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James Faulconer

Columnist

James E. Faulconer (Jim) was born in Missouri and raised as the son of an Army officer. Because of his father’s work, he grew up in Japan, Arkansas, Germany, Texas, Korea, and Massachusetts. Faulconer joined the LDS Church as a teenager in San Antonio, Texas. After serving as a Latter-day Saint missionary in Korea from early 1967 to late 1969, he returned to Brigham Young university. While a student he met and married Janice K. Allen of Herlong, California. They have four children and eleven grandchildren.

Faulconer obtained his BA in English from BYU. Discovering along the way that he wasn't really cut out to be a poet and falling in love with philosophy on the rebound, he took his MA and PhD in philosophy from Pennsylvania State University. Faulconer's philosophical interest is primarily in contemporary European philosophy, particularly that associated with and subsequent to Martin Heidegger, such as one finds in the French phenomenological tradition. Currently, for example, most of his reading and research is in the work of Jean-Luc Marion.

Faulconer has taught in the Philosophy Department at BYU since 1975 and is a former holder of the Richard L. Evans Chair of Religious Understanding. He is the author of Scripture Study: Tools and Suggestions (FARMS 1999), Faith, Philosophy, Scripture (Maxwell Institute 2010), and The Life of Holiness (Maxwell Institute 2012), the latter, like the first, the consequence of his hobby of scripture study.

Faulconer has edited three philosophy books, including Reconsidering Psychology (with Richard N. Williams; Duquesne 1990), Appropriating Heidegger (with Mark A. Wrathall; Cambridge 2000), and Transcendence in Philosophy and Religion (Indiana University 2003). His early publications were in the philosophy of psychology, but most recently his publications have been in journals of Continental philosophy, such as Studia Phaenomenologica and Levinas Studies. Faulconer also publishes regularly in LDS journals on topics concerning scripture study and the philosophy of religion. He was formerly a contributor at the group blog Feast upon the Word.

Faulconer is currently living in England as the Academic Director of BYU's London Centre. His job is to be BYU's agent to sponsor and cosponsor academic lectures and conferences in the UK and on the European continent.

Works by James Faulconer

The School of Mormon Theology, or The Lure of Fame

James Faulconer | October 21, 2015

The desire for a faction or party within a larger whole, a sect in the literal sense, is......

Coram Deo: Prayer and Life

James Faulconer | September 10, 2015

The more my life is a life of prayer, <em>coram Deo</em>, the more my private prayers......

The North American LDS Church Must Address These Problems...

James Faulconer | August 05, 2015

As we move more deeply into the 21st century, there are two major issues we must address......

Gospel: From Problem to Promise

James Faulconer | April 27, 2015

There is no answer to the question of suffering if an answer means an explanation of its......

The Mormon Law of Consecration

James Faulconer | March 12, 2015

Zion may always be in transition and always under revision. Perhaps that is what it......

Persuasion and Repentance: The Nexus of Faith and Reason

James Faulconer | February 18, 2015

The point of persuasion is to bring about change, a change in us, in our relationship,......

Protestant and Catholic Mormons

James Faulconer | January 29, 2015

The danger of identifying too closely with being not-Catholic is that we will forget......

Ralph Hancock: The Blessing of Having a Gadfly In Your...

James Faulconer | January 15, 2015

Ralph makes us uncomfortable because he won't quit asking those questions even when we......

Nous Sommes Tous Satiristes Juifs

James Faulconer | January 09, 2015

There's not much more that can be said at times like these....

My Responsibility for Pain: The Bully Within

James Faulconer | December 12, 2014

Every being is inexorably part of the lace of life and creation. Every other person is......

Living with Fallibility

James Faulconer | November 21, 2014

The documents recently released by the LDS Church are important to me because I hope......

Certainty and Trust: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

James Faulconer | October 30, 2014

God seems to prefer that we trust him than that we have objective, scientific facts......

Sealing the Living and the Dead: The Eternal Family

James Faulconer | October 16, 2014

Why do we seal spouses to each other, children to parents, and living persons to their......

Asking the Humility Question: Is It I?

James Faulconer | October 09, 2014

It's always easier to point the finger and be satisfied with our own righteousness, but......

Living Into Eternal Progression

James Faulconer | September 25, 2014

Recognizing our humanity, they teach us that we can be more, and the "more" that we can......

To Be Possessed by God

James Faulconer | September 19, 2014

Knowledge of God is the most important knowledge to have, and that knowledge is not......

Mormonism in an Expanding World

James Faulconer | September 03, 2014

Like every religion, especially in the West we face the issue of how to deal with our......

Being a Body, Owing Grace

James Faulconer | August 29, 2014

We must think about the body in terms of grace: to be embodied is unavoidably to receive......

Sexuality: The Path of Unity with God

James Faulconer | August 18, 2014

We not only believe but ritualize the importance of sexual difference to Christian life......

Being the Body of Christ

James Faulconer | August 06, 2014

Membership in the community attests to the multiplicity of the self that Christian......

The Overlooked Bondage of Our Common Sense

James Faulconer | July 27, 2014

When we read scripture, if we do not hear the call to be something <em>more</em>, then......

Be of Good Cheer

James Faulconer | July 16, 2014

The theme of the need for courage and the courage or cheer that the gospel brings......

Negotiating the Tension Between Modernism and Mormonism

James Faulconer | July 09, 2014

There is room in Mormonism for private devotion, but at its heart it is a religion of......

Meaning Without Metaphysics

James Faulconer | May 15, 2014

Beliefs, theological or otherwise, don't have a special, more fundamental place in their......

How Theology Hurts, and Might Help, Mormons

James Faulconer | May 08, 2014

Many Mormons mistakenly believe that there is pure doctrine somewhere, some set of......

Postponing Heaven: The Three Nephites, the Bodhisattva,...

James Faulconer | April 23, 2014

Can we understand the Three Nephites as people, like the bodhisattva and the......

The Promise of Easter

James Faulconer | April 16, 2014

We celebrate the new bodily and spiritual life that he offers, an embrace by God here......

The Other World Must Be Revealed

James Faulconer | April 10, 2014

We rebel by being unable to hear and see. We cannot see our real condition. We cannot......

Divine Life

James Faulconer | April 02, 2014

To live the Christian virtues as they lead from one to another is to come to the Lord......

Two Kinds of Religion

James Faulconer | March 20, 2014

That greatest of atheists, Nietzsche, may have been right in his arguments about one......

The Only True Church

James Faulconer | March 14, 2014

What do Mormons mean when we say that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is......

We're Not in Provo Anymore

James Faulconer | March 07, 2014

We all know that stereotypes are dangerous to those who don't fit them, yet we ignore......

Thought's New Regime

James Faulconer | February 19, 2014

How do we translate Christianity for the world in which transcendence makes no sense?...

Advice for a Mormon Intellectual, Part 2

James Faulconer | December 11, 2013

Seven more presumptuous suggestions for Mormon intellectuals....

Advice for a Mormon Intellectual, Part 1

James Faulconer | December 04, 2013

I want to give some probably presumptuous advice to Mormon intellectuals, advice that I......

Maturing Spiritually

James Faulconer | November 20, 2013

Helping others toward maturity requires spiritual maturity on our own part....

Our Responsibility to Relieve Suffering

James Faulconer | November 11, 2013

Others needn't share my particular, Mormon beliefs to know that those who believe are......

Let's Not Be Heretics

James Faulconer | October 30, 2013

We are not unified just because we agree on theological questions, even when we do....

The Call of the Gospel

James Faulconer | October 23, 2013

The real pursuit is fidelity to the call of the gospel and the Person to whom it calls......

Sometimes Mormons Drive Me Crazy

James Faulconer | October 16, 2013

I am a Mormon and I love being one. I love "my people" as well as my church. But......

Staying in Sunday School

James Faulconer | October 03, 2013

Why not just cancel Sunday School if it isn't giving us what it should? Many people take......

Proving God

James Faulconer | September 25, 2013

The real question is not whether God will be adequate to proof, but whether I will....

The Strength of Weakness

James Faulconer | September 11, 2013

The promise is that God's blessings and presence will come without compulsion, without......

Dread of Death and Hope of Resurrection

James Faulconer | September 05, 2013

Christ's resurrection is a proof of our faith and the cause of our hope....

Faith Is Not Belief

James Faulconer | August 29, 2013

Faith rather than belief is central to Christianity. But if we equate the two, then our......

An Earlier Knowledge: Beyond the Subjective/Objective...

James Faulconer | August 21, 2013

There is a foundational knowledge that is prior to both subjective and objective......

The Atrophy of Law, the Breath of Grace

James Faulconer | August 15, 2013

Our only hope of full human existence is in no longer fearing grace....

The Hope of Resurrection: Personal and Political

James Faulconer | August 08, 2013

Mormons expectantly and patiently hope for the resurrection of the communal body as well......

Leaving a Trace

James Faulconer | July 30, 2013

All of us are teachers. We all show others what we believe it means to live well, what......

The Tension of Prophecy

James Faulconer | July 24, 2013

As individuals, as family members, as members of congregations, we are supposed to live......

Speaking in Tongues

James Faulconer | July 16, 2013

I cannot learn to understand others or learn how to make myself understood to them if......

Challenging Expectations

James Faulconer | June 26, 2013

When our religion ceases to challenge our ordinary expectations, either we have reached......

Our Hypocrisies

James Faulconer | June 18, 2013

Most often we are hypocrites when, thinking that we are doing what is right and good, we......

Friendship and Charity

James Faulconer | June 05, 2013

Though our friendship doesn't often express itself through overtly religious discussions......

Death and Resurrection

James Faulconer | March 27, 2013

I still don't understand this central teaching of Christianity, that Christ suffered for......

The Gift of the Holy Ghost

James Faulconer | March 13, 2013

Having the Holy Spirit doesn't mean power, will, and vainglory. It means meekness, love,......

A Mormon Understanding of Repentance and Baptism

James Faulconer | March 06, 2013

After repentance and baptism, the world ought to appear to us as a different place....

Faith, the First Principle of the Gospel

James Faulconer | February 28, 2013

Faith is the trust we exhibit when we trust in God and respond to the call he makes......

Organized Religion ... or Not?

James Faulconer | February 21, 2013

Despite the risks, the communal nature of life necessitates organization, but we need......

Mastery and Letting Go

James Faulconer | February 13, 2013

The paradox is that when we give up the desire for mastery we first become slaves and......

The Kingdom of God: Here and Now

James Faulconer | February 07, 2013

To the degree that Christians postpone the kingdom of God for another world at another......

Discernment without Judgment

James Faulconer | January 30, 2013

The refusal to judge ought to go beyond refraining from doing. It ought also to mean not......

Mormon Missionaries

James Faulconer | January 23, 2013

The Mormon missionary model not only provides new converts to the Church, it shapes and......

Mormon Saints

James Faulconer | January 09, 2013

We are called saints. The covenant that makes us saints also obligates us to be pure.......

The Christian Alternative to Demonic Happiness and...

James Faulconer | January 02, 2013

Ivan's story of the Grand Inquisitor sets up a dire choice. But is his scenario really......

From Explanations to Atonement

James Faulconer | December 19, 2012

If we cannot hope to permanently rid the universe of evil, then what can we hope for?......

French Kangaroos: Notes from Bordeaux

James Faulconer | December 12, 2012

I've been guilty of assuming that most of the scholarly work on Mormonism must surely be......

A Changing World and a Continuing Revelation

James Faulconer | November 28, 2012

God must fit his revelations to our understanding and weakness, so that as our......

Thanksgiving

James Faulconer | November 21, 2012

Count your blessings, past, present, and future....

The Mormon Moment(um)?

James Faulconer | November 14, 2012

Because of Huntsman's and Romney's runs for the Republican nomination and the U.S.......

Scripture Study

James Faulconer | November 07, 2012

Reading scripture is not what we sometimes assume. It is not like reading a manual of......

What Can I Do?

James Faulconer | October 31, 2012

If we have received God's grace, we must share it. Not to share it would be to receive......

Enmity

James Faulconer | October 24, 2012

It's all too easy to slip from a righteous hatred of evil into an unholy hatred of......

The Odd Thing: Prayer

James Faulconer | October 18, 2012

We make a mistake if we believe that the point of prayer is the communication of......

Bodies All the Way Down, and Up

James Faulconer | October 10, 2012

Everything is material even if there is material that we presently cannot see or......

The Word of Wisdom, a Mormon Health Law

James Faulconer | October 04, 2012

Observing the Word of Wisdom means making a small sacrifice regularly, a token of my......

Suffer with Him

James Faulconer | September 27, 2012

Divine power is the power to feel pain with and for others, the power to feel pain and......

A Public Conversation about Mormonism

James Faulconer | September 19, 2012

The Mormon view of the world is different than the worldview of either political party,......

Marriage and Human Being

James Faulconer | September 12, 2012

What exactly is marriage? How does it make it possible for the married couple to do......

Are Mormons Christians? A Response to Ben Witherington

James Faulconer | August 29, 2012

Beliefs, practices, and history all point to Mormonism as a genuine expression of......

Reconciliation in Suffering

James Faulconer | August 22, 2012

We can move in ways of reconciliation even before the pain is gone or the justice......

Are We Strange Enough?

James Faulconer | August 16, 2012

The problem of Christian life in the secular world is not that we are foreigners in that......

Enlarging Our Memory

James Faulconer | August 01, 2012

Rehearsing our memories of God's goodness leads us toward repentance....

The Fallacy of "Pure" Evil

James Faulconer | July 26, 2012

The Aurora killings were perpetrated not by a monster, but by someone who is in many......

Justice and Righteousness

James Faulconer | July 18, 2012

Faithfulness requires that we strive to live in a just world and to create one beyond......

Taking the Red Pill of Theology

James Faulconer | July 12, 2012

Theology is not necessary to the work of the gospel or salvation. But some of us can't......

How Do I Understand Faith?

James Faulconer | July 04, 2012

We may not have the faith needed at this very moment, but the divine promise is that we......

"I Know . . ."

James Faulconer | June 27, 2012

Genuine knowledge is not an objective account, but a deep intimacy with what is known, a......

To My Sikh Friends

James Faulconer | June 27, 2012

I am sorry that we are ignorant of your beliefs, and suspicious of your faithfulness....

The Fall: Misery, Woe, and Blessing?

James Faulconer | June 20, 2012

Adam and Eve's transgression made our existence and redemption possible....

A (Sun)day in the Life of a Mormon

James Faulconer | June 13, 2012

Worship for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is different than......

How Do Mormons Understand the Gospel?

James Faulconer | June 06, 2012

Mormons differ from other Christians in significant ways, but there is little difference......

Faith and Reason: Mutually Dependent

James Faulconer | May 30, 2012

Reason requires faithful response to those who surround and precede us, whose very......

Reading Scripture: What's the Point?

James Faulconer | May 23, 2012

Some tips on how to read scripture in fruitful ways. The most important element?......

Technology, Interrupted

James Faulconer | May 16, 2012

Amidst the relentless chain of production, grace infuses beauty, truth, and goodness,......

Mother's Day and Mary's Work

James Faulconer | May 09, 2012

We can honor our mothers as inheritors of the work of Mary....

Salvation as Divine Life

James Faulconer | May 02, 2012

Grace is received through and in a God-given and God-ordered life. This is not about......

Being a Hypocrite

James Faulconer | April 26, 2012

Since the danger of self-deception is so great, especially when it comes to thinking......

What Is Scripture: Muslims and Mormons

James Faulconer | April 18, 2012

I know the Bible and the Book of Mormon to be the word of God, but I can also say I know......

Toes, Fingers, and All that Stuff: Resurrection

James Faulconer | April 04, 2012

For Mormons the value of the body and the expectation that Christians will work to......

"They Without Us Cannot Be Made Perfect"

James Faulconer | April 04, 2012

The teaching is one of eternal love and commitment rather than of force and coercion.......

Joseph Smith's Translations

James Faulconer | March 28, 2012

Joseph's Smith's translations of texts were primarily the transmission of revealed......

Mormon Apostles?

James Faulconer | March 21, 2012

The most important part of what apostles do is bear testimony to the reality that Jesus......

What Is a Mormon Prophet?

James Faulconer | March 14, 2012

Most often prophetic revelation is much like the revelation others receive in their......

The Most Dangerous Atheism

James Faulconer | March 07, 2012

If believers think that the most important thing they can do to combat atheism is take......

What Is Scripture?

James Faulconer | February 16, 2012

Whatever we accept as scripture, however we describe its provenance, whether we believe......

Fifty Years as a Mormon

James Faulconer | February 02, 2012

The last fifty years have been good to me in many ways, but all of those ways are given......

Mormons and Money: Consecration

James Faulconer | January 26, 2012

Perhaps the most overlooked facet of Mormonism is that, within the history of Mormonism......

The Responsibility of (Mormon) Intellectuals

James Faulconer | January 19, 2012

We must not allow our intellects to separate us from the other members of the Church and......

How Do Mormons Understand Salvation?

James Faulconer | January 12, 2012

Salvation is not just being beyond the power of the things, persons, and powers that......

Something Else I Don't Know

James Faulconer | January 05, 2012

I am willing to live with uncertainty or ignorance in the face of my questions because I......

The Joy of Bethlehem

James Faulconer | December 22, 2011

May the tidings of Bethlehem open our hearts to the joy of its Child....

Let Earth Receive Her King

James Faulconer | December 15, 2011

Joy comes to us where we are rather than someplace else. Jesus comes to where we are......

Rejoice Evermore: The Lord Will Come Down from Heaven

James Faulconer | December 08, 2011

God has come among us. He will come again. We remember and rejoice....

Every Day Is the Last Day: Advent Reflections for Mormons

James Faulconer | December 01, 2011

The gospel promise is that the power of the resurrection will be literal. It is also the......

The Kindness of Strangers

James Faulconer | November 10, 2011

Much of the magic of our lives comes from strangers....

The Food of the Kingdom

James Faulconer | November 02, 2011

It's a long road home to God. What will sustain us for the journey?...

The Family, the Market, and the State: How to Occupy Wall...

James Faulconer | October 26, 2011

The real way to effect change is not protest or revolution; it's family...

Continuing Revelation

James Faulconer | October 19, 2011

We need continuing revelation, both as a church and as individuals, because that which......

I'm Not Offended; I'm Tired

James Faulconer | October 13, 2011

Can someone explain to me Jeffress' reasoning? His rhetoric is neither accurate nor......

Union and Reunion

James Faulconer | October 05, 2011

Part of Mormon missionaries' work is learning to love the companions they work with as......

Confirmation

James Faulconer | September 28, 2011

I am stronger when I am with others who have been strengthened, when I am with others......

Hidden Sorrow

James Faulconer | September 21, 2011

What if God changed our hearts so that we could see the world as a place of suffering, a......

The Work of Mourning

James Faulconer | September 07, 2011

So the work of mourning is to recognize the losses brought by death as real and to make......

Obedience and Grace

James Faulconer | August 31, 2011

In spite of what it may sound like to someone else, Mormon talk about obedience does not......

Why Are Theological Questions Relatively Unimportant to...

James Faulconer | August 24, 2011

Some of the most important questions we can ask are about the life we should live, not......

The Mormon Understanding of Persons . . . and God

James Faulconer | August 17, 2011

Has God existed forever? Have we? An exploration of LDS teachings about personhood....

Work We Must, But the Lunch Is Free

James Faulconer | August 03, 2011

Those who have a virtue have different psyches than those who don't, but the difference......

How Mormons Understand Baptism

James Faulconer | July 27, 2011

Even a child can understand that we must repent and trust in Jesus Christ, and that our......

Magic Underwear? Your Own Planet?

James Faulconer | July 20, 2011

Certainly Mormons have some unusual beliefs and practices when compared to other......

Welcome to the World and the Ward

James Faulconer | July 13, 2011

When we name and bless a baby, we're doing much more than naming and blessing....

The Fragility and Sweetness of Life

James Faulconer | July 06, 2011

Life gets sweeter as we learn to accept its fragility....

Friendship

James Faulconer | June 23, 2011

It might surprise most Mormons to discover that Joseph Smith said, "Friendship is the......

Responding to "The Book of Mormon"

James Faulconer | June 15, 2011

We may not be able to convince those who think our stories are goofy that they are......

Certainty, Doubt, and Pride: Interfaith Discussion

James Faulconer | June 08, 2011

The fact that there is truth about God -- and assuming that I know what that truth is --......

The Restoration of Priesthood Authority

James Faulconer | June 01, 2011

Our understanding of authority is at the foundation of our self-understanding as a......

Forgiving Myself

James Faulconer | May 25, 2011

The idea of self-forgiveness is more than psycho-babble. Surely those who speak in those......

Profaning

James Faulconer | May 18, 2011

My task is to live a life of gratitude for what I have been given, a life that does not......

Mormons and the Cross

James Faulconer | May 11, 2011

Mormons meditate on Christ's crucifixion when we partake of the Lord's Supper, so we do......

Friendship and Divine Imitation

James Faulconer | April 27, 2011

Full friendship with God is more than something merely inward. Being like God requires......

Holy Week

James Faulconer | April 20, 2011

Jesus' death on the cross and his resurrection are the ultimate symbolic enactment of......

"Beyond" the Provinces

James Faulconer | April 13, 2011

We are not in God's provinces rather than Rome's. In the gospel we are in no province at......

LDS General Conference from the Inside

James Faulconer | April 06, 2011

In our General Conference we come together before God, and we know and can say things we......

Living with Ahab, Jezebel, and the Pharaoh

James Faulconer | March 30, 2011

To what degree are we complicit with the order of Ahab, Jezebel, and the Pharaoh? Do I......

In the World

James Faulconer | March 24, 2011

Whatever our doctrinal disagreements, whatever our differences about authority or......

Sendai

James Faulconer | March 17, 2011

Mourning, prayer, and (for most of us) money, those are what it means now to be among......

Transcendence in Mormonism

James Faulconer | March 11, 2011

The being that human beings share with God -- the being of intelligence -- is not fully......

The Order of the Ordinary

James Faulconer | March 07, 2011

There is a broad order to my life into which the things I encounter, the work I do, and......

Suffering: No Artful Dodger

James Faulconer | February 24, 2011

Rather than opting out, we must learn how to live with suffering, which means "learn how......

The Lord Thy God Hath Chosen Thee

James Faulconer | February 17, 2011

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been called through prophecy to be a......

The Book of Mormon, A Gift

James Faulconer | February 10, 2011

Joseph Smith taught that the Book of Mormon has the power to shape our lives more than......

Love, Faith, and Hope

James Faulconer | February 04, 2011

Love means exposure, uncertainty and fidelity....

Being Perfect; Perfect Being

James Faulconer | January 20, 2011

I do not need to compare myself to others or to demand a yardstick for deciding how......

The Touch of God

James Faulconer | January 14, 2011

My faith allows me to see God in things and events; I see the Creator in his creations,......

Perfect Love Casteth out Fear

James Faulconer | January 06, 2011

John and Mormon teach us that we have no reason to fear God's judgment if we live......

Born of a Woman

James Faulconer | December 23, 2010

The Redeemer is born of a woman and makes himself womanly in making our rebirth......

He Comes

James Faulconer | December 16, 2010

Christians are called to patience, constancy, and stillness, to contemplative, expectant......

"Just say . . . whatever!"

James Faulconer | December 09, 2010

A religion needs a standard of belief -- a creed and then a theology to interpret that......

At the Beginning: An Introduction to Speaking Silence

James Faulconer | December 02, 2010

I hope to find a middle way, a way that crosses the several gaps -- between my......

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