In the Didsbury Lectures at the University of Manchester for the year 2000, Clark H. Pinnock, professor of theology at McMaster Divinity College in Canada, provided the most recent treatment of a new evangelical vision of God-one that is centered on the "openness of God." Most Moved Mover is the compilation of these lectures in which Pinnock offers a compelling portrait of God that challenges the so-called classical or traditional account of God formulated by early Christian theologians who were heavily influenced by Greek philosophy. Pinnock passionately denounces the idea that God is impassible, immutable, simple, and timeless. He vehemently rejects conventional ideas that God is primarily a "punitive authority," a "metaphysical immobility," or an "all-controlling power" (p. 1). Instead, he offers an "open" view of God that emphasizes his profound passibility and his genuine interpersonal relationships with other moral agents. The "open" God enters into authentic give-and-take relationships with human beings and leaves the future partly undetermined, allowing human beings to have an active role as agents within the unfolding of his purposes.
Notwithstanding the apparent attractiveness of the open view of God, the model has not enjoyed widespread acceptance within the evangelical community; in fact, it has been met by some with stopping of ears and gnashing of teeth. As an unabashed challenge to the more conventional Christian understanding of God, the openness model has encountered significant resistance, none of which has discouraged the architects of the view.
