Heavenly Mother, If You Exist, Read this: Mormonism as a Mystical Atheism
Scott Ryan Maybell
Topoi March 18, 2026 DOI: 10.1007/s11245-026-10403-8 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Keywords | Atheism Argumentation theory Argument complex analysis Saint Agnosticism Epistemology Religious studies Theology Christianity Absolute philosophy |
| Key points | Argues that Mormon theology, by viewing divine persons as embodied and thus fallible, can be incorporated into the mystical atheist tradition where divine beings are open to being persuaded by argument. |
Abstract
Abstract This article aims to accomplish two goals, one miniscule and one gargantuan. As a footnote to Brook Ziporyn’s Experiments in Mystical Atheism (2024), I show how his brief discussion about Mormonism can be expanded to read Mormonism as a part of the mystical atheist tradition Ziporyn constructs. By examining the ways Latter-day Saint thought understands divine persons as embodied, and the consequences of embodiment for classical forms of omniscience, I argue that Mormons can and should adopt a theology of time consonant with Ziporyn’s work. As an argument which directly addresses the creator as an equal, this article argues that atheist philosophers have the Luciferian task of trying to change the minds of divine beings, whether or not they exist, to argue against their pretensions of Absolute authority. Because mystical atheism argues that divine persons exist in the same oceanic swirl of global incoherence that all persons swim in, divine persons must be fallible in their knowledge, which means that alternative perspectives and good argumentation can and should change their minds.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |