Phillip cary on the classic view, william lane craig on molinism, william hasker on open theism, thomas j. As an example, a critic of plantingas idea of a mighty nonhuman spirit causing natural evils may concede that the. His open theism theodicy will be discussed in detail later in the third section of this article, the open theism of gregory boyd. Ken perszyks open theism and the soteriological problem of evil chapter 10, perszyk makes the case that molinism is more successful than ot in facing the soteriological problem of evil that is, in its basic form, whether the existence of a good god is compatible with the eternal damnation of created moral agents. I initially became interested in open theism as an an answer to the problem of evil, and i suppose i should have addressed that in my intial post. This book begins by showing how the problem of evil has been inextricably bound up with the problematic deity created by the philosophical theism of the. What began on the fringes of scholarship has quickly gained a popular following, in part because of the publication of entrylevel titles such as gregory boyds god of the. Open theism is typically advanced as a biblically motivated and philosophically consistent theology of human and divine freedom in the libertarian sense, with an emphasis on what this. Oct 08, 2001 satan and the problem of evil continues to explore how open theism best explains the theological and philosophical conundrums which have plagued believers down through the centuries. While open theism attempts to provide answers and comfort to the problem of suffering, 101 its picture of god is one that creates more sympathy than security. Oord on essential kenosis, and stephen wykstra on skeptical theism. Process theology and open theism are other positions that limit gods omnipotence or.
Open theism is on the extreme end of the freewill spectrum as a philosophical attempt at resolving the problem. The god of open theism is a god who can only react to the actions of mere mortals. Bibliography on open theism by john sanders john sanders. A briefer and easier primer to open theism than the openness of god and the god who risks is gregory a. If so, they might be surprised to learn that evangelical scholars are promulgating it and urging its acceptance. The problem of evil is the question of how to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with an omnipotent, omnibenevolent, and omniscient god see theism. Sure it explains the problem of evil in a better way but that is a result of being closer to scripture not a cause of why open theism was created. The theist understands that evil, pain, and suffering are contrary to the opposite good states the way it should be. A pentecostal response to christopher halls and john sanders recent book.
A biblical introduction to the open view of god by gregory a. Some have backed a model of determinism, but such a position holds certain problems, such as the inability of human beings to make choices that are truly free. It would serve well for pastors, students, and small groups who are looking for a place to start their journey into this issue, or for people who are wishing to go a bit deeper in their reflection on god and evil. Religion of a war and moon god prophet vol ii of ii atheism. The open theist response to the problem of evil the philosurfer. Pdf an open theist theodicy of natural evil researchgate. Does open theism solve the problem of evil and suffering.
Sep 17, 2014 recommended reading on open theism leave a reply since the publication of clark pinnock et als the openness of god downers grove, illinois. Against open theism books in which those critical of open theism voice their complaints. Selected readings, second edition university of notre dame press, 2017. God, evil, and relational risk in michael peterson ed. Philosophical essays against open theism 1st edition.
Noted philosopher william hasker explores a full range of issues concerning the problem of evil. Open theism, risktaking, and the problem of evil philosophical. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading god and the problem of evil. Whilst some philosophers argue that the problem of evil is strong evidence for. William hasker, one of the philosophers prominently associated with this movement, presents the strengths of this position in comparison with its main competitors.
Readers who choose this book by its title may be disappointed by boyds limited discussion of satan. Books on openness theology, books with an open theistic perspective, and articles on open theism. Five views spectrum multiview book series kindle edition by meister, chad, dew jr. Open theism and the undermining of confidence in god moono theism. God and the problem of evil 2017 edition open library.
An open theism theodicy the centrality and supremacy of. Open theism and the undermining of biblical christianity, is also free to. The problem of evil found 38 matching posts see recommended books on this topic. The problems with open theism come reasons apologetics notes. Theology and the problem of evil signposts in theology. Critics of theism often take the view that natural evil presents an even more intractable problem for theisms defenders than does moral evil. May 05, 2017 because of the controversy over open theism twenty years ago, there is a huge range of books and articles out there, both critiquing it and defending it. But the 1994 books attempt to systematically explicate the relational view of. Lane craig claims open theists, roman catholics, and eastern orthodox. Home, containing an explanation of open theism and a timeline of it throughout history. As an example, a critic of plantingas idea of a mighty nonhuman spirit. Atheism, theism, and the problem of evil the responses followers of theism observe and acknowledge evil, pain, and suffering in this broken world. St augustine of hippo 354430 ce in his augustinian theodicy, as presented in john hicks book evil and the god of love, focuses on the.
Lewis, god, freedom, and evil by alvin plantinga, a grief observed by c. The evidential problem of evil also referred to as the probabilistic or inductive version of the problem seeks to show that the existence of evil, although logically consistent with the existence of god, counts against or lowers the probability of the truth of theism. Open theists in debate books in which open theists are interacting with critics. Philosophical essays against open theism reading religion. Open theism is an attempt by christian theologians to take the multiple times in scripture where god states that things could go or could have gone differently seriously. Greg boyds website is a fount of free resources in defence. Related books books on various topics including christian history. Open theism is a relatively new doctrine that has only gained popular prominence since 1994 with the release of the book the openness of god which was written by five evangelical scholars and edited by clark pinnock. I arrived at open theistic views while considering the problem of evil sometime after the death of my first wife o god. Some contemporary books promoting open theism summarizes the openness of god and a book on open theism by each of its five contributors. Evangelical theologians differ over excluding open.
Open theists believe that god does not and cannot know in advance the future choices that his free creatures will make. It is typically advanced as a biblically motivated and philosophically consistent theology of human and divine freedom in the. In an effort to make god more appealing to our society men like greg boyd, clark pinnock, richard rice, and john sanders have promoted a god who does not know every detail about what will come to passthe future is, to some degree at least, open ended and god knows it as such. The chief concerns with open theism are as follows. The open theist response to the problem of evil the.
Greg boyd the point of the book of job problem of evil. The evidential version of the problem of evil also referred to as the probabilistic or inductive version, seeks to show that the existence of evil, although logically consistent with the existence of god, counts against or lowers the probability of the truth of theism. Hartshorne sees process theism as providing the needed coherence cf. Intervarsity press, 1994, numerous articles, books, websites, and blogs have been produced on open theism. Providence, evil and the openness of god is a timely exploration of the philosophical implications of the rapidlygrowing theological movement known as open theism, or the openness of god. An orthodox catholic theologian would thus tend to view open theism as, to a significant extent, an attempt to alleviate the cognitive tension caused when man is confronted by the divine mystery by positing a god small enough that the mystery doesnt arise i. Open theism rejects the determinism of the classic view in favor of an account of god as a risktaker who does not know for sure what the future holds. Books supportive of open theism includes philosophical and biblical defenses. Five views and millions of other books are available. Both classical and process theists have argued that boyd and other open theists fail to avoid the traditional problem of evilif god has the capacity to prevent specific acts of evil, why does he not do so.
Open theism is growing in popularity among evangelical christians. Responding to open theism in fourteen words blog think. Open theism is typically advanced as a biblically motivated and philosophically consistent theology of human and divine freedom in the libertarian sense, with an emphasis. Open theism is the thesis that, because god loves us and desires that we. Jun 07, 20 in my original some books on open theism article, i included the following paragraph. We need to talk about open theism blog think theology. Crossways generosity means that in many ways the most significant critique, beyond the bounds. The problem of evil is a constant challenge to faith in god. Greg boyd the point of the book of job problem of evil paul mussell. Not only do open theists believe their position is biblical, and free from hellenistic influence, they also believe that if god absolutely foreknew all the evil in the world, he also to one degree or another planned all the evil.
Open theism rejects the determinism of the classic view in favor of an account of god as a risktaker who does. In open theism and the problem of evil, ben arbour argues that the open view provides no benefit to the theologian that isnt already available on other standard conceptions of divine omniscience. If god knows our free will choices, do we still have free will. Now that we have defined this view, lets consider several of the arguments offered to support it. Jun 27, 2005 the doctrine is evident even in the books that do not specifically address open theism. Open theism and evil october 25, 2014 by alan a in open theism, the problem of evil suffering. The problem of evil has produced many responses and elicited vigorous debate. Open theism, calvinism and arminian views analyzed with scripture surveyed. John piper, blueprint theology, warfare worldview, calvinism, open theism, arminianism. Most proposed solutions to the problem of evil and suffering have been around for a long time, but open theism is more recent. This book brings together eleven essays critical of various features of open.
Since god doesnt know what free creatures will do, open theists argue that this helps the christian in answering the problem of evil. It is fair to say that open theists think that one of the great advantages of this new paradigm is that it solves the problem of evil. First is greg welty, open theism, risktaking, and the problem of evil. Open theism is complicated, muchdebated and slightly dated, which might make it a strange subject to write about here. Or as the first known presentation by the greek philosopher epicurus, as attributed and made popular by david hume, puts it. This objection assumes god would know how to stop evil since god is allknowingbut what if god were allknowing and still couldnt know how to stop evil. In this multiview book, five philosophical theologians discuss and defend different solutions to this ancient problem. Open theism and the problem of evil confessions of a. Jonathan ms pearce on the creation of open theism, which developed out of process theism, the sep states. What began on the fringes of scholarship has quickly gained a popular following, in part because of the publication of entrylevel titles such. However, they will find a careful though deeply flawed treatment of the problem of evil from an open theistic perspective, and boyds extensive research will provide helpful resources for.
Sander gives a fairly complete bibliography on open theism. Open theism, also known as openness theology and free will theism, is a theological movement that has developed within christianity as a rejection to the synthesis of greek philosophy and christian theology. The best articles from christianity today on open theism. Philosophical essays against open theism, edited by benjamin h. Related books books on various topics including christian history and the teachings of church fathers. Open theism noncatholic religions catholic answers forums. Books supporting an open theist perspective john sanders. Not everyone finds this kind of free will defense against the problem of evil comforting. This objection assumes god would know how to stop evil since god is. God and the problem of evil offers a lucid, emotionally sensitive, and diverse set of essays on the problem of evil. The problems with open theism for centuries, scholars have argued about the tension that exists between gods predestination and our free will.
The problems with open theism come reasons apologetics. Sovereignty, suffering, and open theism southern baptist. In this multiview book, a group of philosophers and theologians discuss and defend five key positions in the current debate. Open theism, also known as openness theology and free will theism, 1 is a theological movement that has developed within evangelical and postevangelical protestant christianity as a response to ideas related to the synthesis of greek philosophy and christian theology. The problem of evil in process theism and classical free will. Open theism open theists in debate against open theism related books platonism commentaries other books god is open. God chooses to not know the future freewill choices of human creatures.
Why we shouldnt seek an airtight explanation for the problem of evil. Many christians intellectually and emotionally grapple with the seemingly contradictory notion that an allbenevolent god would somehow permit any evil in this world, especially if he foreknew it would happen. Open theism, also known as openness theology and free will theism, is a theological movement that has developed within evangelical and postevangelical protestant christianity as a response to ideas related to the synthesis of greek philosophy and christian theology. Some of our readers, perhaps, have not even heard of open theism.
Essential kenosis goes further in providing a comprehensive theodicy by arguing that god cannot control creatures and thus cannot unilaterally prevent evil. While open theists try to avoid stating that god can make mistakes, john sanders candidly asserts that scripture does leave open the possibility that god might be mistaken about some points. This new collection of philosophically rigorous essays critiques the interpretation of divine omniscience known as open theism, focusing primarily on philosophically motivated open theism and positing arguments that reject divine knowledge of future contingents in the face of the dilemma of freedom and foreknowledge. I personally admire greg boyd and find much to agree with in open theism. A theodicy of natural evil is presented, and it is argued that open theism makes the. I struggle with the idea that evil acts can in any way be a part of gods plan, especially that innocent children should be made to suffer abuse and violence as part of that plan. The past couple posts have been on the problem of evil. I have encountered open theism in books written by other lesserknown authors. In god and the problem of evil scholars phillip cary, william lane craig, william hasker, thomas jay oord, and stephen wykstra stage a dialogue between the five key positions in the current debateclassical, molinist, open theist, essential kenosis, and skeptical theism. The problem of evil is the question of how to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with.