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71st out of 163 books
—
187 voters
Eternal Man
Paperback, 80 pages
Published
December 15th 1966
by Shadow Mountain
(first published December 1966)
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This is out of print, but my father got it from the library and scanned in every page for me. (It's only 67 pages, but still, an act of love, no?)
Madsen was a Mormon, a scholar of religious philosophy (at Harvard Divinity School, I think), and this book is a set of essays on the doctrine of man's eternal nature and the implications of our intelligence stretching out in both directions. He sets all of this into the great questions of the philosophy, and answers them in simple (if occasionally too...more
Madsen was a Mormon, a scholar of religious philosophy (at Harvard Divinity School, I think), and this book is a set of essays on the doctrine of man's eternal nature and the implications of our intelligence stretching out in both directions. He sets all of this into the great questions of the philosophy, and answers them in simple (if occasionally too...more
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Dec 15, 2010
Tamra
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
all Mormons who like to think about their doctrine
What a great little book! I found this on my husband's grandfather's bookshelf and took it home with me.
It's straight-forward and well put (except the Preface, which you should avoid at all costs). I thought it was easy to read, but I also have a background in philosophy and the theological questions with their typical answers or lack thereof. I thought Madsen did a good job of summing up some of the philosophical views and their implications, and answering those views, while still making it rea...more
It's straight-forward and well put (except the Preface, which you should avoid at all costs). I thought it was easy to read, but I also have a background in philosophy and the theological questions with their typical answers or lack thereof. I thought Madsen did a good job of summing up some of the philosophical views and their implications, and answering those views, while still making it rea...more
Reading works written from such a scholarly view are a great way to stretch the mind. I liken reading it to when I am pushing myself while exercising. If my average comfortable jogging speed is 6 mph and I knock it up to 8.5 mph then I am getting stretched. When I bring it back down to 6 the pace feels like I am walking effortlessly in contrast to where I was before.
It is well to read books like this from time to time to stretch the mind. Praying and pondering is helpful too.
I believe Madsen tru...more
It is well to read books like this from time to time to stretch the mind. Praying and pondering is helpful too.
I believe Madsen tru...more
For what it is it has to get 5 stars. For how it is is presented I would maybe give it 4 stars. Obviously it was written for those who have philosophical and theological backgrounds, but if a book like this is going to be put together then it would be more useful to have it a little more approachable. All the same, it is a good intellectual challenge, and of course his clarifications of the divine are his right given his spiritual gifts. I would recommend it to anyone who is willing to give it t...more
In 1970 a wise Sunday school teacher gave me this book, which opened my mind to the philosophical brilliance of the teachings of Joseph Smith. Largely because of this teacher, and the works of Truman Madsen, I began a scintillating intellectual journey toward spiritual things.
This book raises issues much pondered by modern philosophers in chapters titled: Evil and Suffering, Identity or Nothing, Freedom and Fulfillment, Creation and Procreation, Whence Cometh Man, The Spirit and the Body, and R...more
This book raises issues much pondered by modern philosophers in chapters titled: Evil and Suffering, Identity or Nothing, Freedom and Fulfillment, Creation and Procreation, Whence Cometh Man, The Spirit and the Body, and R...more
I learned a ton from this book, but it's one of the more difficult to grasp books I've read because Madsen takes everything from a philosophical approach and is constantly quoting the thinkers of the world.
It also depicts the depth of how Joseph Smith thought about the eternities, and quotes him frequently.
It also depicts the depth of how Joseph Smith thought about the eternities, and quotes him frequently.
I had to think while reading this book. Sometimes I had to read the same paragraph (or sentence) three or four times. And there were times I had no idea what he was talking about. But I will certainly read it again. There are so many wonderful, shining truths!
Truman Madsen is a brillian writer and thinker and this is his masterpiece. I highly recommend it for anyone who is striving to learn the purpose of life.
Hard stuff, had to read some paragraphs more than once, but some really great LDS-philosophy (if that's what you call it).
He does a very good job of delineating how Mormon theology answers core philosophical questions.
Truman Madsen (the late) is a great author. He stays focused on his subject matter.
Powerful teachings but not easily accessible.
Read it.
Madsen discusses Mormon and other Christian and non-Christian philosophies regarding man as an eternal entity. He has excellent chapters on freedom, suffering, and intelligences, along with discussions of humanism, fatalism, determinism and existentialism. I enjoy Madsen very much and go through spurts when I read his stuff again and try to get more understanding. I like the fact that he makes me reach upward in my thoughts.
"...it is only a rootless prejudice of our time that morbidity is profundity, and that any insight that seems consoling is bound to be a wishful and vagrant bromide." Madsen does not confuse "the Garden of Eden and the Garden of Gethsemane. What matters is that Christ and his prophets are, in all history, those most immersed in these realities and therefore in ours." This is a book of understanding and therefore, hope.
The late Truman G Madsen, an LDS scholar and Havard grad, brings LDS doctrine and compares it to different philosophies of man. Interesting read and has some mind stimulating thoughts. Overall a worthwhile read for those who like philosophy, but don't plan on being super inspired although some stuff is really good.
read long (>35yrs) ago, still remember his discussion of "the problem of evil"
This is a book that changed the way I see life and purpose and religion.
Philosophy from a Latter Day Saint perspective.
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Truman G. Madsen is a philosopher, essayist, teacher and biographer. He is emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Brigham Young University, and was Director of the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies in Jerusalem. He held the Richard L. Evans Chair in Religious Studies at B.Y.U. He has been guest professor at Northeastern University, Haifa, and Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California...more
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“To be or not to be?' That is not the question. What is the question? The question is not one of being, but of becoming. 'To become more or not to become more' This is the question faced by each intelligence in our universe.”
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“Actually, the most frightening power of freedom is to freely give itself up to the forces that stunt it.”
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