Subject: Stumpped by my son |
Bible Note: Greetings Parable! I actually sat under one of the major Open Theism proponents while in college, Dr. William Hasker. There are so many theological errors in this position that it would be impossible to touch upon all of them. So, allow me to briefly discuss just one with you. The Open Theism position, including that of Boyd, is that God cannot know future events, because they are unknowable (as they haven't happened yet). Yet, when we read the story of Joseph, we find that God knows how many years of plenty there will be, and how many years of famine there will be. He also knows the choices that Joseph's brothers, Potiphar, Potiphar's wife, the prison warden, the cup bearer, the baker, Pharoah, and even Joseph himself will make. We see this expressed in Joseph's great statement of faith in Gen. 50:20 - "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." John Sanders (another open theist) writes about this verse, "I take this to mean that God has brought something good out of their evil actions." John Sanders, The God Who Risks, a Theology of Providence (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1998) p. 55. This is clearly not Scriptural. Throughout the account, one sees God both knowing and working toward a certain future. Take the prediction of Peter's threefold denial of Christ. Open Theists argue that God only predicted what would happen because of God's exhaustive knowledge of Peter's character. Yet, the prediction wasn't that Peter would simply deny Christ. The prediction was that Peter would deny Christ three times before the rooster crowed (Mt. 26:34). Read Isaiah 41 where God is contrasted and compared with the false idols. The idols do not know the future, but God has proclaimed it to Israel. Or consider Is. 42:7, where God says of Himself, "See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you." Consider Gen. 15:13, where God tells Abram what will happen to his descendants and exactly how long they will be in slavery in Egypt. God is described in Is. 46:10, "I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please." Open Theism's view of God is far from Scriptural. They view God as not knowing the future, as making mistakes, and of being surprised by future events. This is a far cry from what Scripture actually teaches about God my friend! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |