William J. Hamblin

William J. Hamblin

William James "Bill" Hamblin is a member of the history department faculty at Brigham Young University and an expert in ancient and medieval warfare, the Crusades and Scandinavian history. He is a former board member of the Mormon apologetic group FARMS.

Biography

Hamblin served as an LDS missionary in Italy from 1973-1975. [cite web|author=Hamblin, Ken|title=Ken’s Dad on his mission to Italy, 1973-1975|work=Mission to Mongolia: Ken Hamblin|url=http://history.byu.edu/fac/hamblin/KenWeb/Elder%20Hamblin.htm|accessdate=2008-08-29] Hamblin received his bachelors degree at BYU and his masters degree from the University of Michigan. He also holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan which he completed in 1985. The title of his Dissertation was "The Fatimid Army During the Early Crusades". Prior to joining the faculty of BYU in 1989 Hamblin was a history professor at the University of Southern Mississippi [cite news|title=Symposium This Week at BYU on Warfare in Book of Mormon|work=Deseret News|date=March 23, 1989] , an instructor at Campbell University and a middle east intelligence analyst for the United States Department of Defense. Hamblin contributed many articles to "The International Military Encyclopedia". [cite web|title=Contents of Volume 1|work=The International Military Encyclopedia|publisher=Academic International Press|year=1997|url=http://www.ai-press.com/TIME.01.contents.html|accessdate=2008-08-29]

During the summer of 2008 Hamblin was a student sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities at a five week course sponsored through the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga entitled "Holy Land and Holy City in Classical Judaism, Christianity and Islam". [cite news|title=Y. professor to study in Tennessee|work=Deseret News|date=June 4, 2008]

Among books by Hamblin is "Warfare in the Ancient Near East" published by Routledge in 2005. [cite web|title=Warfare In Ancient Near East|publisher=Eisenbrauns Inc.|url=http://www.eisenbrauns.com/wconnect/wc.dll?ebGate~EIS~~I~HAMWARFAR|accessdate=2008-08-29]

Hamblin lives in Orem with his wife, the former Loree Peay. They have three children.

Apologetics

In the early 1990s Hamblin was involved with J. Michael Allen in creating mormon-l, which was meant to be a forum for people to correspond with Mormon academics. It however soon degenerated into a general chat forum. [cite news|author=Skipper, Rommyn|title=Data Service for LDS Gets Out of Line|work=Deseret News|date=April 21, 1994]

Hamblin has also written extensively on archaeology and the Book of Mormon, both in general articles for the "Journal of Book of Mormon Studies" [cite journal|author=Hamblin, William J.|title=Basic Methodological Problems with the Anti-Mormon Approach to Book of Mormon Geography and Archaeology and Warfare|journal=Journal of Book of Mormon Studies|volume=2|issue=1|location=Provo, Utah|publisher=Maxwell Institute|date=1993|url=http://farms.byu.edu/publications/jbms/?vol=2&num=1&id=25|accessdate=2008-08-29] and in specific responses to attacks on the historicity of the Book of Mormon. [cite journal|author=Hamblin, William J.|title=Archaeology and the Book of Mormon|journal=FARMS Review|volume=5|issue=1|date=1993|location=Provo, Utah|publisher=Maxwell Institute|url=http://farms.byu.edu/publications/review/?vol=5&num=1&id=126|accessdate=2008-08-29]

Controversy

"Metcalf is Butthead"

After becoming very upset with Brent Metcalf, another scholar who criticized the Book of Mormon, Hamblin published a paper in The FARMS Review which included an encrypted message stating "Metcalf is Butthead".

Associated Press writer Vern Anderson wrote an article concerning the matter which was published in the "Deseret News":

"The salvos contained in the 566-page 'Review of Books on the Book of Mormon' come as no surprise, given the longstanding animus between scholars associated with FARMS, many of them professors at church-owned Brigham Young University, and those published by the independent Signature Books.... Recently a review by BYU history professor William Hamblin containing an encrypted message 'Metcalfe is butthead' — was hastily edited out after the 'Review' had gone to press." [cite news|author=Anderson, Vern|title=Book of Mormon Scholars Unleash Salvo of Barbs|work=Deseret News|date=March 22, 1994]

Metcalf responded, stating:

"When I heard rumors that William J. Hamblin, FARMS board member and BYU historian, had a caustic encryption in his review... I summarily dismissed them. Surely no legitimate scholar would stoop to such an inane level. However, it seems that I underestimated Hamblin's 'scholarly' prowess." [Computer message by Brent Metcalfe, dated March 8,1994 as quoted in cite news|title=A Disgusting Joke?|work=Salt Lake City Messenger|publisher=Utah Lighthouse Ministry|date=June 1994|url=http://www.utlm.org/newsletters/no86.htm#A%20Disgusting%20Joke|accessdate=2008-08-29]

Other criticism

Jerald and Sandra Tanner have noted that Hamblin often resorts to ad hominem attacks on other scholars that criticize his work or the LDS church, and that many of his articles are "mean spirited in their attempt to save the church". They further state:

Professor William Hamblin accused Metcalfe of "academic immaturity" on page 522 of his response. We feel that Hamblin should take a careful look at his own writings. If we had written the tasteless acrostic mentioned above and had directed it at William Hamblin or Daniel C. Peterson, we would never hear the end of it. These scholars certainly use a double standard when they deal with those they perceive to be enemies of the church. [cite news|title=A Disgusting Joke?|work=Salt Lake City Messenger|publisher=Utah Lighthouse Ministry|date=June 1994|url=http://www.utlm.org/newsletters/no86.htm#A%20Disgusting%20Joke|accessdate=2008-08-29]

References

External links

* [http://history.byu.edu/fac/hamblin/hamblin.htm Faculty page at BYU's Department of History]
* [http://fhssfaculty.byu.edu/Faculty/wh4/ Faculty page at BYU's College of Family, Home and Social Sciences]
* [http://www.shields-research.org/Authors/WJH.htm Author page at Scholarly and Historical Information Exchange for Latter-day Saints (SHIELDS)]
* [https://facultyprofile.byu.edu/PublicFacultyProfile/vita/vita_wh4.pdf Hamblin's vita]


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