Greg Kofford Books - Authorcast

Exploring Mormon Thought, Episode 20: The Attributes Of God Ch 14 - A Mormon Christology (Part 1) By Corey Ostler Topics Discussed: • Distinctive Doctrines of Mormon Scripture • A Modified Kenotic Theory of Christology Learn more about Blake Ostler’s book series, Exploring Mormon Thought. Download Subscribe in Pocket Casts

Exploring Mormon Thought, Episode 19: The Attributes Of God Ch 13 - The Problems of Conventional Christology By Corey Ostler This week's episode explores what it means that Christ is both man and God. We talk about the different views on this and some of the problems that arise with conflicts with actual New Testament writing and logical issues. We talk about various traditional attempts to solve these problems and discuss their strengths and shortcomings. Topics Discussed: • The Historical Problem • The Logical Problem • The Christological Controversy * Traditional Responses • The Kenotic Theory • The Grace Theory Learn more about Blake Ostler’s book series, Exploring Mormon Thought. Download Subscribe in Pocket Casts

Round table discussion on Perspective on Mormon Theology: Apologetics. Topics discussed: nature and utility of apologetics, particularly in academic discourse. "Good vs Bad" apologetics. Participants: Blair Van Dyke, Stephen Smoot, Joseph Spencer, Amanda Brown, Loyd Ericson. Moderated by Brian Whitney. Discussion took place at Writ & Vision in Provo, Utah, on Thursday, August 3, 2017.  Learn more about Perspectives on Mormon Theology: Apologetics Preview the volume here. Read a Q&A with the editors here. If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element Download Subscribe in Pocket Casts

Exploring Mormon Thought, Episode 18: The Attributes Of God Ch 12 - Immutability and Impassibility By Corey Ostler The scriptures state that God does not change. We examine what some possible interpretations of this are. There is one extreme of Classical Theism where God cannot change at all and therefore can't really be affected by prayer or humanity. We discuss the option that perhaps this refers to God's Character and his resoluteness to fulfill his promises. We then turn to God and his ability to be affected emotionally. Can God suffer? Well Jesus did and we examine the implications of that and much more. Enjoy! Topics Discussed: • Defining Changelessness • Immutability in Nature • Immutability in Will • Immutability and Mutability in God’s Knowledge • Divine Passibility in Feeling 1. The Argument of Divine Love 2. The Argument from Immanent Omniscience 3. The Argument from Worshipworthiness Learn more about Blake Ostler’s book series, Exploring Mormon Thought. Download Subscribe in Pocket Casts

Exploring Mormon Thought, Episode 17: The Attributes Of God Ch 11 - Time, Timelessness, and Omnitemporality By Corey Ostler We discuss various ideas on what time is what it means, starting with Aristotle's thought. We then turn our attention to physics and how time is relative depending on one's inertial frame of reference. We summarize the implications of the concept of time from the general and special theories of relativity. We then turn to what it could mean for God to be timeless and problems with that. We then discuss possible issues of God having a body and if God can still be immediately immanent to all existence and implications from the Contingent Omniscience that we discussed last week. Topics Discussed: • Everlasting Time • Measured Time • The Theory of Relational Time • Temporality • The Theory of Absolute Time • Simultaneity • Relative Space-Time • Defining Timeless Eternity • Implications of Divine Timelessness • Problems with Divine Timelessness • Reasons to Adopt Divine Timelessness • God’s Omnitemporality Learn more about Blake Ostler’s book series, Exploring Mormon Thought. Download Subscribe in Pocket Casts

Exploring Mormon Thought, Episode 16: The Attributes Of God Ch 10 - God's Contingent Knowledge By Corey Ostler Topics Discussed: • Is Contingent Omniscience Consistent with Scripture? • Is Contingent Omniscience Compatible with a Spatio-Temporally Limited God? • Does Contingent Knowledge Entail Imperfection? • Must God Know Future Contingent Propositions? Learn more about Blake Ostler’s book series, Exploring Mormon Thought. Download Subscribe in Pocket Casts

In this episode, Michael Austin presents "The Dime Novel Hero in Salt Lake City: Popular Fiction and the Contested Mormon Embrace of Modernity, 1890–1903." This presentation was given at the 2017 Mormon History Association Conference held in St. Charles, MO on June 3, 2017.   Michael Austin is the co-editor of The Mormon Image in Literature series. Dime Novel Mormons, the latest volume in the series, collects four full-length dime novels that represent different aspects of the Mormon image in dime novels: Eagle Plume, the White Avenger. A Tale of the Mormon Trail (1870); The Doomed Dozen; or, Dolores, the Danite’s Daughter (1881); Frank Merriwell Among the Mormons; or, The Lost Tribes of Israel (1897); and The Bradys Among the Mormons; or, Secret Work in Salt Lake City (1903). Preview the volume here. Read a Q&A with the editors here. If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element Download Subscribe in Pocket Casts

Exploring Mormon Thought, Episode 15: The Attributes of God Ch 9 - Denying That God's Past Knowledge is Fixed By Corey Ostler We talk about arguments that try to attack God's past knowledge/beliefs as fixed. We talk about the idea that a timeless God is exempt from past necessity, and even go over universal possibilism and the multiverse theory. Topics Discussed: • Distinguishing Logical and Theological Fatalism • Argument D • Hard Facts As Intrinsic Properties of Past Events • Does The Doctrine of Timelessness Resolve the Incompatibility? • Multiple Past Compatibilists Learn more about Blake Ostler’s book series, Exploring Mormon Thought. Download Subscribe in Pocket Casts

Exploring Mormon Thought, Episode 14: The Attributes of God Ch 8 - Denying Entailment By Corey Ostler We discuss different attempts by various philosophers/theologian who try to deny that God's knowing something about a future event in the past entails that God's knowledge can't be changed and therefore destroys Libertarian free will. Topics Discussed: • Molina's Response • Power Entailment • Criticisms of Power Entailment Principles • Power to Bring About the Past Learn more about Blake Ostler’s book series, Exploring Mormon Thought. Download Subscribe in Pocket Casts

Exploring Mormon Thought, Episode 13: The Attributes of God Ch 7 - Divine Foreknowledge and the Mormon Concept of Free Agency (Part 2) By Corey Ostler Part two of our discussion of the Mormon concept of free agency and foreknowledge. We look at different views of free will and what it means to have the ability to 'choose otherwise.' We give several variations of a hypothetical situation and ask if one would still be truly free given the scenario. We then discuss how free agency is the crux of Mormonism and a truly beautiful opportunity to create ourselves with God. Topics Discussed: • Objections to Power to Do Otherwise • Semi-Compatibilism • Intervention after an Effective Interaction Is Formed • Intervention before an Effective Intention Is Formed • Is Intervention Possible before an Intention Is Effective? • Is Causal Determinism Essential to Free Acts? • A Mormon Concept of Free Agency Learn more about Blake Ostler’s book series, Exploring Mormon Thought. Download Subscribe in Pocket Casts