How limited is the god of open theism?

[Daniel Marsh]

" Clark Pinnock said, “The future is really open and not available to exhaustive foreknowledge even on the part of God. It is plain that the biblical doctrine of creaturely freedom requires us to reconsider the conventional view of the omniscience of God”["
Open Theism: Is God’s Limited Knowledge a Solution to the Problem of Evil and Suffering? - Resources - Eternal Perspective Ministries

"Open theism bases these beliefs on Scripture passages which describe God “changing His mind” or “being surprised” or “seeming to gain knowledge” (Genesis 6:6; 22:12; Exodus 32:14; Jonah 3:10). In light of the many other Scriptures that declare God’s knowledge of the future, these Scriptures should be understood as God describing Himself in ways that we can understand. God knows what our actions and decisions will be, but He “changes His mind” in regard to His actions based on our actions. God’s disappointment at the wickedness of humanity does not mean He was not aware it would occur.

In contradiction to open theism, Psalm 139:4, 16 state, “Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD...All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” How could God predict intricate details in the Old Testament about Jesus Christ if He does not know the future? How could God in any manner guarantee our eternal salvation if He does not know what the future holds?"
What is open theism? | GotQuestions.org

How People Misunderstand Open Theism - Greg Boyd - ReKnew
The Limited god of Open Theism is Not the Almighty God of the Bible – Krisis & Praxis
Ask an Open Theist (Greg Boyd)…Response

Open theism, also called free will theism and openness theology, is the belief that God does not exercise meticulous control of the universe but leaves it "open" for humans to make significant choices (free will) that impact their relationships with God and others. A corollary of this is that God has not predetermined the future. Open Theists further believe that this would imply that God does not know the future exhaustively. Proponents affirm that God is omniscient, but deny that this means that God knows everything that will happen.
https://www.theopedia.com/open-theism

 

[Daniel Marsh]

I think the first part of this thread should try to define open theism and what is believed from any objective sources we can find.

 

[public hermit]

" Clark Pinnock said, “The future is really open and not available to exhaustive foreknowledge even on the part of God. It is plain that the biblical doctrine of creaturely freedom requires us to reconsider the conventional view of the omniscience of God”["
Open Theism: Is God’s Limited Knowledge a Solution to the Problem of Evil and Suffering? - Resources - Eternal Perspective Ministries

"Open theism bases these beliefs on Scripture passages which describe God “changing His mind” or “being surprised” or “seeming to gain knowledge” (Genesis 6:6; 22:12; Exodus 32:14; Jonah 3:10). In light of the many other Scriptures that declare God’s knowledge of the future, these Scriptures should be understood as God describing Himself in ways that we can understand. God knows what our actions and decisions will be, but He “changes His mind” in regard to His actions based on our actions. God’s disappointment at the wickedness of humanity does not mean He was not aware it would occur.

In contradiction to open theism, Psalm 139:4, 16 state, “Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD...All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” How could God predict intricate details in the Old Testament about Jesus Christ if He does not know the future? How could God in any manner guarantee our eternal salvation if He does not know what the future holds?"
What is open theism? | GotQuestions.org

How People Misunderstand Open Theism - Greg Boyd - ReKnew
The Limited god of Open Theism is Not the Almighty God of the Bible – Krisis & Praxis
Ask an Open Theist (Greg Boyd)…Response

Open theism, also called free will theism and openness theology, is the belief that God does not exercise meticulous control of the universe but leaves it "open" for humans to make significant choices (free will) that impact their relationships with God and others. A corollary of this is that God has not predetermined the future. Open Theists further believe that this would imply that God does not know the future exhaustively. Proponents affirm that God is omniscient, but deny that this means that God knows everything that will happen.
https://www.theopedia.com/open-theism

There's always a tradeoff. Sure, Open Theism offers a response to the problem of evil. But in doing so it sacrifices God's ability to resolve the problem. If God does not know that redemption will be realized, then (perhaps) evil wins the day. Who knows? If they try to hedge their bets and say, "Well, God knows that much" then they have no response to the question, "Then how does God not know the rest?"

In my opinion, Open Theism is truly ad hoc. It's a "last ditch" effort to save God's justice, but in doing so it puts into question God's ability to rectify evil. Perhaps they can respond that God can rectify any possible evil. That might be true, but no one knows that, not even God.

 

[Daniel Marsh]

An Examination Of Open Theism | Bible.org
https://www.tms.edu/m/tmsj12i.pdf

 

[hedrick]

Pinnock believes that God created the world ex nihilo, that he could control what happens, and that he does sometimes intervene. However he has given us some level of genuine choice. Thus for him God's power isn't actually limited, but he has chosen to restrain how he uses it. I think in such a model God could make sure that things end up the way he wants them to, in general terms. There would be a tradeoff between how much choice he gives us and how much he retains. I think Pinnock would say that God has given up the ability to determine who is saved, but not the ability to make sure that the world ends up renewed in the end.