Open Theism: What is it and can we even talk about it here?

[freelight]

Hi all,

I would hold to most of what I have come to know about Open Theism although I would probably expore this thru certain metaphysical perspectives relative to my own peculiar insights. I have yet to explore deeper.

The concept of God not having total, perfect exhaustive knowledge of all future events(the micro-details) affirms the element of novelty and spontanaity in his Universe of infinite possibilities and eternal unfolding of creation. I look at creation/existence as being in a state eternal generation....and there must always be a certain unknowability existing in the space where potentialities becomes actualities where influencial factors like free will, environment, relative conditions, and other forces converge together to create or bring forth new realities or conditions. God is ever the Over-Seer and divine Governor over all that exists....but within His universe...potentials are always in flux albiet within the parameters of divine Providence. Still God can only know what is knowable as 'actually being' in the immedial present where all is already being wholly known/complete/settled. Future unfoldings are always contingent upon co-creative influences and allowances permitted by divinity as Life is inherently evolutional.


All things are still transpiring and must in the Domain of God for nothing can exist outside of God....yet the versatilities and diversities of creation are ever-effulgent and free will contingencies affect the course of lifes unfoldings.
I would probably also add some philosophical aspects in the weave from Process Theology....but I may have my basket full. giggles.






paul

 

[ramled]

Okay. To define the field I am offering this objective (I hope) definition of Open Theism from carm.org..

What is Open Theism?​

Open theism, also called openness and the open view, is a theological position dealing with human free will and its relationship to God and the nature of the future. It is the teaching that God has granted to humanity free will and that in order for the free will to be truly free, the future free will choices of individuals cannot be known ahead of time by God. They hold that if God knows what we are going to choose, then how can we be truly free when it is time to make those choices since a counter choice cannot then be made by us because it is already "known" what we are going to do.1 In other words, we would not actually be able to make a contrary choice to what God "knows" we will choose thus implying that we would not then be free.
In open theism, the future is either knowable or not knowable. For the open theists who hold that the future is knowable by God, they maintain that God voluntarily limits His knowledge of free will choices so that they can remain truly free.2 Other open theists maintain that the future, being non existent, is not knowable, even by God.3 Gregory Boyd, a well know advocate of Open Theism says,

"Much of it [the future], open theists will concede, is settled ahead of time, either by God's predestining will or by existing earthly causes, but it is not exhaustively settled ahead of time. To whatever degree the future is yet open to be decided by free agents, it is unsettled."4

But open theists would not say that God is weak or powerless. They say that God is capable of predicting and ordaining certain future events because He is capable of working in the world and bringing certain events to pass when the time is needed. Therefore, God could inspire the Old Testament writers to prophecy certain events and then He could simply ensure that those events occur at the right time.
Furthermore, open theists claim that they do not deny the omniscience of God. They, like classical theologians, state that God is indeed all knowing. But the differ in that the God can only know that which is knowable and since the future has not yet happened, it can not be exhaustively known by God. Instead, God only knows the present exhaustively, including the inclinations, desires, thoughts, and hopes of all people.
In open theism God can make mistakes because He does not know all things that will occur in the future. According to them God also takes risks and adapts to the free will choices of people. They claim biblical support for their position by citing scripture where God changes His mind (Exodus 32:14), is surprised (Isaiah 5:3–7), and tests people to see what they will do (Genesis 22:12).
Finally, open theism tends to portray the God of orthodoxy as distant, controlling, and unyielding while promoting the God of openness as involved, adapting, loving, interacting, and caring for humanity.

This is a pretty accurate discription of the open veiw!