Exploring Mormon Thought: Volume 3, Of God and Gods

by Blake T. Ostler “These books are the most important works on Mormon theology ever written.” — FARMS Review, Neal A. Maxwell Institute, Brigham Young University “This may be the most exciting volume to come out on Mormon theology ever.” — Association for Mormon Letters “Anyone who thinks seriously about the meaning of LDS doctrine should read it. It is a book that will take some time to unpack and some time for its influence to be felt.” — BYU Studies    Available in ebook Kindle, Nook, Apple, Google Play, and Kobo. Book Description: In his long-anticipated third volume, Of God and Gods, Blake Ostler steps through the common complaint that Mormons aren’t Christians because they believe in three separate individuals in the Godhead as well as 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.      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.” Comprehensive Table of Contents: Show/Hide . PREFACE PUBLISHER'S NOTE 1. DISTINCTIVE FACETS OF THE MORMON CONCEPTS OF GOD AND THE GODS Creation by Organization of Matter The Council of Gods The Supreme or Head God One God Among the Gods Appointed as Ours Premortal Humans in the Council of the Gods Elohim and Jehovah in Mormon Thought 2. MONOTHEISM AND THE COUNCIL OF GOD(S) Of God(s) in Israel Elyon and Yahweh in Deuteronomy God(s) Prior to the Creation of the Heavens and Earth Psalm 82 and the Council of God(s) The Denial of Comparability to Other Gods Creational Monotheism and God(s) 3. MONOTHEISM AND THE HIERARCHY OF DIVINE BEINGS IN SECOND TEMPLE JUDAISM Jewish Views of the Hierarchy of Divine Beings The Council of Gods in the Dead Sea Scrolls Divine Beings in Second Temple Judaism The Hierarchy of Holiness in the Heavenly Temple Strict Monotheism in Second Temple Judaism: An Assessment of the Argument 4. THE RELATION OF THE FATHER AND THE SON: KINGSHIP MONOTHEISM AND CHRISTOLOGY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT Acts 2:30–36: Christ as Lord at God’s Right Hand Acts 7:51–60: Christ as Lord and Son of Man Philippians 2:1–15: Christ Exalted as Lord by God 1 Corinthians 15:24–28: Christ as God’s Vizier and General 1 Corinthians 8:4–6: One God and One Lord Christ as God’s Agent in Creation 5. MONOTHEISM AND DIVINE AGENCY IN JOHN: A CHRISTOLOGY OF INDWELLING UNITY 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 6. THE LATIN TRINITY, LOGIC, AND SCRIPTURE The Creedal Formulation and Its Problems Latin Trinitarianism Distinct Persons in the “Unique Identity” of God? 7. SOCIAL TRINITARIANISM Richard Swinburne’s Theory of Social Trinitarianism Trinity Monotheism Perichoretic Monotheism Reveling in Mystery 8. THE GODHEAD IN MORMON THOUGHT Mormon Social Trinitarianism The Logical Problem of the Trinity and Mormon Thought The Divine Kind Indwelling Love The Ontological Nature of Personal Existence The Scriptural Argument for Yahweh’s Kind Uniqueness 9. CHALLENGES TO MORMON SOCIAL TRINITARIANISM 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 10. LOGICAL PROBLEMS OF DEIFICATION 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 11. WE SHALL BE AS HE IS: THE MORMON DOCTRINE OF DEIFICATION Deification in the Mormon Tradition The Son of God The Sons of God Arguments That Essential Divine Properties Cannot Be Shared with Humans 12. THE SCRIPTURAL BASIS FOR THE DOCTRINE OF DEIFICATION 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 BIBLIOGRAPHY SCRIPTURE INDEX SUBJECT INDEX     Praise for the Exploring Mormon Thought series: “These books are the most important works on Mormon theology ever written. There is nothing currently available that is even close to the rigor and sophistication of these volumes. B. H. Roberts and John A. Widtsoe may have had interesting insights in the early part of the twentieth century, but they had neither the temperament nor the training to give a rigorous defense of their views in dialogue with a wider stream of Christian theology. Sterling McMurrin and Truman Madsen had the capacity to engage Mormon theology at this level, but neither one did.” — FARMS Review, Neal A. Maxwell Institute, Brigham Young University “This may be the most exciting volume to come out on Mormon theology ever. I eagerly await it as I think it will demonstrate a maturity of Mormon theology in that it will take ‘as given’ a presentation of the basics of Mormon thought. One hopes that other authors will present engagements with other major thinkers such as Heidegger, Gadamer, Derrida, or others. However clearly before one can move on to this more ‘mature’ level of discourse, the beginnings have to be established. While I'm sure other writers may take exception to some of Blake's positions in this first volume, he clearly is blazing the trail in an exciting way. Further it opens up to non-Mormons a clear and lucid presentation of Mormon theology that one can't get from most other writings.” — Clark Goble, Association for Mormon Letters “Blake T. Ostler's monumental systematic work, Exploring Mormon Thought, continues to be a major event in the development of Mormon philosophical theology.... this book says a lot that is important and will be a welcome challenge to any interested in Mormon theology.” — James McLachlan, BYU Studies Quarterly Other Volumes in this Series: Volume 1, The Attributes of God Volume 2, The Problems of Theism and the Love of God About the Author: Blake T. Ostler is a practicing attorney specializing in educational law, employment law and intellectual property. His books include the EXPLORING MORMON THOUGHT series and Fire on the Horizon: Meditations on the Endowment and Love of Atonement. 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, Element, and FARMS Review of Books. More Information: Pages: 483 ISBN: 978-1-58958-107-4 (Hardcover) Published April 2008