Mormonism in Dialogue with Contemporary Christian Theologies

by David L. Paulsen (Editor)

Misunderstanding, misrepresentation, and ensuing acrimony have too often characterized Mormon relations with other Christians. In pursuing "discussions that lead to understanding," this volume brings together, for the first time, a broad range of scholars from Mormon and other Christian traditions. Replacing polemics and apologetics with dialogue, these exchanges show how the full spectrum of contemporary theologies can be informed by uniquely Mormon ideas, and correlatively, how Mormon thought can be illuminated through the study of key ideas of the foremost theologians of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including Karl Barth, Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, Langdon Gilkey, Robert McAfee Brown, Clark Pinnock, Rosemary Radford Reuther, Linda Thomas, Dwight Hopkins, David Griffin, and David Tracy. Besides providing succinct but illuminating presentations of basic Christian theological topics, this work discloses Mormon perspectives, virtually unknown in academia, on these topics. In content, as well as methodology, this book provides promising contexts for mainline Christian-Mormon conversations in particular and an exemplary model for intra-faith dialogue in general.

Genres: Religion, Philosophy, Mormonism

578 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2007

Reviews

[Dallin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of "dialogues" between non-LDS and LDS theologians and scholars, comparing Mormon thought to modern religious philosophies like process theology, liberation theology, and open theology. Each section includes a scholar's introduction to the tenets of the theology, followed by the response of an LDS scholar, and the another rejoinder and response by each. I haven't read them all--some just didn't entice me as much as others--but it was great to see Mormon theology being taken seriously by academic scholars. All were very respectful about each other's beliefs--though in the section on feminist theology, the conversation began to feel more tense and volatile (I personally felt that the LDS scholar didn't answer the best she could have). My favorite chapters, so far, have been the one on liberation theology--especially the response written by Eugene England--and the one on Open Theology, which I feel is the theology that most paralllels LDS thought. The writing was a bit inconsistent--it varied from the erudite (the intoduction to process theology was especially difficult) to being laxed and informal. But overall, a very interesting book.

[Norm]

Some good insights, several contemporary religion professors talking to each other from BYU and other universities