Open theology states that God is constantly growing with His creation. Respond to this Biblically/Logically or Pragmatically
·
Openness Theology (commonly referred to as Open Theism and Free Will
Theism) connects with the spirituality of many Christians throughout the
history of the church especially when it comes to prayer. Many Christians feel
that our prayers or lack of them can make a difference as to what God does in
history. The Openness of God is an attempt to think out more consistently what
it means that God enters into personal relationships with humanity. We want to
develop an understanding of the triune God and God's relationship to the world
that is Biblically faithful, finds consonance with the tradition, is
theologically coherent and which enhances the way we live our Christian lives.
On the core tenets of the Christian faith, we agree, but we believe that some
aspects of the tradition need reforming, particularly when it comes to what is
called "Classical Theism." We believe that some aspects of this model
of God have led Christians to misread certain Scriptures and develop some
serious problems in our understanding of God which affect the way we live, pray
and answer the problem of evil.
- Dr. John Sanders
· This modern-day heresy has hijacked parts of the church, and today, I’m going to respond to this heresy logically by using Bible Verses/Biblically. First we’ll examine the tenets of Open Theology and look at the verses they use to support their cause. Then we’ll refute them.
- Dr. John Sanders
· This modern-day heresy has hijacked parts of the church, and today, I’m going to respond to this heresy logically by using Bible Verses/Biblically. First we’ll examine the tenets of Open Theology and look at the verses they use to support their cause. Then we’ll refute them.
Tenet 1, God takes
risks. Because God does not know the future
exhaustively, He must take risks with people whose future free will choices are
unknowable.
· The open theists think that God shows uncertainty about the future by citing verses like Ezekiel 12:1-3. "Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2“Son of man, you live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house. 3“Therefore, son of man, prepare for yourself baggage for exile and go into exile by day in their sight; even go into exile from your place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will understand though they are a rebellious house,"
· Or Hosea 8:5, "He has rejected your calf, O Samaria, saying, “My anger burns against them!” How long will they be incapable of innocence?"
· John Frame, who wrote the book No other God said, “God is not showing ignorance of the future. He is displaying how He works through our time frame. When God states that "Perhaps they will understand...," it does not mean that God is ignorant of the future. It means that God is communicating to us in a manner that we can understand.”
· My main problem with this how God cannot know our choices. Jeremiah 17:9-10 says 9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” The next verse says, 10 "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve." God knows exactly what we will do.
· Isaiah 46:9 says, “I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done.” God does know the future. Now God is infinite.
· Lamentations 3: 22-24 says, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; [2]his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
· God’s attributes themselves are infinite. And if God knows the future we can be SURE that He knows it infinitely.
· The open theists think that God shows uncertainty about the future by citing verses like Ezekiel 12:1-3. "Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2“Son of man, you live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house. 3“Therefore, son of man, prepare for yourself baggage for exile and go into exile by day in their sight; even go into exile from your place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will understand though they are a rebellious house,"
· Or Hosea 8:5, "He has rejected your calf, O Samaria, saying, “My anger burns against them!” How long will they be incapable of innocence?"
· John Frame, who wrote the book No other God said, “God is not showing ignorance of the future. He is displaying how He works through our time frame. When God states that "Perhaps they will understand...," it does not mean that God is ignorant of the future. It means that God is communicating to us in a manner that we can understand.”
· My main problem with this how God cannot know our choices. Jeremiah 17:9-10 says 9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” The next verse says, 10 "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve." God knows exactly what we will do.
· Isaiah 46:9 says, “I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done.” God does know the future. Now God is infinite.
· Lamentations 3: 22-24 says, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; [2]his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
· God’s attributes themselves are infinite. And if God knows the future we can be SURE that He knows it infinitely.
Tenet 2, God learns. Because
God does not know the future exhaustively, He learns as the realities of the
future occur.
· Again, the open theist use verses like Judges 2:21-22, “"I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, 22in order to test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it as their fathers did, or not," (Judges 2:21-22).
· God routinely tests people not so that God will learn what they will actually do because God knows all things as we saw in our last point. Instead, it is for the strengthening and purification of the faith of God's people so they might learn and grow through the test. Furthermore, God speaks to them in discovery terms so that they might hear and know that God "now will use them" according to His purpose. Both of these tenets are based on the assumption that God doesn’t know the future.
· Again, the open theist use verses like Judges 2:21-22, “"I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, 22in order to test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it as their fathers did, or not," (Judges 2:21-22).
· God routinely tests people not so that God will learn what they will actually do because God knows all things as we saw in our last point. Instead, it is for the strengthening and purification of the faith of God's people so they might learn and grow through the test. Furthermore, God speaks to them in discovery terms so that they might hear and know that God "now will use them" according to His purpose. Both of these tenets are based on the assumption that God doesn’t know the future.
Tenet 3, God makes mistakes. Because God does not know all things and because He is
dealing with free will creatures (whose future choices He does not know), God
can make mistakes in dealing with people. Therefore, God would change His
plans accordingly.
· We already talked about whether God knows all things and whether he knows what people can do but the question is, Can God make a mistake? Open Theists use verses like, Jeremiah 3:6-7, "Then the Lord said to me in the days of Josiah the king, "Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there. 7"And I thought, ‘After she has done all these things, she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it,"
· John Frame explains, “"In Jeremiah 3, God interacts with Israel as a husband with his unfaithful wife....this passage deals with God's relation to Israel in history, not his eternal decrees and eternal foreknowledge. The thrust of the passage is that recent history should have motivated the repentance of Israel and Judah, but in fact they continued their spiritual adultery. As their husband, God had hoped…for something better." So God was saying this is what you should have done but this is what you did.
· In another verse, God gives Saul to be king and then seems to ‘regret’ it. "Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, 11“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the Lord all night," (1 Samuel 15:10-11).
· This is best analyzed through an analogy. Analogy: I (as a human parent) knew my children would sin and grieve me before they were born, but that does not mean that I did not know or was surprised by their rebellion when it happened, nor does it mean that I can't express regret.
· If God is perfect and good and holy as the Bible says, then how could he make any mistakes? It is against God’s nature.
· We already talked about whether God knows all things and whether he knows what people can do but the question is, Can God make a mistake? Open Theists use verses like, Jeremiah 3:6-7, "Then the Lord said to me in the days of Josiah the king, "Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there. 7"And I thought, ‘After she has done all these things, she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it,"
· John Frame explains, “"In Jeremiah 3, God interacts with Israel as a husband with his unfaithful wife....this passage deals with God's relation to Israel in history, not his eternal decrees and eternal foreknowledge. The thrust of the passage is that recent history should have motivated the repentance of Israel and Judah, but in fact they continued their spiritual adultery. As their husband, God had hoped…for something better." So God was saying this is what you should have done but this is what you did.
· In another verse, God gives Saul to be king and then seems to ‘regret’ it. "Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, 11“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the Lord all night," (1 Samuel 15:10-11).
· This is best analyzed through an analogy. Analogy: I (as a human parent) knew my children would sin and grieve me before they were born, but that does not mean that I did not know or was surprised by their rebellion when it happened, nor does it mean that I can't express regret.
· If God is perfect and good and holy as the Bible says, then how could he make any mistakes? It is against God’s nature.
Tenet 4, God changes His mind. God can change His mind on issues depending on what He
learns and what He discovers people do. Usually, God's change of mind is
due to Him being surprised by something for which He didn't plan or expect.
· 1 Samuel 2:29-30. "Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’ 30“Therefore the Lord God of Israel declares, ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed,"
· First let’s look at this logically. God tells the people of Israel, “Let your yes be yes and your no be no.” When God says something, it is a promise. The Bible is built on God’s promises. It is God’s promises to Adam (of the Savior), to Abraham , to Isaac, and to Jacob, that sustained the Jews. Even now, the Jews pray to the God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” They’re not reminding God of his promises. They’re reminding themselves, that God is faithful to His children.
· So why do things that God say not come to pass? When Jonah went to Nineveh with God’s message of judgment, the people repented and God withheld his judgment. Some of God’s promises are conditional. If you hold fast to my commandments, it will go well with you. We can’t blame God. The good thing is that there are some promises that are not conditional. When God says that he will never forsake us or leave us, he means that. It is we who forsake God. So that’s what God was saying in the verse we looked at…
· 1 Samuel 2:29-30. "Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’ 30“Therefore the Lord God of Israel declares, ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed,"
· First let’s look at this logically. God tells the people of Israel, “Let your yes be yes and your no be no.” When God says something, it is a promise. The Bible is built on God’s promises. It is God’s promises to Adam (of the Savior), to Abraham , to Isaac, and to Jacob, that sustained the Jews. Even now, the Jews pray to the God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” They’re not reminding God of his promises. They’re reminding themselves, that God is faithful to His children.
· So why do things that God say not come to pass? When Jonah went to Nineveh with God’s message of judgment, the people repented and God withheld his judgment. Some of God’s promises are conditional. If you hold fast to my commandments, it will go well with you. We can’t blame God. The good thing is that there are some promises that are not conditional. When God says that he will never forsake us or leave us, he means that. It is we who forsake God. So that’s what God was saying in the verse we looked at…
In Conclusion,
· God is infinitely omniscient. Since he knows all things, he never learns anything or makes mistakes or changes his plan. God is immutable and his plan and his promises never change. We need to understand the modern day heresy of Openness Theology and be able to refute logically through Scripture. Charles Spurgeon said
· “Do you think God is more foolish than yourself then, sir? Do you go to work without a plan? "No," say you, "I have always a scheme." So has God. Every man has his plan, and God has a plan too. God is a master-mind; he arranged everything in his gigantic intellect long before he did it; and once having settled it, mark you, he never alters it. "This shall be done," saith he, and the iron hand of destiny marks it down, and it is brought to pass. "This is my purpose," and it stands, nor can earth or hell alter it…There is one place where change cannot put his finger; there is one name on which mutability can never be written; there is one heart which never can alter; that heart is God's.”
· God is infinitely omniscient. Since he knows all things, he never learns anything or makes mistakes or changes his plan. God is immutable and his plan and his promises never change. We need to understand the modern day heresy of Openness Theology and be able to refute logically through Scripture. Charles Spurgeon said
· “Do you think God is more foolish than yourself then, sir? Do you go to work without a plan? "No," say you, "I have always a scheme." So has God. Every man has his plan, and God has a plan too. God is a master-mind; he arranged everything in his gigantic intellect long before he did it; and once having settled it, mark you, he never alters it. "This shall be done," saith he, and the iron hand of destiny marks it down, and it is brought to pass. "This is my purpose," and it stands, nor can earth or hell alter it…There is one place where change cannot put his finger; there is one name on which mutability can never be written; there is one heart which never can alter; that heart is God's.”
Wow. You actually made this concept simple enough for me to understand :P kudos!
ReplyDelete