Exploring Mormon Thought: Of God and Gods - Hardcover

Ostler, Blake T.

4.06

31 ratings by Goodreads

9781589581074: Exploring Mormon Thought: Of God and Gods

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1589581075 ISBN 13: 9781589581074

Publisher: Greg Kofford Books Inc, 2008

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About the Author:

Blake T. Ostler is a practicing attorney specializing in educational law, employment law and intellectual property. He holds a J.D. from the University of Utah. His books include The Attributes of God, Vol. 1, and The Problems of Theism and the Love of God, Vol. 2, in Exploring Mormon Thought, Refractions of Light from the Restoration: Collected Essays of Blake T. Ostler, Vols. 1 & 2 (Greg Kofford Books, forthcoming). He has published widely on Mormon philosophy in journals such as Religious Studies, International Journal for the Philosophy of Religion, Dialogue: Journal of Mormon Thought, BYU Studies and FARMS Review of Books.

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Blake Ostler announces his purpose as “a rescue operation to save the heart of God’s revelations to the Hebrews from the Greek mind.” The direct and powerful experience of the mysterious God that characterizes Hebrew religion was, he asserts, taken captive by the Greek fascination with intellectual puzzles. And the result was the complicated and unsatisfactory doctrine of the Trinity that has dominated traditional thinking ever since.Ostler steps through the common complaint that Mormons aren’t Christian because they believe, not only in three separate individuals in the Godhead, but also in the deification of human beings. He demonstrates the clear biblical understanding, both in the precursors of the Old Testament and the New, that Jesus and God the Father were not one in some incomprehensible “substance” while separate in person, but were actually distinct individuals. What made them one was their indwelling love. It is that loving unity into which they invite human beings.A major contribution of this volume, the third in Ostler’s series Exploring Mormon Thought, is his reconstruction of the Hebrew view of a council of gods, presided over by the Most High God. In the oldest Hebrew sources, Yahweh was one of these gods. Thus, from the beginning of the Christian revelation, there was no confusion about a shared identity, although Ostler’s discussion of the king/vizier relationship in the honor and shame culture of the ancient world explains how the confusion could have arisen.In language and thought accessible to the lay reader but simultaneously rigorous and scholarly, Ostler analyzes and responds to the arguments of contemporary international theologians, reconstructs and interprets Joseph Smith’s important King Follett Discourse and Sermon in the Grove just before the Mormon prophet’s death, and argues persuasively for the Mormon doctrine of “robust deification.”

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PublisherGreg Kofford Books Inc
Publication date2008
ISBN 10 1589581075
ISBN 13 9781589581074
BindingHardcover
Number of pages483
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EXPLORING MORMON THOUGHT - VOL 3 - Of God and Gods

Ostler, Blake T.

Published by Greg Kofford Books, Salt Lake City, UT (2008)

ISBN 10: 1589581075 ISBN 13: 9781589581074

New Hardcover Quantity: 2

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Confetti Antiques & Books
(Spanish Fork, UT, U.S.A.)

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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New Dust Jacket. Brand New! ; Volume 3 of the three volume series, Exploring Mormon Thought: The Problems of Theism and the Love of God, Blake Ostler explores issues related to soteriology, or the theory of salvation. He argues that the commitment that God loves us and respects our dignity as persons entails that God must leave us free to choose whether to have a saving relationship with him. He explores the "logic of love" and argues that the LDS doctrine of a "war in heaven" embodies the commitment that God leaves us free to choose whether to enter into relationship with God. He explores the nature of inter-personal prayer and the contributions of LDS beliefs to a robust prayer dialogue. He offers a view consistent with LDS commitments that makes sense out of asking God to assist others, to alter the natural environment and to grow in relationship with God. Ostler also argues that in LDS thought ethical principals are not simply commands or grounded in God's immutable nature. He rejects the traditional view that grounds all moral principals in God and argues that moral obligation arises "in-between" persons. He argues that the traditional view cannot makes sense of moral obligation and develops an "agape" or theory of love as the basis of ethics. He argues that ethical obligation arises from the requirements necessary for the mutual realization of our shared divine nature. Ostler also explores the nature of sin in LDS thought and the conditions that give rise to a sinful condition. He argues that sin arises from the creation of an ego that turns on itself to be absorbed in self-concern as to how it appears to others. He develops a theory of original sin based upon self-betrayal and self-deception. He also argues that self-deception is the primary concern of Paul and the James in the New Testament and that Paul develops a theory of grace to answer the concern of the self-deceived belief that we need to justify ourselves before others by our own righteousness. He also argues that James develops an idea of faith and justification that arises from a self-deceived Paulinism that uses grace as an excuse to sin. ; Vol. 3; 6.25" x 9.25"; 483 pages. Seller Inventory # 47144

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