Submitted by: Submitted by bugnic
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Words: 3280
Pages: 14
Category: Spirituality
Date Submitted: 10/22/2015 07:47 PM
God’s Openness to His Children
Modern thought and theology, since the Holocaust, has thoroughly re-examined the attributes of God. God’s action and interaction in conjunction with human freedoms of choice and sin have brought about an emerging perspective. The topic of the openness of God and His ability to know or control all aspects of human existence has brought about much study and debate. There are several ways Christianity and other religions view the relationship between God and the world He created, and whether the Bible is best understood as affirming that God’s knowledge includes past, present and future. Some believe God is the all-knowing ruler of the world and knows all details of life including our decisions; this is traditional or classical theism. Others see God as adapting to the actions of His people in accordance to their free will decisions, whether they are right or wrong. God still moves with His purpose but reactively to our decisions. This is known as open theism, openness, or open view of God. The debate regarding the theory of God’s openness is central to our belief system. Doctor Bruce Ware goes as far as saying, “It has everything to do with the God whom we trust, follow, honor and obey. It has to do with whether He is worthy of our uncontested reliance.” Both proponents and opponents of open theism have radically different views of what God is like and how our relationship with Him works, but both agree upon God’s impartial love for all mankind.
Openness has been debated for almost 35 years and received its spotlight in 1994 when Clark Pinnock and a group of authors wrote the book called The Openness of God. By definition, open view theism is based on the fact that God has a relationship with mankind that allows individuals the freedom to follow God’s will or choose to work against it. The openness theory states that God works along with human decisions, adapting His plans to fit the changing situation. This does not...