What Is Open Theism?

This concise essay seeks to introduce one of the religious positions that has, in turn, given rise to debates and offered specific approaches concerning divine omniscience. As the title of the article suggests, the religious position examined throughout this writing is that of open theism. In the words of Bruce E. Ware—a proponent of this school—"open theism attempts to introduce to believers in the one God a way of thinking through which they may view the topic of divine knowledge with a maximalist outlook and without particular rigidities." The crux of their argument regarding divine knowledge comprises the claim that God is omniscient, yet God's omniscience is limited to the present time and nothing more. God is absolutely knowledgeable about all aspects pertaining to the present time, but has limited His knowledge concerning the future so that human free will is not compromised and the human being may be considered a free agent in the true sense. The author of this concise essay adopts a critical stance toward open theism and endeavors to refute it.

Open theism has also been called "having an open view" and "openness of outlook," and it is a philosophical-religious position that defines and adopts a particular approach regarding the relationship among "human free will, God, and the future." According to proponents of this position, God accepts human free will, and in order for the human being to be free in the true sense, and so that genuine human freedom is not compromised, He has, for this reason, refrained from knowing humanity's future actions. Proponents of this doctrine believe that if God knew what decisions and choices we are determined to make, then how could we possibly be considered truly free? Consequently, the human being would be incapable of making choices contrary to divine knowledge, because it would be predetermined and preordained from beforehand what choices the human being will have and what they will select.[1] In other words, we would not be able to make choices contradictory to what is the object of divine knowledge, and implicitly, this means the human being lacks free will.

Proponents of open theism have adopted two views regarding the future, with one group saying the future is knowable and another saying it is unknowable. One group accepts that God can have knowledge of the future and future beings, but the point is that God, by His own will and desire, has limited His knowledge; that is, God Himself has willed not to extend His knowledge to the future actions and choices of the free creatures He has created, "so that their being truly free is not compromised" and they may be free in the real sense.[2] However, another group of adherents to the position of open theism believes that since the future, at the time in which we now find ourselves, is not present and is non-existent, it is therefore impossible for it to become the object of knowledge—even divine knowledge—and consequently, divine knowledge also cannot pertain to the future, and the future lies outside the domain of divine knowledge.[3] One of the most important representatives of this school is Gregory Boyd, who says:

Proponents of open theism acknowledge and believe that a large part of the future that lies ahead of us will be realized in the time to come, and we must proceed along the timeline and step by step enter the future, while, again, the greater part of the future is not known or determined to us, and therefore, a future of which there is as yet no news cannot become the object of knowledge—even divine knowledge or material causes—and hence, the world is not predictable. Regarding the future of which there is as yet no news, there are infinite possibilities as to which action will occur from a free individual.[4]

But the intent of "open theists" is not to say that God is weak or incapable. They believe that since God Himself created this world, and since He is still actively involved in this world, for this reason He can ordain and predict many things regarding the future, and consequently, He can bring about events that, with the passage of time, will unfold and manifest themselves. In this respect, God inspired—and indeed empowered—the authors of the Old Testament to become aware of certain future events of the world and to predict them, and God can be certain, and also assure others, that those events will come to pass in the future at their own specific time.

Moreover, “open theists” claim that they in no way deny divine omniscience and, like traditional theists, consider God to be omniscient; however, their disagreement with other theists lies in the fact that God can only know that which is knowable, and since the future has not yet unfolded and has not yet arrived, for this reason, God cannot know the future in detail and part by part, and thus God has a general knowledge of the future. Instead, God knows only the present in a comprehensive and detailed manner, which includes “the intentions, motivations, thoughts, hopes, and aspirations of all human beings.”

In the “open theism” position, God can even make mistakes because He does not have detailed knowledge of many matters and therefore does not know what situations will occur in every single part of future time. According to this group, God always takes risks and, of course, provides guidance in the choices and selections of free creatures and strives to moderate human actions. They believe that if we refer to the Holy Scriptures, we see that God changed His mind in some places, for example, that part of the Scripture concerning the migration of the Israelites, 32:14. Or elsewhere we witness that God is astonished by the occurrence of certain things (Isaiah the Prophet, 5:3-7), or in some instances, He tests human beings to find out what they will do, for example, the Book of Genesis, 22:21.

Finally, the “open theism” position holds that the God portrayed in conventional religion is an unapproachable, distant, absolute sovereign, and tyrannical God, whereas if we look with an open perspective, God is always concerned and anxious, in step with and loving toward human beings, constantly entering into interaction and reaction with them, and is the protector of people.

Conventional Christianity

In conventional Christianity, the belief is that God knows everything and is even knowledgeable of every single part of the future. In the book of John 3:20, it says, “... God is greater than our hearts and knows everything,” and also Peter, in the Gospel of John 21:17, says, “... You know all things, and You know that I love You...” The sacred texts indicate God’s sovereignty and dominion over everything, which is also consistent with divine omniscience. Official Christianity believes that God is very loving and has complete knowledge, and out of great humility, lowers Himself to the level below Him, that is, the level of human beings, so that He interacts with us and makes Himself perceivable to us. This means that these matters occur in such a way that we too might comprehend the divine testing, changes in divine insight, and His acceptances. These all relate to the actions God performs with His creatures—creatures who have limited insight, mortal lives, and abundant sins. God must influence us human beings because He is above us, and since we human beings are below Him, for this reason, we cannot influence Him.

God and Time

The question concerning God’s knowledge regarding future time is very important because it relates to the true attributes and characteristics of God’s nature concerning the nature of the future. Does God have absolute knowledge of the future or not? Is God present in the future from now or not? Is God limited to this present time? The answer to the above questions reflects the true nature and the true scope of God’s being. Proponents of the open theism position offer a description of God that diminishes the extent of God’s knowledge of all things in past, present, and future time, leading to the conclusion that God does not have sufficient and adequate knowledge of everything in the future. In open theism, divine omniscience is jeopardized because some proponents of this school, since they consider the existence and presence of future time in the present to be nonexistent, therefore reject divine omniscience regarding future time.

Conclusion

It seems that holding such a position is not sound doctrine, as it undermines God's absolute sovereignty, supremacy, eternality, knowledge, existence, and transcendence, and conversely, elevates human will and free choice far too highly. Although proponents of open theism deny this claim, nevertheless, the knowledge of God posited in open theism is far inferior to the knowledge of God that has been and is presented in official Christianity.

Sources and introduction of books and website addresses for further acquaintance

For Open Theism (Introducing some sources written in favor of open theism)

Books

Boyd, Gregory A., God of the possible, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books),
Pinnock, Clark, al. The Openness of God, (Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press), 1994.
Sanders, John, The God who Risks, (Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press), 1998.

Website

http://www.gregboyd.org/

Against Open Theism (Introducing sources written in opposition to open theism)

Books

Frame, John, No Other God, a response to Open Theism, (Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P & R Publishing), 2001.
Ware, Bruce A., God's Lesser Glory: The diminished God of Open Theism, (Crossway Books), 2001

Websites

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-known 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 prophesy certain events and then He could simply ensure that those events occurred 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 they differ in that 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.

Orthodox Christianity

Historic Orthodox Christianity states that God knows all things, even the entirety of the future, exhaustively. 1 John 3:20 it says, "...for God is greater than our heart, and knows all things." Likewise, Peter said to Jesus in John 21:17, "...You know all things; You know that I love You..." God's sovereignty is clearly taught in scripture and His sovereignty is tied to His omniscience. Orthodox Christianity teaches that God is very loving, very involved, and even condescends to our level and interacts with us in a manner that we can understand. This means that we will see what appears to be instances of God changing His mind, testing, and adapting. But, this is all due to God's working with creatures who have limited vision, short life spans, and are sinners. God must work on our level since we cannot work on His.

God and time

The question about God's knowledge of the future is very important because it deals with the actual definition of God's nature in relation to the nature of the future. Is God all-knowing about the future or not? Is God existing in the future or not? Is God limited to the present or not? The answers to these questions reflect the very nature and scope of God's existence. The open theists are pushing a description of God that reduces God from knowing all things, past, present, and future, to not knowing all things in the future. God's omnipresence is also in jeopardy in Open Theism, since some open theists deny the existence of the future and thereby deny the omnipresence of God in the future.

Conclusion

My opinion is that openness is a dangerous teaching that undermines the sovereignty, majesty, infinitude, knowledge, existence, and glory of God and exalts the nature and condition of man's own free will. Though the open theists will undoubtedly say it does no such thing, it goes without saying that the God of Open Theism is not as knowledgeable or as ever-present as the God of orthodoxy.

Books and Websites Consulted

For Open Theism
1. Books
  1. Boyd, Gregory A., God of the possible, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books),2001.
  2. Pinnock, Clark, et. al., The Openness of God, (Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press), 1994.
  3. Sanders, John, The God who Risks, (Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press), 1998.
2. Websites
  1. www.gregboyd.org
Against Open Theism
1. Books
  1. Frame, John, No Other God, a response to Open Theism, (Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P & R Publishing), 2001.
  2. Ware, Bruce A., God's Lesser Glory: The diminished God of Open Theism,(Crossway Books), 2001
2. Websites
  1. http://www.antithesis.com/index.html
  2. http://www.founders.org/FJ46/article2_fr.html

What Is Open Theism?

Author: Matt Slick

Translator: Davoud Qarajalou

Orthodox Christianity

God and time

Conclusion

Books and Websites Consulted