The Future is Not Like the Past For God (or Us)
Category: General
Tags: Free Will, freedom, Future, God of the Possible, Open Theism, Possibility
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will
Image by seier+seier via Flickr Everyone agrees that we are not free to change the past. No sane person would claim, for example, that I can now make any free choices about whether John F. Kennedy will…
Why Does God Need Prayer?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Letters from a Skeptic, Prayer, Q&A
Topics: Hearing God, Prayer, Providence, Predestination and Free Will
Greg Loves Questions. In his best selling book Letters from a Skeptic, he responds to questions from his father, who was then an atheist. Tomorrow Greg will be hosting a AMA (Ask Me Anything) on…
Is Suffering Part of God’s Secret Plan?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Calvinism, Compassion, Faith, Is God to Blame?, Problem of Evil, Spiritual Warfare, Suffering, Theodicy, Warfare Worldview
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, The Problem of Evil
In the Christian tradition since Augustine, the most common explanation for the apparent arbitrariness of life and God’s interaction with humanity has been God’s mysterious will—his “secret plan,” as Calvin says. Whether or not a…
God Does Not Always Get What He Wants
Category: General
Tags: Choice, Free Will, God's Will, Love, Problem of Evil, Salvation
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will
One of the ways the Bible makes it clear that humans have free will and that God doesn’t predetermine human decisions is found in the responses God has toward human choices. Scripture consistently depicts God…
Predestination Part 2: Seeing Destiny Rightly
Category: General
Tags: Calvinism, Destiny, Free Will, Jesus, Open Theism, Predestination
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will
For Part 1, click here. In Ephesians Paul teaches that God “chose us in [Christ] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” (Eph 1:4). In Christ, Paul continues,…
Predestination: What Does It Mean?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Calvinism, Destiny, Determinism, Free Will, Is God to Blame?, Open Theism, Predestination
Topics: Free Will and the Future, Providence, Predestination and Free Will
When some people hear the biblical teaching that God “chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world” (Eph 1:4) and that “he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Christ,” (Eph 1:5) they…
Molinism and Open Theism – Part II
Category: Q&A
Tags: Determinism, Molinism, Open Theism, The Great Omission
Topics: Open Theism What it is and is not, Providence, Predestination and Free Will
In the previous post on this topic I briefly outlined Molinism and then discussed “the grounding objection.” In this post I’ll first discuss another fundamental objection to Molinism and then discuss how it is overcome…
Molinism and Open Theism – Part I
Category: Q&A
Tags: Calvinism, Choice, Determinism, Free Will, God, Molinism, Open Theism
Topics: Open Theism What it is and is not, Providence, Predestination and Free Will
I’ve been asked for the umpteenth time on Twitter lately about the difference between “Molinism” and “Open Theism,” and for some reason, today seemed like a good day to begin addressing this question. I’ll do this…
Why Do Some Prayers Go Unanswered?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Is God to Blame?, Prayer
Topics: Free Will and the Future, Hearing God, Prayer, Providence, Predestination and Free Will
All of us have prayed for things and have been left wondering why God did not answer. Clearly, our prayers don’t all bring about what we ask for. It has been popular to say that…
If God Can’t Control, How Can I Trust Him?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Prayer, Problem of Evil
Topics: Open Theism, Providence, Predestination and Free Will
Question: If God can’t always answer our prayers for healing, for example (and I completely understand why—free will etc), then HOW can he promise to bring good out of the bad things that happen? Surely…
Free Will: How free will presupposes a great deal of determinism
Category: Q&A
Tags: Calvinism, Determinism, Free Will, Open Theism
Topics: Free Will and the Future, Providence, Predestination and Free Will
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…
Free Will: Are studies that demonstrate genetic determinism a threat to free will?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Calvinism, Determinism, Free Will, Open Theism
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, Responding to Objections
Greg shares his continuing thoughts on free will with a thought experiment (and a hand-drawn graph!) granting that we are largely determined by forces outside of our control. If we grant this presupposition, does that…
Free Will: What about “natural” evil? Was Hurricane Sandy a Free Agent?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Calvinism, Determinism, Evil, Free Will, Natural Evil, Open Theism
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, Spiritual Warfare, Cosmic Conflict, The Problem of Evil
What about natural evil? How does free will help to make sense of this? Greg reflects on the origins of sickness, natural disaster, animal suffering and so on. Hope you’re enjoying the series so far….
Free Will: The origin of evil
Category: Q&A
Tags: Calvinism, Determinism, Evil, Free Will, Open Theism, Problem of Evil
Topics: Free Will and the Future, Providence, Predestination and Free Will
In this continuing series on free will, Greg discusses how evil can only be accounted for if we acknowledge free will. This is especially true if you believe that God is good.
Free Will: What does Quantum Theory suggest?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Calvinism, Determinism, Free Will, Open Theism, Quantum Physics
Topics: Free Will and the Future, Providence, Predestination and Free Will
Bet you didn’t think we’d be going here. Greg discusses how quantum theory supports the idea of free will.
Free Will: An Aesthetic Model
Category: Q&A
Tags: Calvinism, Determinism, Free Will, Open Theism, Philosophy, Satan and the Problem of Evil
Topics: Free Will and the Future, Providence, Predestination and Free Will
Greg continues his thoughts on free will by offering an aesthetic model for free will. This one gets pretty philosophical, but it’s worth toughing it out.
Free Will: Is it a coherent concept?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Calvinism, Determinism, Free Will, Open Theism, Philosophy
Topics: Free Will and the Future, Providence, Predestination and Free Will
Greg is going to be spending the next several blogs talking about the idea of free will. In this first reflection, he discusses whether it is coherent to speak of a decision that is not…
Reflecting on Henry and the Heart of God
Category: Q&A
Tags: Death, God, Greg Boyd, Henry, ReKnew, Warfare Worldview
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, The Problem of Evil
Several years ago Jessica and Ian had their theology revolutionized by coming in contact with the vision of God and the warfare worldview that ReKnew ministries stands for. Tragically, this last September this wonderful couple…
Grieving with the God who Pulled the Trigger?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Calvinism, Current Events, Death, Evil, God, Newtown, Prayer, Problem of Evil, Theodicy
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, The Problem of Evil
Lawrence Krauss recently wrote a thought-provoking, soul-searching essay for CNN Opinion entitled, “Why must a nation grieve with God?” Krauss was disturbed by a comment made by President Obama at a memorial service for the victims…
Finger-Pointing and the Impulse to Judge
Category: Q&A
Tags: Bryan Fischer, Christianity, Current Events, Evil, Forgiveness, James Dobson, John Piper, Judgement, Judgment, Love, Mike Huckabee, Newtown, Problem of Evil, Satan
Topics: Following Jesus, Providence, Predestination and Free Will, The Problem of Evil
To no one’s surprise, yet to the sadness of many of us, several Christian spokespeople, including James Dobson, Mike Huckabee and Bryan Fischer, are blaming the shootings in Newtown, Conn, on abortion and gay marriage. This…