By Clark H. Pinnock, Professor of Theology at McMaster Divinity College.
GOD AND THE OPEN VIEW
In contrast to other, more abstract approaches to theism, the open view of God is a relational model of understanding. In conventional theism, God is seen as an all-controlling and unchangeable Being who determines directly or indirectly all things that happen. He exists out of time and is unaffected by anything. He knows all things in advance and sovereignly ordains what he knows. The open view, on the other hand, sees God as a relational and triune God who exists as a community (Father, Son, and Spirit) and seeks loving relationships with creatures. In order for such relationships to be possible, God imparts genuine (or “libertarian”) freedom to human beings. This freedom allows them the possibility of loving God or of acting in ways unconstrained by God’s will. God chooses to achieve his goals by means of collaboration with humans rather than by predetermination.
Second, I have noticed that the debate over the openness of God has opened up an area in which evangelical thinking needs to experience reform. Surely the glory of God does not consist of his exercising total control over the world but of his self-giving and self-sacrificing love. This is not just a partisan interpretation. According to the gospel, God has the properties of a lover, not the properties of a tyrant. While God is certainly the “most” and the “best,” there are different kinds of goodness and greatness. It is a divine perfection, not only to rule, but to be vulnerable for love’s sake. God is not an impassible Buddha, untouched by the troubles of mortal existence. We do not endorse the Aristotelian ideal of a self-sufficient God, who devotes his time to contemplating his own existence. We worship a God who became one of us and shares in our condition.
1 comment:
Open theism seems (in my limited exposure to it) to have some real merit. Yet, I think, it also has some of the same flaws as the "emergent" conversation. Namely, a failure to truly understand that which it critiques, and so, a tendency to devalue that which should be valued.
He exists out of time and is unaffected by anything. He knows all things in advance and sovereignly ordains what he knows.
This, it seems to me, is an oversimplification of what "conventional theism" would posit. Certainly there are those within the realm of "conventional theism" who would state that God's predestination does not equate to a puppeteer-Creator?
Open theism does well to point to the relational nature of God, but we should not lose sight of His power, or His infinite eternity. Again, open theism disavows a God who is a "tyrant," who excercises "total control;" is this truly the God depicted by "conventional theists?"
We too often think in absolutes...
Post a Comment