William Hasker: Open Theism

William Hasker (Huntington College) presents an Open Theism view as a way to deal with God's foreknowledge, human freedom, and evil.

[PriestlyScribes]

There are two separate Greek words used interchangeably for the word foreknow: Prognosis and proginosko. The latter is used in context such as Acts 26: 5 to refer to knowing something or someone before, it's spoke from the present to the past e.g. "I knew bob since college." Paul says in acts 26 "since they have foreknown about me for a long time" in referencing the Pharisees. People wildly misconstrue the use of proginosko. The use of prognosis is used to describe God's knowledge of something prior to it happening with respects to him predetermining it to happen, this word is only used twice, once in  1 Peter 1: 2 and Acts 2: 23 (not romans 9)

[missionsbibleministry]

I dont think the issue is about us having "real choices" rather, "can God change/really do something about our choices".

And imo thats what open theism offers

[davidthurman]

If you really have an open mind try reading L. D. McCabe, “Divine Nescience Of Future Contingencies a Necessity” He was a19th C Methodist who dealt with the question of foreknowledge very well.

[EricLovesCHRIST]

Calvinism is theology taken from scripture, re-injected back into the Word of God in a wicked way by wicked people.

Take words like "Election, Pre-destination, determined" and give them your own definitions, then go back and apply them to God's Word and God's attributes and you will get Calvinism.

I am not saying they aren't trying to be biblical, and I am not saying they aren't right about a LOT of stuff, and I am not saying it isn't Biblical, because it is

but it's basically a theology that starts with God's Sovereignty and Power mixed with Man's wickedness. You can start anywhere, but what a weird place to start.

Why not start with God's Love or God's Creativity?

1 Corinthians 13 also doesn't exist in Calvinism. It's removed from the Bible (lol)

Calvinists also have the problem of putting the weakest portions of theology over the best of man's philosophy %100 of the time, since the Bible is better than the imagination of man. The Bible being authoritative is fine... but man's reading of the Bible being authoritative is a bit of a stretch

I believe that the Bible is the Word of God, but it's not "perfect" because of the people reading it. It's also not Deity. I have a strict Christ>Bible theology. Sure it's perfect if it's translated perfectly, but a lot of verses are pretty mysterious and people smarter than me are really confused about a lot of stuff. R.C. Sproul used to talk about how stupid he was about EVERYTHING in the Bible, regardless of the fact he was smarter than everyone else reading it. If our smartest people are wrong about their interpretation of scripture, then it's safe to assume that the Bible is filled with "errors" or "half truths", and that's okay. In John 2 19 Jesus Christ talks about how he will "destroy this temple and build it up in 3 days". Contextually, it's clear to %99.9 of people reading it that he will destroy a temple (a building) and build it up in 3 days (he is a carpenter). However, I may take a "Minority" view on a passage like this and say "maybe he is being a smart-ass and is referring to himself, and it's an esoteric thing to say." Amazingly, the %0.1 view was correct in this passage, as the "theologian nerds" made a mistake; God literally died and rose again 3 days later! The Temple was himself, and the building back up was also himself. Interesting. I didn't see that coming. Oh wait, yes I did. This is also the case with the word "Pre-destination". In the Greek pre-destination just means to destinate something before hand. If I want to go to New York next week, I can pre-destine myself to go there today. God pre-destined everyone to Heaven, as it's clearly written in 2 Peter, but Calvinists get around it with word play. What if pre-destine was actually a 150 word definition in God's eyes, not what the original Greek says? What if by Pre-destine God actually loaded a lot of awesome entropy layers of love and creativity into it? Would the Calvinists care? Would the Calvinists think it's possible?

An analogy God gave me weeks ago was this

A letter comes down from the sky and it says from God "I want you 3 to run to the store and pick up some milk."

They have 15 minutes to interpret it

John interprets this to mean that we should all get into the car and go to SAFEWAY

Amy says that we should drive to LUCKY's (another store)

James (a Calvinist) is pissed. In the Greek the word "Run" means "to use one's legs to travel distance". James insists that we should run to the store, not drive.

Let me guess, we should also pick up the milk too? Like literally, pick it up? I mean it doesn't say "buy" the milk does it?

In reality, God is laughing, as the correct interpretation is this: I want you guys to LOVE each other... and LOVE me...

God's interpretation of Scripture is so much better! Notice how God has a really loose view of HIS OWN WORD?? Wow... All of his verses should be viewed in the light of Love and Justice, and not just justice, and not just love. Hell is really bad, but it's not as bad as it should be because of God's mercy MIXED IN with his Justice. When Adam sinned, he should of went to hell, but he was given a promise, and when Lucifer sinned, he should of been immediately punished, but he was given a world to be god over through God's mercy and creativity. God is so merciful, and regardless of man's wicked theology injected into the Bible (Calvinism), God will stay like that. Sure God is anti-evil, but he isn't infinite in his anti-evil the way he is infinite in some of his other attributes. "Free Will" is an ongoing debate, and I take a hard stance that all sides are wrong, but I lean Free Will. Check this out: Right this second, we are in the presence of the Imagination of Jesus Christ. I hope that makes you feel better.

Calvinism closes doors that shouldn't be closed in order to protect God's maximums while denying philosophical brilliancies that might be onto something. The God of Calvinism is very literal and very black and white. We know that God isn't that cool because the Bible says the Bible says the Bible says the Bible says

John Calvin talked about singular pre-destination theories that will boggle the mind (in the worst ways). They aren't creative and makes this life out to be a Movie that God scripted and is watching and can't/won't change.

Human Life is closer to a complex sporting event between God's Justice and God's Mercy where we are the Athletes and he is the coach, fan, referee, and Owner than it is a Calvinistic puppet show with "no maverick molecules".

God is a loving, gracious, creative, infinitely awesome meticulous artist, but he isn't a psychotic power hungry egotistical control freak too. Not entirely.

[CalamityStriker]

Calvinism and Open Theism work with the same false premise: That God's foreknowledge and man's free choices are directly connected or correlated. This is an unnecessary and unproven assumption. God's foreknowledge of MY choices does not make them either decreed by God or caused by God. God doesn't have to limit His foreknowledge so that I can act, nor does He have to decree my choices to have foreknowledge of them. God can foreknow all my future choices without them being any less genuine or any less my own. If I am created within the bounds of time and God is outside of time, then obviously God would have to know all my past, present, and future choices to be God.

[majorhowell]

If God knew what was going to happen he would have stopped it. Why did he send Jesus? To tell us were all screwed? Or to repent? If a judge knows your guilty... Why judge?

[gab]

The future doesn't exist as a finalized reality because it doesn't exist. Therefore, there is nothing for God to "know" as there is in historical past events. God cannot know future events because they don't exist and there is nothing to "know". He may anticipate infinite potentials, and move things in a particular direction, but He does not know of the existence of future events because until they happen, they don't exist

[Papasquatch]

It seems to me molinism fits the biblical data and philosophy best

[bryceferguson]

The only consistent arminian is an open theist. Consistency does not equal truth. I heard a lot of "if this is true" and not a single Scripture used to support this heresy.

[hondotheology]

8:27 How can God possibly work good in your life if he has no idea what you will choose in the future? Your choices determine your life and the goodness wherein in such a way that God is completely powerless to effect anything real since he has no idea what is going to happen or what other stupid things you are going to do

[hondotheology]

All of this is empty, useless, arrogant speculation without a shred of biblical evidence. There is only this notion that because a man makes a choice that his choice is absolutely, completely free and that our perspective and perception determine truth rather than the witness of scripture.

[christopherskipp]

Open theism is heresy; not the worst heresy, nonetheless heresy.