Ontological Frameworks

Mormon theology holds a unique ontological framework. What is an ontological framework? Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations. The ontological framework of Mormon theology asserts that reality exists and God is subject to that reality.

The ontological framework of traditional Christianity, Islam, and Judaism asserts that God created reality out of nothing. I once heard a rabbi say that everything that exists is simply a thought in the mind of God. They believe that consciousness has primacy over reality:

The ontological framework of eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism is that God and reality are the same and that man is working to become one with God by reaching Nirvana, or nothingness.

There are many other variations of ontological frameworks. Atheism would be an ontological framework that simply denies God though they generally believe that reality still has primacy over consciousness. Understanding the ontological framework of a religion or belief system is to understand the most basic premise or starting point of that religion. From a logical or systematic viewpoint, the ontological framework is the most important belief to get right because as Aristotle said, “A small error in the beginning will lead to a huge one in the end.”