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A Video Introduction to Open Theism

Here’s a video clip on Open Theism from Greg’s sessions with Travis Reed with The Work of the People. What is Open Theism? Open Theists affirm that God knows all of reality perfectly, so Open Theism really is about the nature and content of the future. Does the future contain real possibilities?

We have to wrestle with this for both biblical reasons and for philosophical reasons. Here are two simple questions:

Biblical Question: If God meticulously ordained the all of the future, then why does the Bible say that God changed his mind 39 different times?

Philosophical Question: If it is eternally certain that I will chose x, then how am I free?

Related Reading

Podcast: Was THIS World the Most Likely World and Wouldn’t God Have Anticipated It?

Greg considers what God might have risked and might have expected for this world.   http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0224.mp3

God’s Regrets and Divine Foreknowledge

One aspect of the portrait of God in Scripture that suggests the future is partly open is the fact that God sometimes regrets how things turn out, even prior decisions that he himself made. For example, in the light of the depravity that characterized humanity prior to the flood, the Bible says that “The Lord…

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Doesn’t Psalm 139:16 refute the open view of the future?

One of the passages most frequently cited in attempts to refute the open view of the future is Psalm 139:16. Here David says that God viewed him while he was being formed in the womb (vs. 15) and then adds: “[Y]our eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in…

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Podcast: Is God Outside of Time?

Greg discusses the nature of time, the importance of sequence, and the centrality of poetry.   http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0286.mp3

Where is Human Free Will in the Bible?

The Bible is emphatic on its teaching that humans possess free will and are capable of originating evil. Notice, for example, that in the very first chapter of the Bible God commands humans to be fruitful and exercise dominion over the animal kingdom and the earth (Gen. 1:26). The fact that God must command us…

What is the significance of Numbers 16:41–48?

The day following the Korah incident (see vs. 20–35), the Israelites rebelled against Moses again, this time because they blamed him for the death of those who were judged the day before (vs. 41). The Lord was very angry because of this and said to Moses and Aaron, “Get away from this congregation, so that…

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