you and your fifty men.” And no sooner
does he call for it than “fire from God descended from the heavens and consumed
him and his fifty men.” Elijah himself initiates and dictates the nature of the
magic, and God immediately complies; and it is all performed in the interest of
demonstrating Elijah’s status as a “man of God” and his authority to speak on Yahweh’s
behalf. Similarly, the earlier miracles that Elijah performs for the widow and
her son provoke the following reaction from the woman: “Now [by] this I know
that you are a man of God and the word of Yahweh in your mouth is true” (1 Kgs
17:24). (Shawna Dolansky, Now you See It, Now you Don’t: Biblical
Perspective on the Relationship between Magic and Religion [Winona
Lane, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2008], 69)
On Oliver’s
rod being called “the rod of Aaron,” Bowman wrote:
. . .this rationale is weak, since Aaron’s
rod was not a divining-instrument (Exod. 7:9-20; 8:5, 16-17; Num. 17:2-10).
(Ibid., 180)
This is a
classic example of “what you do is magic, what I do is religion.” True, Aaron’s
rod was not a “divining instrument,” but it would fit a “superstitious” (to
borrow a term Bowman uses) worldview. Let us quote the texts he references:
When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying,
Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast
it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. And Moses and Aaron went in
unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down
his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then
Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt,
they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast down every
man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord
had said. And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he
refuseth to let the people go. Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he
goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink against he
come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand.
And thou shalt say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto
thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and,
behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear. Thus saith the Lord, In this thou
shalt know that I am the Lord: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in
mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to
blood. And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink;
and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river. And the Lord
spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon
the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their
ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that
there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood,
and in vessels of stone. And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded; and
he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight
of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in
the river were turned to blood. (Exo 7:9-20)
And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto
Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers,
and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt . . . And
the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the
dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And
they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust
of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land
became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. (Exo 8:5, 16-17)
Speak unto the children of Israel, and take
of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all
their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou
every man's name upon his rod. And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the rod
of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. And
thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the
testimony, where I will meet with you. And it shall come to pass, that the
man's rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me
the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you. And
Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him
a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even
twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. And Moses laid up the
rods before the Lord in the tabernacle of witness. And it came to pass, that on
the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of
Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed
blossoms, and yielded almonds. And Moses brought out all the rods from before
the Lord unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man
his rod. And the Lord said unto Moses, Bring Aaron's rod again before the
testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take
away their murmurings from me, that they die not. (Num 17:2-10)