Book Review - How Greek Philosophy Corrupted the Christian Concept of God

Richard R. Hopkins has thrilled me with his carefully researched treatise on a most important subject.

I would call this the definitive work refuting the claim the Mormons are not Christians. He has carefully, masterfully, examined the history, method and means by which orthodox Christianity became heir to corrupted notions about the nature of both God and man and about the nature of their relationship.

No thinking scholar could deny Hopkins' thesis; not in the face of the evidence he has here examined. That said, I suspect that his work will largely go unnoticed by those thus corrupted. It is a nice, affirming read for those of us who already understand and accept the Latter-day Saint view of God. If there are honest seekers among those whose belief in God has been influenced by Orthodox Christian views, they will find this book helpful and gratifying, but we all know that a man convinced against his will, will remain of the same opinion still.

I recommend the book highly for it's clear examination of truth and is unflinching indictment of error. I especially loved Hopkins' treatment of the subjects of time, eternity and infinity. Those were the most concise and enlightening chapters on the subject I've ever encountered.

From the book: "Mormon theology provides a coherent concept of God, while that of classical theism is demonstrably incoherent." You might think demonstrably to be a pretty strong word in such a declaration, but Hopkins' book fully demonstrates the incoherence of which he speaks.

John 17:3 "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." I am thankful beyond measure for the revealed correction we enjoy to the world's corrupted understanding of God.

I wish Richard R. Hopkins, would follow this book with one devoted to How Greek Philosophy Has Corrupted Western Thought. I am convinced that we in the West have adopted patterns of thinking that make understanding God and even our own religion more difficult. We struggle to understand many important concepts because we've been culturally trained to think according to Greek ideology. We are trying to understand what is essentially an Eastern Religion, with Western minds. I believe that without the Greek influence in our thinking we'd more easily understand and accept such concepts as losing our lives to gain them, submitting our will to God's, becoming "perfect" and so on. One of the reasons the Pharisee's struggled with Jesus' teachings was that they had already been heavily influenced by Greek philosophy.

How Greek Philosophy Corrupted the Christian Concept of God is an academic read, but flows easily and is not over the lay person's head. I recommend it highly!