Exploring Mormon Thought

Interview with Blake Ostler about Vol. 4 of Exploring Mormon Thought AVAILABLE NOW—Exploring Mormon Thought, Vol 4: God's Plan to Heal Evil Now available for order from Greg Kofford Books: https://gregkofford.com/products/emt4

I am pleased to welcome back Thomas Jay Oord to the podcast. His new book 'Questions & Answers for God Can't' answers many questions that naturally follow from the ideas he presented in his previous work 'God Can't' In his best-selling book, God Can't: How to Believe in God and Love After Tragedy, Abuse, and Other Evils, Thomas Jay Oord solves the problem of suffering. Oord offers five aspects of a real answer to why a loving God doesn't prevent pointless pain. The most helpful: God can't stop evil singlehandedly. In this follow-up, Oord answers questions God Can't readers asked about his ground-breaking proposals. The answers are in this book, and they solve age-old conundrums. https://www.amazon.com/Questions-Answers-Cant-Thomas-Oord-ebook/dp/B087CBY4NW/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Previous episodes on this topic: http://www.exploringmormonthought.com/2019/01/069-god-cant-thomas-jay-oord.html http://www.exploringmormonthought.com/2019/03/ep74-conspiring-prayer-with-mark-karris.html Show Notes: http://www.exploringmormonthought.com/2020/08/ep97-questions-answers-for-god-cant.html

Links: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02536/full https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmTFdCYALgY http://mormonpuzzlepieces.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-mind-body-problem-consciousness-and.html https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/benefit-of-mormon-solution-to-the-mind-body-problem-over-the-concept-of-dualism-epiphenomenology-behaviorism-and-identity/

095-Heavenly Mother (Part 3) by Exploring Mormon Thought

094-Heavenly Mother (Part 2) by Exploring Mormon Thought

093-Heavenly Mother (Part 1) by Exploring Mormon Thought

Did Joseph Smith teach spirit birth? He says no: http://signaturebookslibrary.org/line-upon-line-11/ He says yes (well, he really says 'maybe'): Go down to the article ‘A CONTINUATION OF THE SEEDS”: JOSEPH SMITH AND SPIRIT BIRTH Brian C. Hales* https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1071&context=mormonhistory The Idea of Pre-existence in the Development of Mormon Thought: (audio and a link to the paper): http://www.exploringmormonthought.com/2018/11/the-idea-of-pre-existence-in.html

Ep91-Sacramental Re-member-ing as At-one-ment-Fire on the Horizon-Ch 17 by Exploring Mormon Thought

090-The Atonement Heals the Broken Heart-Fire on the Horizon-Ch 16 by Exploring Mormon Thought

089-The Poison of Sin and Atonement-Fire on the Horizon-Ch 15 by Exploring Mormon Thought

088-The Mirror of Judgement-Fire on the Horizon-Ch 14 by Exploring Mormon Thought

087-Original Sin and the Human Condition-Fire on the Horizon-Ch 13 by Exploring Mormon Thought

086-The Nature of Being in the World-Fire on the Horizon-Ch 12 by Exploring Mormon Thought

085-Ways of Being in the World-Fire on the Horizon-Ch 11 by Exploring Mormon Thought

084-The Fruit of Our Mortal Lives-Fire on the Horizon-Ch 10 by Exploring Mormon Thought

083-The Cherubim's Sword-Fire on the Horizon-Ch 9 by Exploring Mormon Thought

082-We Are All Adam & Eve-Fire on the Horizon-Ch 8 by Exploring Mormon Thought

081-Human Sacrifice, Plural Marriage and the I-Thou Relation-Fire on the Horizon-Ch 7 by Exploring Mormon Thought

080-Zion as the Sacred Society Reflecting Divine Love-Fire on the Horizon-Ch 6 by Exploring Mormon Thought

Ep79-The Peer Relationship as Christology-Fire on the Horizon-Ch 5 by Exploring Mormon Thought

078-The Divine Risk of Love-Fire on the Horizon-Ch 4 by Exploring Mormon Thought

077-The Language of Ritual Viewed From Within-Fire on the Horizon-Ch 3 by Exploring Mormon Thought

076-An Ethic of Religious Discourse-Fire on the Horizon-Ch 2 by Exploring Mormon Thought

In this short volume, Blake Ostler departs from the more analytically rigorous approach that defined his groundbreaking Exploring Mormon Thought series and instead offers a meditation and reflection on the deeper and more important aspects of Mormon theology. Ostler explores two of the most important and central aspects of Mormon theology and practice: the Atonement and the temple endowment. Utilizing observations from Søren Kierkegaard, Martin Buber, and others, Ostler offers further insights on what it means to become alienated from God and to once again have at-one-ment with Him.

Conspiring Prayer with Mark Karris: Divine Echoes: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078WFV3NT/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 Conspiring prayer website: http://conspiringprayer.com/ Marks website: http://markgregorykarris.com/

Topics Discussed: • Self Deception and the Corruption of Human Intellect • The Relation of Experience and Interpretation to Spiritual Knowledge • The Objection from Conflicting Religious Experiences • The Relativity of Degrees of Light Theory of Religious Diversity • The Argument from Arrogance

Topics Discussed: 1. How Are We Aware of Noumenal Experience? 2. How Could Post-conceptual Language Expressed in a Publicly Available Dialogue Be Known to be True Subjectively? 3. Kierkegaardian Subjectivity. 4. Interpersonal Encounter with a Thou that Precedes and Exceeds Me: A Levinasian Addendum to Buber. http://www.exploringmormonthought.com/2019/02/ep72-knowledge-is-being-pt-2-vol-5.html

Topics Discussed: A. The Veridicality Objection. 1. The Certainty of Knowledge. 2. The Kantian Assumption. 3. The Dis-appearance of the Noumenal/Phenomenal Distinction in Mormon Epistemic Experiences.

Topics Discussed: • Epistemology of Religious Experience • The Distinctive Mormon Epistemic Practices • Faith, Evidence and Reason

Purchase the books: God Can't: https://www.amazon.com/God-Cant-Believe-after-Tragedy-ebook/dp/B07MP93F1W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1547100495&sr=8-1&keywords=god+can%27t+oord The Uncontrolling Love of God: https://www.amazon.com/Uncontrolling-Love-God-Relational-Providence-ebook/dp/B01959VKI2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1547100540&sr=8-1&keywords=the+uncontrolling+love+of+god Show Notes: http://www.exploringmormonthought.com/2019/01/069-god-cant-thomas-jay-oord.html

We discuss how Jesus' life and atonement help solve the problem of evil. https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1122&index=11

Natural Evils

Topics Discussed: • Can Radical Evils Benefit the Victims as an Essential Feature of God’s Plan of Atonement? • Is It Justifiable to Permit Consent to Personality-Destroying Evils? • Are Radical Evils Essential to the Plan of Atonement? Refer to the outline here...specifically #9 for this episode: http://www.exploringmormonthought.com/2018/10/ep65-plan-of-atonement-theodicy-pt-2.html

https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V15N01_61.pdf

My father has been out of town for two weeks and we ran out of buffer episodes so for this week I thought I would perform a reading of the King Follett Discourse. This discourse is very important to LDS Doctrine and is referred to a lot on this podcast so I thought it was relevant. http://mldb.byu.edu/follett.htm https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/site/accounts-of-the-king-follett-sermon

Topics Discussed: • Plan of Atonement Theodicy Outline http://www.exploringmormonthought.com/2018/10/ep65-plan-of-atonement-theodicy-pt-2.html

Topics Discussed: • The Nature of God's Providence • The Nature of Intelligences • The Ontological Status of Natural Laws • God's Power • God's Providential Knowledge • The Nature of the Challenge of Learning to Love

Topics Discussed: • Precedents in Mormon Thought for a Process Theodicy • Basic Commitments of A Mormon Process Theodicy • Criticisms of Process Theodicy

Topics Discussed: • God’s Relation to Natural Regularities in the Tradition. • Prospects of a Natural Law Theodicy in the Tradition of Ex Nihilo Creation. • Mormon Finitism/Transhumanism

Topics Discussed: • Gods Options and the Free Will Defense • The Less Evil Options Argument from Evil

Topics Discussed: • The Problem of Evil: The Argument • Human Cognitive Limitations • The Problem of Moral Quietude for Skeptical Theism • The Problem of Moral Quietude and Meticulous Providence • The No Minimum Evil Defense Show Notes: http://www.exploringmormonthought.com/2018/09/ep60-what-we-learn-from-problem-of-evil.html

Topics Discussed: • Partaking of the Divine Nature: 2 Peter 1:4 • Ye Are Gods: Psalm 82/John 10:34–36 • Divine Sons Who Are like Christ: 1 John 3:1–3 • One Just as Father and Son Are One: John 17 http://www.exploringmormonthought.com/2018/09/ep59-scriptural-basis-for-doctrine-of.html

Topics Discussed: Arguments That Essential Divine Properties Cannot Be Shared with Humans - Can a Fulness of Divine Power Be Shared? - Can Divine Sovereignty Be Shared By Humans? - Are Deified Humans Worthy of Divine Worship?

Show Notes: http://www.exploringmormonthought.com/2018/09/ep57-we-shall-be-as-he-is-mormon.html

Topics Discussed: • What Is the Divine Nature in Which We Share? • The Logic of Deification: The Exchange Formula • Deification and Justification by Faith Alone • Failure of the Distinction between Communicable and Incommunicable Properties • Monotheism, Simplicity, and Deification Show Notes: http://www.exploringmormonthought.com/2018/08/topics-discussed-is-divine-nature-in.html

Topics Discussed: • The Problem of the Godhead and Monotheism • Divine Embodiment and Monotheism • The Problem of Diminished Divinity • The Competing Omnipotents Problem • The Problem of Divine Deception

Topics Discussed: • The Divine Kind • Indwelling Love • The Ontological Nature of Personal Existence • The Scriptural Argument for Yahweh’s Kind Uniqueness http://www.exploringmormonthought.com/2018/07/ep54-godhead-in-mormon-thought-pt-2-of.html

Topics Discussed: • Mormon Social Trinitarianism • The Logical Problem of the Trinity and Mormon Thought http://www.exploringmormonthought.com/2018/07/ep53-godhead-in-mormon-thought-pt-1-of.html

Topics Discussed: • Richard Swinburne’s Theory of Social Trinitarianism • Trinity Monotheism • Perichoretic Monotheism • Reveling in Mystery

Topics Discussed: • The Creedal Formulation and Its Problems • Latin Trinitarianism • Distinct Persons in the “Unique Identity” of God?

Topics Discussed: • The Logos in Philo and the Gospel of John • The Logos Made Flesh and the Manifestation of God’s Glory • Jesus as God’s Agent in the Writings of John • Divine Agency and Angelic Mediation in the Book of Revelation • Jesus’s Relation to the Father