Louis Midgley on LDS theology

[Vort]

A Plea for Narrative Theology: Living In and By Stories | Interpreter

Do yourself a big favor. Read the article linked above.

Man, I wish I could write like Lou Midgley. The first article I read from him was twenty or so years ago, and it was a deconstruction of the life, work, and personality of Paul Tillich. It was humorous, unsparing, occasionally bawdy, and very instructive. That sealed me as a Midgley fan. I have not read nearly as much of him as I would like to have done, but whenever I do, it's a treat.

Anyone who wonders why Latter-day Saints seem to completely lack the kind of systematic theology so prominent in many other Christian denominations needs to read the article. No one explains things as clearly or thoroughly as Midgley. He is -- dare I say it? -- Nibleyesque in his explanatory abilities.

[Just_A_Guy]

This is a jewel, Vort. Thanks.

[Anddenex]

I truly like this statement from Lou Midgley, " Do we become and remain faithful Latter-day Saints by having books on the shelf containing dogmatic answers to all our questions?"

"Our scriptures are packed with historical illustrations of the consequences of a covenant people turning away from and ceasing to remember and keep their covenants. Faithful obedience is what God seems to desire, not a demonstration of our ability to order or speculate about divine things. Our task is to remember and hence faithfully submit to the terms of the covenants we have made."

"I am satisfied with the host of narratives packed with wonderful and yet also imprecise and perplexing metaphors which are found in our scripture. This creates a kind of openness I have come to relish. I also find no pain in a huge number of questions for which I have no answer."

I enjoyed what I was able to read from this post and his ability to articulate his thoughts. However Vort, I don't see much difference between his and your skill in writing.

[James1]

Hello. You all might want to read through this: http://www.shields-research.org/Critics/A-O_02.html

It\'s pretty interesting. It\'s a correspondence between a Christian apologist and Louis Midgley.

[MrShorty]

The thing that strikes me about Brother Midgley's article in the OP -- his view of theology kind of runs counter to the way we do science as well. He seems to be suggesting that our theology prefers "anecdotal evidence" to promote and develop its ideas. Science, though it may use anecdotal evidence, seems to prefer other types of evidence (sometimes using elaborate statistical methods) to sort through many anecdotes to determine truth.

[The Folk Prophet]

The thing that strikes me about Brother Midgley's article in the OP -- his view of theology kind of runs counter to the way we do science as well. He seems to be suggesting that our theology prefers "anecdotal evidence" to promote and develop its ideas. Science, though it may use anecdotal evidence, seems to prefer other types of evidence (sometimes using elaborate statistical methods) to sort through many anecdotes to determine truth.

 

Mini correction from my point of view: "...to determine perceived truth."