Now that I have started my blog off with something that everyone has already blogged about, I thought I better follow that up with something else that has had many people far smarter than me talking about too. The Openness of God. Process Theology. Does God know the future?
To me, the whole “God doesn’t know the future thing” is like a classic pair of bell bottom jeans. Every time I think we are finally done with this, it keeps coming back into style. Not that I am skinny jeans kind of guy, but seriously, bell bottoms again? Anyway, I can understand what leads so many to entertain this whole line of reasoning. First, it is hard to explain to people how we can believe in a good, loving God and then explain why so many horrible things happen in this world. From the Holocaust to the young youth pastor dying in a motorcycle accident, most of us have no idea how we can say God is loving and in control and yet allows these things to happen. So, it is way easier if we just let God off the hook. If God isn’t in control and doesn’t know the future, then it is really our fault that all things occur. We can’t blame God, just ourselves and other people.
Second, if God isn’t in control and doesn’t know the future, then He has a whole lot riding on us as the church to get the Great Commission job done on our own. Who really wants to go deep into the jungle, get malaria, and then be tied to a cross and sent over a waterfall? Ok, so I have met a few radical missionaries who would see that as a dream come true, but for most of us, we need some strong motivation to do those kind of things. If God is in control and has determined everyone who will be saved or not, why should I risk my life and go without high speed internet to take the Gospel to remote places? It is way more motivational to see God turn to us and say, “Hey buddy, I don’t know how this whole thing is going to turn out, but if you don’t get your free will in gear, there is no way these people will ever get saved!”
Now, please understand me. I am not saying that we bear no responsibility for our actions or that if we believe that God knows the future that we have no motivation to preach the Gospel. I am just following the line of reasoning that I hear from people who teach the Openness of God theology. As with the whole hell issue, we could answer so many questions a lot easier and more logically if all this stuff about God were true. My blog would probably do better since I wouldn’t have to be boring and agree with what has been the main view of church leaders throughout all of church history.
Alas, that pesky thing called the Bible is going to give us some problems with this. My favorite passages about this are in Isaiah packed into chapters 40 – 48. God is taking Israel on and their ridiculous worship of idols. In these 9 chapters, God continues to compare Himself to idols, or I should say contrasting Himself to idols. One of the biggest differences that God highlights is His ability to know and predict the future. One slam dunk is in 44:28 when God predicts the exact name (Cyrus) of the Persian leader that He will use to bring the Jews back into Israel and rebuild the temple. Isaiah is recording this around 700 B.C., and Cyrus doesn’t issue his decree allowing the Jews to return until around 538 B.C. Bam! Super Bam! Unless you are one of those 2nd and 3rd Isaiah guys, or just don’t believe the Bible, then this should put a serious dent in the whole God doesn’t know the future. And, that is just one out of many. Once again, the Bible reminds us that we aren’t as smart as we think we are.
The Bible Nerd 
Hey Sean! Clever title : ). I’ve just started the MIchael Saia book “Does God Know the Future” and the best part I’ve read so far is the Appendix (I started in the back) “A Response to God’s Lesser Glory… by Ware”. It’s like the Cliff notes for me on Ware’s book ; ) and on the general debates for and against Open Theism. And the big thing he points out again and again is how Open Theism is often misrepresented, not only in that book but in most other circles. It’s interesting and opened up some dialogue for us.
I started a journey from SBS to BSN and it’s a long journey with the same questions–but what I get is that Open T. is not that God doesn’t know the future–cause He certainly does! at least 99% of it, but the questions are about how does He know–does He know cause He forces all tedious events to happen (some things He does MAKE happen and will make happen) but in general…or does He know because He knows us intimately, like I know my husband and basically know what choices he’ll make throughout the day based on his character. He knows what’s gonna happen.
God probably wasn’t surprised by your blog, just happy it finally came into being ; )
This future business is just the wrong the focus, but an easy focus that freaks people out and hence causes a lot of arguments! In regards to missions–I’m so glad that I get to work with God in Asia, nonetheless, to bring His kingdom here, and I have a part to play WITH Him, not just robotically following a script. And I doubt I’ll really surprise Him in what we do here, after all He’s given the giftings, has led me through the circumstances that have shaped me, and my character and personality are pretty consistent in the choices I make. And I believe He is Providentially
and intimately involved in everything we do here, building this future together…and He knows where it’s going and is def. helping it get there!
Anyways, it is interesting, this theology business…and a long road of seeking God for His answers. It reminds me too of “Everything is Spiritual” by what’s his name–he holds a marker first tip to tip, and it is a circle, then he holds it sideways and it views as a rectangle, and he looks at it and says, “Yup, it’s a circle. Yup it’s a rectangle…Free Will, yup…God’s in Control, Yup”. I like it.
Great blog! You’re a powerhouse of a Bible teacher. Looking forward to connecting with you in Asia sometime! And it’s fun to have a blog…
Side comment–it is hard to get people to read your blog…same problem. Put a subscription thing on the side, then people can sign up and get the emails, easier that way for people who really want to read it but don’t check everyday to see if you’ve posted something new.
Bless you!
Steph
Steph, Thanks for the great comments! I agree that you can’t just say “Open Theism” and be able to lump all the people who hold this view into one neat package. It is like saying Calvinist and acting like they all agree with each other (it is predestined that they argue though, so they really have no choice 🙂 You can read Pinnock, Saunders, Boyd, and the other major Open theologians and get a wide understanding of how they approach this issue and what it means to them. I am about to tackle this whole thing in more detail on the blog, so I am glad that you have good points and questions about this issue. I find that Geisler’s “Chosen but Free” has been one of the better treatments of bringing sovereignty and free will together. He calls himself a moderate Calvinist but could have just as easily called himself a conservative Arminianist. People have attacked him for trying to ride the fence on this issue, but in reality, I believe he is more honest with trying to bring the paradoxical passages together into some reasonable harmony. I am a strong believer in God’s sovereignty but am not a hyper Calvinist. I am a big believer in free will and the responsibility of man, but am not a moral government fan. Quite a few of the open theologians do say that God has determined parts of the future (for example events like the 1st and 2nd coming), but allows an undetermined future in most of the rest to allow for free will to operate. This undetermined future does mean that many of them do draw the conclusion that God doesn’t know which choices we will make. It is a logic loop for them. Once God knows the future, the future is set, and there is no other possible outcome, thus man isn’t really free. God can know what happens if we choose A or if we choose B, but not which choice we will make. Then, it gets really fun when scholars debate God’s relationship to time. That is where my feeble mind said, “Sorry buddy, we aren’t going any further in this discussion.” Is God in time, outside of time, is He sequential in His knowledge?
I agree with you that pretty soon the whole thing takes way too much time away from the priorities of the Great Commission and the needs of this world. It also strays into the “we aren’t smart enough to figure God out” territory to me. Vanity as Solomon would call it.
Thanks for reading and commenting on the blog! Hope we run into each other in Asia as well. Did you see the email option on the blog? is it not showing up?
thanks again,
Sean