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Open Theism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Open theism, also known as free will theism, is a theological movement that has become popular within Evangelical Protestant Christianity.
The first known mention of an open theistic view is found in the writings of Calcidius, a 5th-century theologian. It experienced a resurgence in the late 19th century when several theologians wrote in its defense, including G.T. Fechner, Otto Pfeiderer, Jules Lequier, Adam Clarke, Billy Hibbard, Joel Hayes, T.W. Brents, and Lorenzo D. McCabe. Open theism later had a modern rendering in 1980 with Seventh-day Adventist theologian Richard Rice's book The Openness of God: The Relationship of Divine Foreknowledge and Human Free Will. Open theism did not become widespread until 1994, when five essays were published by Evangelical scholars (including Rice) under the title The Openness of God. Open theism is an alternative to some classical ideas about God, Classical Theism, stemming from a single crucial point of difference: Open theism asserts that the future exists partly in terms of possibilities rather than certainties. This means that God’s knowledge of the future, being perfect, would also consist largely of possibilities and not certainties. God has knowledge of some future certainties such as those things that He ordains, and He knows all future possibilities such as the free will choices of His created beings. This view of God, based on a libertarian view of free will, allows its advocates to 1) Attribute both power and wisdom to Him without suggesting that He ordains everything to His own glory, including evil (Calvinism) 2) Avoid the logical inconsistency of suggesting that libertarian human freedom can coexist with foreknowledge and Divine Sovereignty (Arminianism).
This is not only a rejection of predestination as it is understood by Calvinism, but also in most accepted alternative versions. The writers in favor of free-will theism differentiate their views from those of Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, Arminianism, Eastern Orthodoxy, neo-orthodoxy, and Islam, all of whichâ€â€differently from one another, but similarly over against open theismâ€â€assert that God has a certain knowledge of all aspects of the future.
Theologians of note currently espousing this view include: Gregory Boyd, Thomas Jay Oord, Clark Pinnock, John Sanders, and William Hasker.
Do they have a scriptural leg to stand on? No. CARM.com has a list of proof text they use and explains the misunderstanding they have of the passages. One example being found in Exodus 32:14 where we read “the Lord changed His mind†in the NASB. The word is nashash refers to repent, relent, change. Being consistent with God’s word, we know that God has exhaustive knowledge of the future and all events, it is absolutely within the scoop of the Hebrew for the word to mean God changed His purpose toward His people. For a complete list see: http://www.carm.org/open/list.htm
Here is more to read on the subject:
http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/a ... arian.html
http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/a ... eason.html
url= http://www.tms.edu/tmsj/tmsj12a.pdf
http://www.ondoctrine.com/20openth.htm
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/119/52.0.html
http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil//articles/impassib.htm
Open Theism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Open theism, also known as free will theism, is a theological movement that has become popular within Evangelical Protestant Christianity.
The first known mention of an open theistic view is found in the writings of Calcidius, a 5th-century theologian. It experienced a resurgence in the late 19th century when several theologians wrote in its defense, including G.T. Fechner, Otto Pfeiderer, Jules Lequier, Adam Clarke, Billy Hibbard, Joel Hayes, T.W. Brents, and Lorenzo D. McCabe. Open theism later had a modern rendering in 1980 with Seventh-day Adventist theologian Richard Rice's book The Openness of God: The Relationship of Divine Foreknowledge and Human Free Will. Open theism did not become widespread until 1994, when five essays were published by Evangelical scholars (including Rice) under the title The Openness of God. Open theism is an alternative to some classical ideas about God, Classical Theism, stemming from a single crucial point of difference: Open theism asserts that the future exists partly in terms of possibilities rather than certainties. This means that God’s knowledge of the future, being perfect, would also consist largely of possibilities and not certainties. God has knowledge of some future certainties such as those things that He ordains, and He knows all future possibilities such as the free will choices of His created beings. This view of God, based on a libertarian view of free will, allows its advocates to 1) Attribute both power and wisdom to Him without suggesting that He ordains everything to His own glory, including evil (Calvinism) 2) Avoid the logical inconsistency of suggesting that libertarian human freedom can coexist with foreknowledge and Divine Sovereignty (Arminianism).
This is not only a rejection of predestination as it is understood by Calvinism, but also in most accepted alternative versions. The writers in favor of free-will theism differentiate their views from those of Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, Arminianism, Eastern Orthodoxy, neo-orthodoxy, and Islam, all of whichâ€â€differently from one another, but similarly over against open theismâ€â€assert that God has a certain knowledge of all aspects of the future.
Theologians of note currently espousing this view include: Gregory Boyd, Thomas Jay Oord, Clark Pinnock, John Sanders, and William Hasker.
Do they have a scriptural leg to stand on? No. CARM.com has a list of proof text they use and explains the misunderstanding they have of the passages. One example being found in Exodus 32:14 where we read “the Lord changed His mind†in the NASB. The word is nashash refers to repent, relent, change. Being consistent with God’s word, we know that God has exhaustive knowledge of the future and all events, it is absolutely within the scoop of the Hebrew for the word to mean God changed His purpose toward His people. For a complete list see: http://www.carm.org/open/list.htm
Here is more to read on the subject:
http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/a ... arian.html
http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/a ... eason.html
url= http://www.tms.edu/tmsj/tmsj12a.pdf
http://www.ondoctrine.com/20openth.htm
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/119/52.0.html
http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil//articles/impassib.htm