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Post by Jesse Morrell on Nov 22, 2008 16:42:12 GMT -5
Here is a video of Gregory Boyd on Open Theism:
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Post by joeldad on Nov 23, 2008 2:28:19 GMT -5
Great clip. Thanks!
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Post by Jesse Morrell on Nov 23, 2008 14:56:50 GMT -5
This was a post I made on another board:
Whatever happened to "sola scriptura"? I don't care about counsels, synods, creeds, confessions, catechisms, etc if they contradict the Bible!
And the Bible clearly teaches open theism:
* God speaks of the future in terms of what may or may not be: Ex. 3:18, 4:9, 13:17; Eze. 12:3
* God changes His plans in response to changing circumstances: Ex. 32:10-14, Jer. 18:1-10
* God's willingness to change His plans is considered one of His glorious attributes: Jonah 4:2; Joel 2:12-13
* God tests people to see what types of decisions they will make: Gen. 22:12; Ex. 16:4; Deut. 8:2, 13:1-3; 2 Chron. 32:31
* God has had disappointments and has regretted how things turned out: Gen. 6:6; 1 Sam. 15:10, 15:35
* God has expected things to happen that didn't come to pass: Isa. 5:1-5; Jer. 3:6-7, 3:19-20
* God gets frustrated and grieved when he attempts to bring individuals into alignment with his will and they resist: Eze. 22:29-31; Isa. 63:10; Eph. 4:30; cf. Heb. 3:8, 3:15, 4:7; Acts 7:51
* The prayers of men have changed the plans of God: Ex. 32:10-14; Num. 11:1-2, 14:12-20, 16:16:20-35; Deut. 9:13-14, 9:18-20, 9:25; 2 Sam. 24:17-25; 1 Kin. 21:27-29; 2 Chron. 12:5-8; Jer. 26:19
* God is said to have repented (changed His mind) multiple times in the Bible: Gen. 6:6-7; Ex. 32:12-14; Num. 23:19; Deut. 32:36; Judges 2:18; 1 Sam. 15:11, 15:29, 15:35; 2 Sam. 24:16; Ps. 90:13, 106:45, 110:4, 135:14; Jer. 4:28, 15:6, 18:8, 18:10, 20:16, 26:3, 26:13, 26:19, 42:10, Eze. 24:14, Hos. 11:8, 13:14; Joel 1:13-14; Amos 7:3, 7:6; Jonah 3:9-10, 4:2; Zach. 8:14
* Prophecies are often God foretelling what He Himself will later bring to pass. So they have to do more with God's omnipotence then His omniscience: Gen. 3:15; 1 Kin. 8:15, 8:20, 8:24, 13:32 (with 2 Kin. 23:1-3, 15-18); 2 Kings 19:25; 2 Chron. 1:9 (1 Chron. 6:4; 10, 15); 2 Chron 36:21-22; Ezra 1:1; Isa. 5:19, 25:1-2, 37:26, 42:9 (with vs. 16); Jer. 29:10, 32:24, 32:28, 33:14-15, Lam. 3:37; Eze. 12:25, 17:24, 33:29, 33:33; Dan. 4:33, 4:37; Acts 3:18, 27:32-35; Rev. 17:17 * Scriptures that say God has a past, present, and a future: Rev. 1:4, 1:8, 4:8
* Scriptures that say God’s eternity is endless time, that is, time without beginning or end: Isa. 9:6-7; Isa. 43:10; Isa. 57:15; Job 36:26; Dan. 4:34; Hab. 1:12 Ps. 23:2; Ps. 90:2; Ps. 102:24; Ps. 102:27; Lk. 1:33; Heb 1:12; Rev 1:4; Rev. 1:8; Rev. 4:8; Rev. 5:14;
* Scriptures that say man's eternity is endless time: Isa. 45:17; Eph. 3:21; Rev. 14:11;
* Scriptures that say eternity is endless time for Heavenly creatures: Rev. 4:8
* Eternity is time without end (endless time instead of timelessness): Isa. 9:6-7; Isa. 43:10; Isa. 57:15; Job 36:26; Dan. 4:34; Hab. 1:12 Ps. 23:2; Ps. 90:2; Ps. 102:24; Ps. 102:27; Lk. 1:33; Heb 1:12; Rev 1:4; Rev. 1:8; Rev. 4:8; Rev. 5:14; Isa. 45:17; Eph. 3:21; Rev. 14:11
I am an open theist and I believe that God is eternal, omniscient, and sovereign.
Eternal: Eternity is endless time, not timelessness. God has always dwelt in time. God has always existed (in time) and God will never stop existing (in time) and therefore God is eternal. He was, He is, and He is to come. God has a past, present, and a future. His past has no beginning and His future has no end. That means He is eternal.
Omniscience: God knows all that there is to know. God has all the knowledge that there is. And since the future consists of multiple possibilities, God knows all of the possibilities. God knows all of the past, all of the present, and all of the possibilities of the future. God knows reality as it is, and since the future is partly open, God knows that it is partly open. Since the future is partly open, if God did not know that it was partly open, God would not be omniscient.
Passibility: We are made in the image of God. The reason that we have emotions is because God has emotions. God is genuinely angry with the wicked. God is genuinely grieved over the lost. God genuinely rejoices when sinners repent. God has real emotions, as the Bible states. These are not just anthropomorphic descriptions, they are descriptions of reality.
Mutability: While the Bible clearly says that God changes His mind, it also clearly states that God never changes His nature or His character. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God is immutable, His nature and His character is always the same. And because His nature and character are always the same, when circumstances change before God which require God to change His mind about His plans, He willingly does so.
Sovereignty: God is the supreme ruler, who legislates laws and holds men accountable to those laws. The sovereignty of God does not mean that everything that happens is God's will. God is sovereign even though men disobey Him. The sovereignty of God does not mean that God is the ultimate cause of all things (including sin), but that God is the ultimate authority over everything.
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Post by kerygmata on Nov 25, 2008 15:15:12 GMT -5
Well said, once again, and this from someone who has had formal training in Calvinist theology (though I'm no Phd).
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Post by Jesse Morrell on Nov 30, 2008 20:45:52 GMT -5
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