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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

5 Observations about God Changing His Mind

One of the most significant passages that supports the open view of the future is found in Jeremiah 18. This is one of the numerous times where we find God changing his mind in response to events. By definition, one cannot change what is permanently fixed. Hence, every time the Bible teaches us that God…

Free Will: How free will presupposes a great deal of determinism

This particular video was recorded last week when the forecast called for a high of -4F.  Greg makes light of the freezing conditions before he settles into the topic of how a mostly determined world is actually the needed context for free will to operate. Stay warm out there!

How do you respond to Acts 4:27–28?

“[B]oth Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.” This passage is very close in content to Acts 2:23 (see How do you respond to Acts 2:23?). While…

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What is the significance of Psalm 106:23?

“Therefore he said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them.” Moses (on several occasions, we have seen) persuaded God to change his mind regarding his plan to judge Israel. This inspired verse explicitly says that God “would destroy…

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Do you believe God is pure actuality?

The basis of the classical view of God as pure actuality (actus purus) is the Aristotelian notion that potentiality is always potential for change and that something changes only because is lacks something else. So, a perfect being who lacks nothing must be devoid of potentiality, which means it must be pure actuality. I think…

Lighten Up: Wanna Party?

Tonight at 8:30pm Greg’s band NDY (Not Dead Yet) will be playing at O’Gara’s party room “The Shanty” in St. Paul. The gig will benefit Kòt a Kòt, a non-profit that helps at-risk young women in Haiti, so there’s a suggested donation of $10 at the door. We hope as many of you as possible in the…