Mormon Theism, The Traditional Christian Concept Of God, And Greek Philosophy: A Critical Analysis -- By: Francis J. Beckwith

Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 44:4 (Dec 2001)
Article: Mormon Theism, The Traditional Christian Concept Of God, And Greek Philosophy: A Critical Analysis
Author: Francis J. Beckwith


Mormon Theism, The Traditional Christian
Concept Of God, And Greek Philosophy:
A Critical Analysis

Francis J. Beckwith*

[* Francis J. Beckwith is associate professor of philosophy, culture, and law at Trinity International University, 2200 N. Grand Ave., Santa Ana, CA 92705.]

One of the charges leveled against traditional Christian theology is that its concept of God, otherwise known as the classical Christian concept of God, is the result of Greek philosophical thought significantly shaping, indeed corrupting, the way in which church Fathers, councils, theologians, and philosophers have interpreted the phenomenon of God found in Scripture.

A number of scholars in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), popularly known as the Mormon church, 1 believe that the truth of this charge helps ground their unique theology. 2 For the necessity of the founding of the LDS church is contingent upon the truth of the belief that pristine Christianity vanished from the earth. According to LDS theology, the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. (1805–1844) served as God’s instrument to restore the lost Gospel. 3 So, any evidence of corruption makes the Mormon case more plausible, though such evidence would certainly be far from decisive, since the disappearance of true Christian theology is only a necessary and not a sufficient condition for the truth of the LDS claims.

The purpose of this paper is to offer a philosophical reply to the Mormon claim that the classical concept of God is a corruption of the true Christian concept of God. In order to accomplish this, we will cover the following: (1) the Mormon concept of God; (2) the classical Christian concept of God; and (3) the LDS charge and its problems. My intention is not to give a biblical case for traditional Christian theism. Rather, my intention is to show

that the LDS charge is philosophically problematic and rests on five mistakes. The issue of whether and to what degree Christian theology has been influenced by Greek philosophy is historically important and worth assessing, but it is outside the scope of this paper. Although I will touch on historical sources, my main purpose is philosophical and not historical.

Because of the unjust persecution some Mormons have received at the hands of some self-professing Christians, I am sensitive to the fact that this paper may be interpreted to be within that unfortunate tradition. That would, however, be an inaccurate interpretation. For I am a Christian phi...

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