In the “updated material” section of their chapter on the Book of Mormon (chapter 5) of their magnum opus, we find the following from the Tanners:
Edward H. Ashment, of the
Translation Department of the Mormon Church, has voiced some serious
reservations concerning the fantastic claims of the BYU researchers. In a
letter to the editor of Sunstone, November-December 1980, page 6,
Ashment observes:
The word-print analysis of the
text of the Book of Mormon no more solves the problem of authorship than an
earlier study in which Rencher was involved solves the authorship of the Isaiah
text. . . . However exciting it may be, at best this study must be regarded as
preliminary and as representing only one approach. The only conclusions that
ultimately can be valid will result from holistic research.
We believe that computers may
eventually prove to be very helpful in sorting out writing styles. At the
present time, however, we are skeptical about this method. We feel that there
are many factors that could affect such a study. Just as in the analysis of
handwriting, we are concerned that the interpretation of the data can be
affected by the person who studies it. We remember that many years ago a
computer expert declared that all of the letters of Paul in the Bible were
forgeries except for the book of Romans! We were, of course, not willing to
accept such a startling claim just on the basis of a computer study, and we
doubt that a Mormon would receive it without additional evidence. (Jerald
Tanner and Sandra Tanner, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? [5th ed.; Salt
Lake City: Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1987, 2008], 96-I, emphasis in bold added)
Notice how, a priori, they will not entertain this
criticism, not because it is a weak argument against the Book of Mormon or that
there are methodological problems and the like; instead, it is due to their (Protestant)
understanding of the nature the Bible. Gotta love that explicit double-standard (they would never have accept this 'response' from a Latter-day Saint). One was reminded of how Sandra completely
embarrassed herself on the Gospel Tangents podcast not too long ago:
What Does Sandra Tanner have to say about Biblical Forgeries? (Part 5)
Sandra's apologetic for her Protestant understanding of the Bible really sums up how pathetic and superficial it is:
I accept the Bible as historical. There really are Jewish people living in Israel
It has been said by many of their fellow critics, even of the LDS Church, that the Tanners consciously engaged in a double-standard in how they approached their Protestantism with "Mormonism." This interview proves this beyond doubt.
