Akrasia

Nate Oman’s personal blog

From the Archives: The Quandry of the Sugar Beets

Nate Oman | January 31, 2008

I think that I have finally isolated the great symbol of a recent set of intellectual and spiritual quandaries that I have found myself working through of late. I am not talking about polygamy, Adam-God, or blood atonement. I have in mind an even more challenging remnant of our past: sugar beets.

Mormonism’s Poisoned Theodicy

Nate Oman | January 30, 2008

Consider two theological claims. First, a severely mentally retarded child has her retardation because in the premortal world she was an exceptionally valiant spirit and her current disability means that all that was necessary was for her to receive a body and then go straight on to eternal exaltation, worlds without number. Second, [...]

Praise to the Man Who Communed with Jehovah

Nate Oman | January 27, 2008

President Gordon B. Hinckley died earlier this evening at age 97.

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but [...]

Call For Papers: Mormons in the Political Arena

Nate Oman | January 25, 2008

From the Archives: How Joseph Smith Restored Greek Religion

Nate Oman | January 22, 2008

I’ve been thinking of late about immortality and Mormonism. My question is whether or not you can be a Good Mormon and a Good Homeric Hero. I am unclear on the answer, but Moroni and John Taylor seem to suggest that for at least one Good Mormon being a Homeric Hero was just fine.

On Nobel Prizes, Primaries, and Decision Theory

Nate Oman | January 14, 2008

The Silent Core of Mormonism

Nate Oman | January 10, 2008

Mormon theology and practice centers ultimately on the temple, and yet the temple is a subject on which Mormons are especially secretive and reticent. Therein lies one of the central ironies and challenges facing any Mormon trying to really explain how Mormonism works to an outsider.

An Al Smith Moment?

Nate Oman | January 2, 2008

Here is my argument:
Let us suppose that Mitt Romney does not become the next president. What will this mean for the Mormons? There about 5.7 million Latter-day Saints in America, which in a nation of more than 300 million makes us demographic chicken feed, but the question is important for what it reveals about the [...]

An Al Smith Moment?

Nate Oman | January 2, 2008

Blacks and the Priesthood, a Request to the Media

Nate Oman | January 1, 2008

Generally speaking, when anyone wants an easy quote on the past racist theologies of Mormonism, they quote Bruce R. McConkie. I am one of those people who would like a clearer statement repudiating past theological justifications for the priesthood ban. On the other hand, I think that at times folks understate the extent [...]