Mormons and Biblical Scholarship

An article by Paul Owen and Carl Mosser which was published in Trinity Journal, entitled 'Mormon Apologetic, Scholarship and Evangelical Neglect: Losing the Battle and Not Knowing It?' is available online at For An Answer, here. While the article does not interact with textual criticism, its main thrust is of interest to us. The authors argue that (1) Mormon apologetics are now being conducted by scholars who are respected in the larger scholarly community, and that (2) the evangelical scholars who do have the ability to respond are not doing so.

I hope that my own work in the area of textual criticism (specifically doing a PhD on the Coptic versions of GJohn) will give me the technical skills to interact in the area of Christian Origins. Bruce Metzger did something of the sort. He established a sound reputation as a text critic and later published an article which caused much of the scholarly community to rethink the accepted idea that the resurrection concept was derived from Greco-Roman mystery cults ('Methodology in the Study of the Mystery Religions and Early Christianity' (Historical and Literary Studies: Pagan, Jewish and Christian (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968) available online, here.) He also published 'Jehovah's Witnesses and Jesus Christ' Theology Today (April, 1953).