On Terryl Givens and Abortion

October 20, 2020 by

Yesterday Terryl Givens published what he characterized as “A Latter-day Saint Defense of the Unborn” at Public Square Magazine. He ultimately concludes that Latter-day Saints are obligated to oppose abortion and that there is basically no room for personally opposing abortion but supporting its legality and availability.

Givens seems completely sincere in his revulsion for abortion. But that sincerity has led him to pen (type?) a deeply misleading and unchristian jeremiad against his fellow citizens and fellow-Saints who take the opposite tack.

I’m not going to detail all of the factual and legal problems with his piece, though I will highlight a couple of what I consider to be the big problems. I’m also want to point out that the way he’s framed his argument undercuts any assertion that he makes it in good faith and that it demonstrates a huge lack of moral imagination.

[Read more…]
Filed Under: Current Events, Doctrine & Policy, Family, Modern Era, Mormon, Politics, Society & Culture Tagged With: , , , ,

Brigham Young’s Couplet

November 13, 2014 by

We’re pleased to feature this guest post from John G. Turner, associate professor of Religious Studies at George Mason University and author of Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet, in addition to other writings about Mormonism.

Terryl Givens ends his lucid and immensely informative Wrestling the Angel: The Foundations of Mormon Thought with a long chapter on theosis, the idea that human beings can progress toward and achieve godhood.

Givens presents Mormon thought as a recovery of “a Christian road not taken,” paths explored by early thinkers such as Origen and Pelagius and then rejected by subsequent definers and defenders of Christian orthodoxy. Mormonism as explicated by Givens insists upon human potentiality, freedom, responsibility, and affinity with the divine. Human beings, the spirit children of heavenly parents, embrace mortality as an ascent — sometimes a very difficult and gradual ascent — toward an exalted return to a heavenly family. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Guest Post, Mormon, Mormon Studies, Theology, Doctrine & Policy Tagged With: , , , ,

Do Mormons do theology?

August 1, 2014 by

mcginn coverDepending on who you ask you’ll get a different answer. I offer a qualified “yes,” which may be against the grain depending on who you ask and how the discussion goes. BYU professor James E. Faulconer has called Mormonism “atheological,” stressing that Mormons emphasize history, practice, and lived experience above rational, propositional content.1 In the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Louis C. Midgley characteristically skewers theology along similar lines, saying that in spite of a few caveats, theology is “not entirely at home in the LDS community.”2 Philosopher Adam Miller has paradoxically or puzzlingly depicted theology as excess, likening his own work to the construction of a Rube Goldberg machine (it depends on how you read Miller whether this is a good or bad thing).3 Blake Ostler’s three volume series is heavily theological, but he uses a different “T” word in the title: Exploring Mormon Thought.4

Soon, Terryl Givens will publish his ambitious overview of “the foundations of Mormon thought.”5 [Read more…]

Filed Under: Navel-Gazing & Poetic Observation Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Come watch a panel discussion about the relevance of scripture Wednesday in Provo

June 30, 2014 by

If you haven’t had a chance yet to dig in to the new books from Adam Miller (Letters to a Young Mormon) Joe Spencer (For Zion: A Theology of Hope) or David Bokovoy (Authoring the Old Testament) you have a perfect chance this week to become more familiar with their authors. On Wednesday night, ZION’S BOOKS in Provo is hosting a roundtable discussion featuring Miller, Spencer, and Bokovoy. Each author will deliver a brief lecture on the relevance of scripture followed by an audience Q&A. Janiece Johnson (BYU-Idaho) will moderate the discussion. You can pick up copies of their books and get autographs and enjoy some free light refreshments and give me a hard time for using this blog post for promotional purposes.

But if I were you, I’d want to know about this, too. So would this guy: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Mormon Tagged With: , , ,