Ed Smither
  • About
  • Posts
  • Media
  • Books
  • Selected Publications
  • Book Reviews
  • Popular Essays
  • Schedule

Ed Smither | Making Progress

Joseph Smith's Tritheism

2/4/2014

 
Picture
I was excited yesterday to see the announcement for this new book. Dayton Hartman was my student at Liberty University where I had the privilege to serve as mentor for his MA thesis--a presentation of the historic doctrine of the Trinity to Muslims. Dayton went on to earn his PhD in Church and Dogma History from North-West University in South Africa. Joseph Smith' Tritheism is the published version of that PhD thesis. Again, from a historic Nicene perspective, Dayton evaluates the theological claims of the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

The book description from the publisher's web site reads: 

Few figures in North American religious history are quite as enigmatic as Joseph Smith. His unabashed adherence to tritheism gave birth to one of the most influential religious movements in American history. Many attempts have been made to engage his life and unorthodox theology. However, Joseph Smith's Tritheism is a unique text that blends church history, thoughtful theological exegesis, and evangelical apologetics in an attempt to engage Joseph Smith's theology anew.

Some early endorsers have written:

Many books by evangelicals demonstrate the fundamental implausibility of Mormonism. Fewer books address carefully the theological positions advanced by the Latter Day Saints. Doing so can be a difficult task because Mormon theology frequently employs strategic ambiguity in order to accommodate contemporary sentiments. Dayton Hartman’s book falls into the second category. He approaches the topic of the Trinity in Joseph Smith’s teaching and how it has been restated over the history of the LDS Church. But first, he demonstrates how orthodox Trinitarianism is rooted in the Bible and how the early church arrived at its definitive declarations. Then he points out the historical factors that may have led to Joseph Smith’s unorthodox point of view, the change it underwent over his lifetime, and the further revisions introduced by subsequent LDS thinkers. In contrast to many works in apologetics, this book does not leave the reader hanging with merely a negative critique but also provides a careful explication of the orthodox view. It is helpful both for its content and for the method that Hartman exemplifies as a blue print for others to follow.

Winfried Corduan, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Religion, Taylor University
Author of 
Neighboring Faiths

Dayton Hartman’s well-researched and well-reasoned book serves as a reminder that a proper understanding of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity—in its biblical and historical context—is necessary to accurately evaluate the theological claims of Mormonism, not to mention other departures from orthodoxy. Hartman ably shows that Mormonism’s view of deity is deficient and that creedal Christianity, which is a truthful distillation of the Scriptures, is not.

Paul Copan, Ph.D.
Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics, Palm Beach Atlantic University
Author of 
Is God a Moral Monster?

Congratulations Dayton!


Comments are closed.

    Archives

    January 2023
    February 2022
    August 2021
    July 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    September 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    July 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    June 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    August 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • About
  • Posts
  • Media
  • Books
  • Selected Publications
  • Book Reviews
  • Popular Essays
  • Schedule