Outer Brightness: From Mormon to Jesus

Mormon Exaltation Dilemmas, Pt. 2 (w/ Aaron Shafovaloff)

This week we continue our discussion with Aaron Shafovaloff about his article Dilemmas of Mormon Exaltation. We cover wrap up a dicussion of his second dilemma, "2. Expanding Godhead vs. overlapping godheads" and cover his fourth dilemma "4. Exhaustible vs. infinite pool of coeternal intelligences," and wrap up with his thrid dilemma "3. Shared vs. independent dominion between gods."

Mormon Exaltation Dilemmas, Pt. 1 (w/ Aaron Shafovaloff)

This week Matthew the Nuclear Calvinist and the Apostate Paul welcome Aaron Shafovaloff to Outer Brightness. He joined us to discuss his article “Dilemmas of Mormon Exaltation.” Aaron spent nearly three hours with us, and we’re excited to share these with you. In this first installment, we introduce Aaron and his article and discuss the first dilemma he enumerates and begin a discussion of the second.

The Divinity and Humanity ofJesus Christ (w/ Jaxon Washburn)

In this episode, The Apostate Paul and Matthew the Nuclear Calvinist welcome Latter-day Saint, Jaxon Washburn, back to Outer Brightness. They discuss Episode 37 "The Humanity and Divinity of Jesus Christ" from Y Religion, the podcast of the BYU Religion Department. In that episode, Professor Jason Combs is interviewed about an article he wrote. Jaxon sent us the podcast episode and we thought it would be a good opportunity to discuss the differences and similarities between LDS and Christian views on this topic. We hope you enjoy this conversation!

Is Compatibilism Compatible with Mormonism? Pt. 2 (w/ Tarik D. LaCour)

In this episode, we welcome a Latter-day Saint guest to Outer Brightness. Tarik D. LaCour is a PhD candidate in Philosophy at Texas A&M University. In this second installment of our conversation with Tarik, we discuss the LDS view of eternal laws that are external to God, and ask Tarik what he thinks about the Christian view that morality is rooted in God’s perfect nature. We also discuss the Trinity and ask Tarik what other moral or philosophical questions about non-LDS Christian beliefs he thinks are the most difficult for LDS to understand or make it difficult for them to embrace. Thank you for joining us.

You can connect with Tarik on Facebook and request access to his blog:

http://humefootnotes.blogspot.com/

Is Compatibilism Compatible with Mormonism? Pt. 1 (w/ Tarik D. LaCour)

In this episode, we welcome a Latter-day Saint guest to Outer Brightness. Tarik D. LaCour is a PhD candidate in Philosophy at Texas A&M University. The topic of free-will (or moral agency) is deeply intertwined with LDS theology. Philosophically, Tarik holds to the position of soft determinism. That position is often called Compatibilism, and is the view that human free-will is compatible with God's omniscience. Compatibilism is the position often taken by Calvinists. Latter-day Saints are typically Libertarian when it comes to the concept of free-will, and some even adopt the Open Theist view, which holds that God does not have exhaustive foreknowledge of future events. In this first installment, we get to know a bit about Tarik’s background and philosophical interests, and we dig into the theological point (uncreated intelligence/intelligences) that divide LDS cosmology from Christian cosmologies, and touch on why LDS think their view is superior (i.e. that it better accounts for the problem of evil). If these topics interest you, then join us for a fun discussion.

You can connect with Tarik on Facebook and request access to his blog:

http://humefootnotes.blogspot.com/

Exploring Biblical Inerrancy, Pt. 3 (w/ Steve James)

In this episode, Matthew the Nuclear Calvinist and the Apostate Paul continue the conversation with Steve James. In this final installment, we continue the dialogue around the definitions of “inspiration” and “revelation,” the idea that the use of Ancient Near Eastern texts by Old Testament writers is “polemical,” the Divine Council Worldview of Dr. Michael S. Heiser. We also begin discussing the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy and questions Steve posed regarding several if it’s articles, and the perspicuity of scripture. Is revelation from God to prophets and apostles needed today? We discuss several ideas that Steve posed as areas where Christianity is adopting views more closely aligned with Mormonism, a common LDS apologetic method.

Here are some resources for listeners to explore more about the topics we discussed in these episodes:

Scripture Alone: The Evangelical Doctrine by R. C. Sproul

https://www.amazon.com/Scripture-Alone-Evangelical-Doctrine-Sproul/dp/1596389540/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=Scripture+Alone&qid=1629646329&s=books&sr=1-4

 

Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches About the Unseen World - and Why It Matters by Dr. Michael S. Heiser

 

https://www.amazon.com/Supernatural-Bible-Teaches-Unseen-Matters/dp/1577995589/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1629646416&sr=1-2-spons

 

The Bible Among the Myths: Unique Revelation or Just Ancient Literature?  by John N. Oswalt

https://www.amazon.com/Bible-among-Myths-Revelation-Literature/dp/0310285097/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&qid=1629646184&refinements=p_27%3AJohn+N.+Oswalt&s=books&sr=1-1&text=John+N.+Oswalt

Exploring Biblical Inerrancy, Pt. 2 (w/ Steve James)

In this episode, Matthew the Nuclear Calvinist and the Apostate Paul continue the conversation with Steve James. In this second installment, we continue the conversation of the eighth LDS Article of Faith as it relates to the claim in 1 Nephi Chapter 8 in the Book of Mormon that plain and precious truths were removed from the Bible after the Early Church received the Hebrew Bible from the Jewish people, we talk about translations (JST vs. ESV), other modern books that claim to be revealed Scripture, proper definitions for the terms “inspiration” and “revelation,” and the concept of Biblical authors “borrowing” from source texts (e.g. Ancient Near Eastern texts).

Exploring Biblical Inerrancy, Pt. 1 (w/ Steve James)

In this episode, Matthew the Nuclear Calvinist and the Apostate Paul welcome Steve James to Outer Brightness. Steve is a Latter-day Saint that we have dialogued with in various Facebook groups. Steve and Paul were having a spirited dialogue about the doctrine of Biblical Inerrancy in one of the groups and we decided to invite him on the program to continue the conversation. In this first installment, we introduce ourselves to each other to give context to the topic, and begin the discussion of Biblical Inerrancy with a conversation about the eighth LDS Article of Faith and a proper definition of Biblical Inerrancy.

Are Mormons Christian?, Pt. 2 (LDS Gospel Topics Essays Series)

In this episode, Matthew the Nuclear Calvinist and the Apostate Paul read and respond to the LDS Gospel Topics Essay titled, Are Mormons Christian? Covered here in Part 2 are the other two main sections of the article "Latter-day Saints Believe in a Restored Christianity" and "Latter-day Saints Believe in an Open Canon," as well as the "Conclusion." We hope you enjoy this conversation.

Are Mormons Christian?, Pt. 1 (LDS Gospel Topics Essays Series)

In this episode, Matthew the Nuclear Calvinist and the Apostate Paul read and respond to the LDS Gospel Topics Essay titled, Are Mormons Christian? Covered here are the "Introduction" and first main section, "Latter-day Saints Do Not Accept the Creeds of Post-New Testament Christianity". We hope you enjoy this conversation.