I’ve often mentioned that the main difference between us as Mormons and other Christians is our rejection of creation ex nihilo. However a lot of people don’t understand what this means nor why we reject it. For that matter a lot of people don’t quite see what the big deal is. After all, don’t we believe that God created everything?
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What is Creation Ex Nihilo?
March 31, 2008 — Clark GobleWhat Mormonism Offers to the World
March 12, 2008 — Clark GobleI don’t know how many of you read the transcript of Richard Bushman’s talk up at Weber State. If you haven’t you really should. It’s very well written and really makes one think. I’d really like to comment on one paragraph that really stood out to me. It was the question Helen Whitney from last year’s PBS special The Mormons asked but couldn’t get a satisfactory answer to.
“What is it that you have to say that can be used by the rest of the world?”
Trinitarian Mormons: Orson Pratt
February 27, 2008 — Clark GobleAs I promised before I wish to expand my view that the Trinity is compatible with Mormon theology by examining a Mormon theologian who, I feel, adopted a position quite in line with the Trinity. Now please note that I am not saying that the Trinity is necessarily entailed by Mormon theology. Clearly there are many Mormon thinkers who adopt positions incompatible with the Trinity proper. Nor am I saying that Mormon theology is compatible with what I’ll call mainstream ‘orthodoxy’ in Christianity. Clearly our view of an embodied Father and our rejection of creation ex nihilo is incompatible. Rather what I’m arguing is that the tradition focus on the Trinity by both sides as the point of contention is a misplaced one.
I think that ultimately the place with the largest ramifications is our rejection of creation ex nihilo.
Anyway I wish to turn to a brief discussion of some theological positions of Orson Pratt so as to highlight the possible Trinitarian reading of Mormon theology.
Mormons and the Trinity
February 25, 2008 — Clark GobleThis is the sort of post I’d probably have put on my philosophy blog. But since my blog is “between” right now I’ll post it here but try and make it accessible to non-philosophers. (i.e. not technical)
One thing that is often presented as the main point of difference between Mormons and ‘traditional Christians’ is the doctrine of the Trinity. It is somewhat understandable given that for more than a century Mormon thinkers have attacked the Trinity.
Might I suggest that this is incorrect?
The Hypocrisy of Mormon Views of Evangelical Voting
January 7, 2008 — Clark GobleFirst let me say up front that I don’t care for Huckabee. To me he reminds me a tad too much of “slick Willie” for my tastes. Further on many issues I just disagree with him. But I also don’t care much for Romney and think he’s been the cause of most of his own problems. What I wish to discuss though is neither Huckabee nor Romney but Mormon hypocrisy. There is a constant back and forth about whether Evangelical bigotry is a deciding factor in the election. Now I was on a mission in Louisiana so you don’t really have to preach to me about Evangelical ignorance and bigotry towards Mormons. I had enough people seriously thinking I had horns to know it’s there. However let me suggest that there is a lot of hypocrisy at work amid the Mormon angst on the subject.
