Posts
Open Theism and the Nature of the Future
Category: Essays
Tags: Essay, Open Theism
Topics: Defending the Open View, Free Will and the Future
In this philosophical essay Alan Rhoda, Tom Belt and I argue that the future cannot be exhaustively described in terms of what will and will not happen, but must also be described in terms of…
The Hexagon of Opposition
Category: Essays
Tags: Essay, Open Theism
Topics: Defending the Open View
Throughout the western philosophical and theological tradition, scholars have assumed that the future can be adequately described in terms of what will and will not happen. In this essay I, Alan Rhoda and Tom Belt…
Books I’m Currently Working On
I get asked a lot about what new things I’m working on, and since I’m always working on something, I thought I’d share it with you. Currently, I am working on five books for publication:…
How can people who believe the open view trust a God who doesn’t control the future and doesn’t know for sure what will happen?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism, Providence, Predestination and Free Will
It’s true that according to the open view of the future things can happen in our lives which God didn’t plan or even foreknow with certainty (though he always foreknew they were possible). In this…
Doesn’t the open view demean God’s sovereignty?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
The Open view demeans God’s sovereignty only if one assumes that “sovereignty” means “meticulous control.” By why think this is the way God wants to rule the world? The biblical narrative presents a God who…
In light of Einstein’s conclusion that time is relative, how can you believe that God is not above time?
Category: Q&A
Tags: God, Open Theism, Q&A, Science
Topics: Attributes and Character, Defending the Open View
Relatively Theory basically stipulates that whether an event is viewed as being in the past, present or future depends on where one is in relation to the event in question as well as how fast…
How can you put your trust in a God who’s not in control of everything?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A, Responding to Calvinism
Topics: Open Theism, Providence, Predestination and Free Will
Question: I read your book Is God to Blame? and found it to be very compelling. It’s rocking my world. But I’m also finding I’m now having trouble trusting God like I used to. I…
How do you respond to Genesis 45:5; 50:20?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Q&A, Responding to Calvinism
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, Responding to Objections
Verse: Genesis 45
Joseph said to his brothers, “…now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life,” (cf. v. 7). Joseph later says, “Even…
How do you respond to Exodus 4:11?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Q&A, Responding to Calvinism
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, Responding to Objections
Verse: Exodus 4
“The Lord says to Moses, “Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” According to some compatibilists, this passage teaches that all infirmities…
How do you respond to Exodus 21:12–13?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Q&A, Responding to Calvinism
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, Responding to Objections
Verse: Exodus 21
“Whoever strikes a person mortally shall be put to death. If it was not premeditated, but came about by an act of God, then I will appoint for you a place to which the killer…
How do you respond to Joshua 11:19–20?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Q&A, Responding to Calvinism
Topics: Defending the Open View, Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
Verse: Joshua 11
“There was not a town that made peace with the Israelites, except the Hivites…all were taken to battle. For it was the Lord’s doing to harden their hearts so that they would come against Israel…
How do you respond to Judges 9:23?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Q&A, Responding to Calvinism
Topics: Defending the Open View, Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
Verse: Judges 9
“…God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Schechem; and the lords of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech.” (cf. 1 Sam. 16:14; 1 Kings 22:19–23). Some compatibilists cite this passage to support…
How do you respond to Ruth 1:13?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Q&A, Responding to Calvinism
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, Responding to Objections
Verse: Ruth 1
Because her husband and two sons had died, Naomi says to her two daughter-in-laws (Ruth and Orpah), “[I]t has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has…
How do you respond to 1 Samuel 2:25?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Q&A, Responding to Calvinism
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, Responding to Objections
Verse: 1 Samuel 2
Eli’s sons “would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to kill them.” Compatibilists sometimes cite this text as an example of how God determines events…
How do you respond to 2 Samuel 16:10?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Q&A, Responding to Calvinism
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, Responding to Objections
Verse: 2 Samuel 16
David says of Shimei’s cursing him, “If he is cursing because the Lord said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’” Some compatibilists cite this text to suggest that…
How do you respond to 2 Samuel 17:14–15?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Q&A, Responding to Calvinism
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will
Verse: 2 Samuel 17
“Absalom and all the men of Israel said, ‘The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.’ For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that…
How do you respond to 2 Samuel 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:1?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Q&A, Responding to Calvinism
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, Responding to Objections
Verse: 1 Chronicles 21, 2 Samuel 24
One text says the Lord incited David to count the warriors of Israel and Judah. The other text says that Satan incited David to count the warriors of Israel. (The Lord had forbidden this, as…
How do you respond to 1 Kings 8:58?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Q&A, Responding to Calvinism
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, Responding to Objections
Verse: 1 Kings 8
Solomon prays as he dedicates the temple, “The Lord our God be with us…[and] incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments…” (vs. 57-58). Compatibilists sometimes cite…
How do you respond to Job 1:21?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Q&A, Responding to Calvinism
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, Responding to Objections
Verse: Job 1
“…the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” This passage is often quoted as the proper attitude pious people should assume in the face of tragedy, with…