Wrestling the Angel

"Givens has embraced a certain reading of the Mormon intellectual project and has found the tools of the academy a means for its expression...Therefore, scholarship is an essential tool for fully comprehending Mormonism's truths. These moments reveal that Givens is as much a Mormon intellectual as a scholar of Mormonism, and like Lowry Nelson or Juanita Brooks has taken upon himself the task of vitalizing his tradition by healing the wound ripped open in the Arrington era." -- Matthew Bowman, Nova Religio "[A]s an introduction 'to the intellectual richness and depth of Mormonism's theological heritage' (p. xi), Givens' volume has much to recommend it Undoubtedly, Wrestling the Angel will spark considerable debate within the Mormon tradition, but it will also be of great interest to scholars of Mormonism, New Religious Movements, and American religion in general, as well as to those working in comparative theology. It will likewise be useful for graduate seminars on these topics since it will undoubtedly inspire some interesting and lively discussions about this fascinating, complex American tradition."--Brian C. Wilson, Religion "A sweeping survey ambitiously conceived, ably crafted, capable of unlocking new mental worlds. Wrestling the Angel finally puts a fair assessment of the 'Mormon mind' on full display...[A] magisterial project."--Nova Religio "Terryl Givens, an unusually creative and eloquent exponent of the Mormon thought he outlines in Wrestling the Angel."--Journal of Religion "[A] wonderful and capacious contextualization of Mormon theology...I found it a distinct pleasure to work through Givens's work and to witness the Mormon theological tradition emerge from those pages with the kind of complexity and integrity that it rightly deserves."--Mormon Studies Review "Givens successfully tackles a mountain of logistical, chronological, and topical challenges in an astonishing work of scholarship. This comprehensive and impressive volume is fundamental in the study of an important, multifaceted, and understudied piece of religious history." --Library Journal "Givens has given us a hugely impressive, erudite and systematic work. He shows us the vast and complex landscape of this most extraordinary and most American of religions. Through this monumental work we experience the sheer scale and audacity of Mormon cosmology and theology and how this transforms our understanding of divine nature and human nature alike." --Simon Critchley, Hans Jonas Professor, The New School for Social Research "Givens has provided the most thorough and expert accounting of Mormonism's place in the Christian thought-world. The book raises the bar for those who would challenge Mormonism's status as a Christian faith. For the rest of us, who simply want to understand Mormonism, it is a welcome gift of fine scholarship." --Kathleen Flake, Richard Lyman Bushman Professor in Mormon Studies, University of Virginia "We--general readers and scholars--need a lucid survey of the Latter-day Saints' complex doctrinal developments. We also need work that places the whole of Mormon theology in conversation with Western culture and historic Christian thought. We now have both in one remarkable, rewarding book." --David Holland, Associate Professor of North American Religious History, Harvard Divinity School "In a sweep of enormous scope Givens takes Mormon thought from the cultural world of its nineteenth century American emergence through theological debates on orthodoxy-heresy amongst the early Christian Fathers to Protestantism's heyday and to today's Latter-day Saint distinctiveness." --Douglas J. Davies, author of The Mormon Culture of Salvation "Terryl Givens' careful and detailed account succeeds admirably in its goal of presenting the origins and development of Mormon theology clearly. The book is particularly welcome for giving readers a solid sense of where Latter-day Saint theology aligns with, and differs from, the theologies of main Christian traditions." --Mark A. Noll, author of America's God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln "Terryl Givens's scholarship is magisterial, yet this book brilliantly synthesizes key themes in Mormon thought in a way which is accessible and engaging for the non-specialist reader. An essential study of contemporary Mormon religious thought and its origins which should be read by any serious student of comparative Christian traditions." --Fenella Cannell, Associate Professor of Anthropology, London School of Economics and Political Science "Givens, possibly the most significant voice in the field of Mormon studies, has previously explained Mormonism by way of scripture, history, and philosophy. Here, he turns his attention to theology, a more difficult proposition than it sounds, since Mormons tend to emphasize practical living rather than theological speculation and believe in continuing revelation...What emerges is a complex, nuanced picture of a dynamic faith." --Publishers Weekly "Wrestling the Angel not only succeeds in providing the most comprehensive and rigorous overview of Mormonism's theological tradition, but it is, in the end, a key contribution--perhaps the most important contribution in the last half-century--to that very tradition." --The Juvenile Instructor "Givens does the world a great service by formalizing a very informal theology through remarkable literary artistry. Whether you are interested in tuning into current Mormon studies or looking for a helpful missiological resource, Wrestling will serve you well."-- Kyle R. Beshears, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Wrestling the Angel is a masterful attempt to grapple with a challenging but fundamentally important topic: situating Mormon thought in the history of Christianity. I greatly look forward to the next volume."-- Journal of Mormon History