Since i became a Christian in 99, i puzzled about the relationship between God's sovereignty over the future and our responsibility has free moral agents. The church that nurtured my faith started me on a steady diet of classical Arminianism, which i accepted, but with which i was never fully satisfied. I was taught that God's knowledge of the future free choices of human agents was not causal but "simple" and therefore did not "interfere" with free will. This didnt set right with me for a reason that i didnt immediately put my finger on, but that i eventually recognized as CONTRADICTION. If God perfectly knows which choice a free agent will make in the future, that knowledge cannot be "simple" because it renders that choice settled from all eternity. That agent is not truly free to choose any option save that option which has been eternally fixed. Thus, i began questioning the view of God's omniscience that i was being taught, but could not formulate an alternative view. It wasnt until i was an undergrad bible college student researching "biblical" vs. "systematic" theology, that i stumbled upon Biblical-theology.com which features several articles by Openness authors. The first article i read was by Clark Pinnock and was titled "From Augustine to Arminius: A Pilgrimage in Theology. In it, Pinnock details his journey from 5-Point Calvinism to Openness in a wonderfully concise and frank way. I found that nearly every word resonated with me as having the authentic ring of truth. I finally had a name for what i believed: it was Openness all along!

or Cancel