000			02068nam a22001697a 4500
005			20211214102104.0
007			ta
008			180806s2020 SA ||||fo||d| 001 e eng |
040			_cZA-BrSAT
100			_9734 _aPankratz Loren David
245			_aTraditional Christian and Mormon views of God and their compatibility with the moral theistic argument: An exercise in ramified natural theology
260			_aJohannesburg _bSouth African Theological Seminary _c2020
300			_a269p _bPDF _cA4 _eAbstract, TOC
502			_bDoctor of Philosophy in Theology _cSouth African Theological Seminary _d2020 _gDr Robert Bowman
520			_aIn a 2013 article in Philosophia Christi, David Baggett and Ronnie Campbell argued that the moral argument for God’s existence can bolster the case for uniquely Christian points of theology. In this spirit, Francis Beckwith authored a chapter in The New Mormon Challenge(2002) in which he argued that the Mormon worldview does not adequately ground moral laws. In 2006, LDS philosopher Blake Ostler published a monograph in which he offered a response to Beckwith’s argument and attempted to demonstrate LDS theism’s compatibility with objective moral values and duties. A substantial portion of Ostler’s work argues for a reinterpretation of Joseph Smith’s teaching about God that he dubs “kingship monotheism”. Christian scholars have yet to respond to Ostler’s critique of Beckwith’s argument or his grounding of objective moral values and duties within an LDS worldview. This paper represents a beginning of such a response. It argues that the moral argument for God’s existence provides good evidence for Christian theism and also serves as a defeater for LDS theism as well as Ostler’s LDS “kingship monotheism”. Key terms Metaphysics, naturalism, natural theology, objective morality, ontology, ramified natural theology, traditional Christian theism, divine command theory, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), the moral argument for God’s existence, monarch theism.
942			_2ddc _cTHE
999			_c16755 _d16755