The Open View of God

Why I deny all five points of Calvinism and why I take comfort in subscribed to the Open View of God.

Personally, I believe that any theology and or philosophy that leads to any form of fatalism/Determinism is a religion that ends in hopelessness and pointless arbitrary devotion. "God rules in such a way as to uphold the created structures and, and because He gives liberty to His creatures, is happy to accept the future as open, not closed, and a relationship with the world that is dynamic, not static." Clark Pinnock

The greatest comfort in the Open View of God is that I need not to explain the why's of human decision in relation to the divine nature and foreknowledge or throw it up in the air in the saying, "it was meant to be." Or attempt to find a reason or purpose for everything that takes place in this life. It seems that in either circumstance it can best be answered with Open Theism.

For example, in either case the facts are that God was constantly striving with man's free will to influence him to make the right choose. However, due to free will, God has chosen from the beginning of time not to intervene, even to the expense of a human life, in order to hold them responsible for their action before Him. Is this to say that God sits back and watches while human decisions goes unconstrained, certainly not! For to believe that would make God abstract like many process theologians try to sermonized.

But two things are to be kept in mind, First, is our faith that states, "that all things work together for good to those who love God" (Romans 8:28a). That is to say that, although God did intervene and control the will of the person, God is always working on our behalf and no matter what happens He will use whatever circumstance He know that might possible come our way to bring about the revilement of Himself in our heart and everyone around us, the guilty and non-guilty alike. What a better God to trust in then one who knows exactly how He is going to respond in the infinite possible circumstances of our lives.

It take a bigger God to deal with which is uncertain. It doesn't take any power at all for God to deal with what is certain. All He has to do is sit back and watch what is happening, which He always knew would happen. On the other hand, however, it takes a far superior God to deal with the challenge of that which is not yet known absolutely because it may end up one way or the other. Now, am I saying that God is caught off guard and surprised at our decision, by no means! Because at the same time in mind of God, He know all that can be known and can exhaustively predict with the greatest of accuracy all that could happen in all the variable. In all wisdom He knows exactly how He is going to respond perfectly in all happenstances. I find great comfort in a placing my trust in a God who not only see all possibilities but knows exactly what He will do to uses all things to work together for my good in conjunction with my free will and the will of other around me.

Secondly, it is also equally comforting to know that God was and continues to not only strive with my free will but of those around me as well. As a result, they are answerable before God for how they free choose to treat me as I am responsible before Him for how I treat them. For God is not unjust he judges each man's work impartially. The conclusion is that the pain and suffering is not a result of God's will but a result of living in a would that has made the free will choice to rebel against a loving God who's desire was not that I go through pain but that I may live under peace and harmony with my fellow man. Hence, the Scripture "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life" (Gal. 6:7-8), is true. The destruction is the not limited to the individual who sin but also to those around us as well (Josh. 7).

As result, the explanation for the above situation is that God knew the possibility of that particular circumstance, but in order for God to hold them accountable for their action and to righteously vindicate the innocent, He choose not to intervene. Had He intervene and stopped the sin, God could not have held him responsible for his right action. The question then is raised, "then why does He just intervene all the time if the decision is going to produce a bad result. If He did then moral government is destroyed resulting in a government of cause and effect; and if all of creation was forced to choose Him, then it would not be logical to say God could enjoy our submission and obedience to His will and law caused by our own volition. In addition, it is vital to realize that it was not His will that such thing took place and that He did everything short of removing free will to stop it prior to the event, because He is always striving with man's moral freedom to make the better choice. However, since it did take place He already knew, in the event that it did, exactly how He is going to work in the life of both parties involved to reveal Himself to them and accomplish a good out of a sinful situation.

Hence, the statement, "look for what God going to teaching us about Him rather than focusing our attention on the problem or our pain." This is exactly the point of comfort I have in placing my future in the hands of God. No matter what happens in this life I have the security in knowing that He exactly what He is doing presently and what He is going to do in the future and He is working to make me in what He desires for my life. Does not the process of forgiveness teach us about God's love for humanity despite the evil action he does. Does not the relief of guilt teach us about the forgiveness of God and the power to change lives witness to other. To think that God knows the infinite possible choices and the infinite possible consequences about the infinite possible situations of every last person in the world makes Him bigger then ever before. Not only that He knows exactly how He is going to respond in each infinite finality. There is truly no other like Him. All wisdom and power belong to God.

According to this perspective, God's infallible knowledge extends over everything that is (or has been) actual and that which follows deterministically from it. God knows for example, exactly what Caesar was thinking when he crossed the Rubicon and how many horses he had in his army that day. He knows exactly how every politician actually feels about the policies he or she is proposing. And since God understands exactly how the laws of nature that He created function, He knows many parts of nature which is governed by deterministic laws will develop and unfold. But God does not possess infallible knowledge of any future states of affairs that include free human decision-making as a causal component. God, as the ultimate psychoanalyst or behaviorist, can with great accuracy predict what individuals will freely decide to do in the future in many cases. He might well, for instance, be able to predict quite accurately who will win the United States Presidential election in the 2012. However, a God who possesses only PK [Present Knowledge] cannot infallibly know what truly free choice will produce. Given that the outcome of such choice-for example, who will be elected President in 2020-, will be dependent on decisions that have yet to be made, there is nothing at present for God to know.

Calvinism in a Nut Shell

This is Calvinism in a nut shell. A theological systems that I do not agree with! One of the primary areas of systematic theology is the doctrines and theological system of Calvinism.  Calvinism is a theological system of thought that proceeded the teaching of John Calvin (1509-1564) and all who followed him.  The result was five major theological points or commonly called T.U.L.I.P theology:  T (Total depravity), U (Unconditional Election), L (Limited atonement), I (Irresistible grace), P (Perseverance of the saints).  In brief T.U.L.I.P theology is as follows: 

 

Total depravity maintains that as a result of Adam's fall, the entire human race is affected;  all humanity is dead in trespasses and sin.  Man is unable to save himself.  God's decree includes everything that comes to pass, whether good or evil (Rom. 11:36;  cp. Acts 2:23;  3:18;  4:27-28) which means He actively chose sin to be a part of His decree and thus made it certain.  As a result mankind is born into sin and, thus, condemned to hell from birth.  Consequently, total depravity maintains that the infants damnation of babies from birth is not only the logical conclusion but is perfectly acceptable.  Furthermore, man can only choose in keeping with one's character and since man is fallen he does not have the capacity to choose against his sinful nature and therefore he must always choose against God.  To illustrate this more explicitly, one could assert that a dog (man) only has the power to bark (or sin).  It cannot meow (not sin).  It can only choose when or at whom it wishes to bark, but it will indeed bark.

 

Unconditional Election states that since God has absolute foreknowledge He has predestined what will happen, including free choices based on the "eternal now" insight. Nothing happens that God's will has not ordained.  Whatever God has determined will happen, and nothing can thwart or hinder God's sovereignty created plan.  Every event that takes place plays a role in His grand design, including the eternal destination of individual souls.  Man is dead in sin, he is unable to initiate response to God; therefore, in eternity past God elected certain people to salvation.  Election and predestination are unconditional;  yet at the same time they are based on man's response.  Essentially based on God foreknowledge God has unconditional elected certain individual's to be saved and predetermined them to eternal life with Him and has elected certain individual's to be dammed and sent to eternal death.

 

The "Limited atonement" doctrine states that because God determined that certain ones should be saved as a result of God's unconditional election, he determined that Christ should die for the elect.  All whom God has elected and Christ died for will be saved;  and since Christ died for only the elect His atonement on Calvary is limited to only those whom God has elected from eternity past to spend the rest of everlasting existence with Him. 

 

Irresistible grace states that "those whom God elected and Christ died for, God draws to Himself through irresistible grace.  God makes man willing to come to him.  When God calls, man responds.  Due to God's absolute foreknowledge and His divine decree that some would be predestined God will not loss any of those who He has chosen for eternal life.  They will indeed respond to Him through His irresistible grace.  Again, to illustrate this more explicitly, if one could assert that a dog (man) only has the power to bark (or sin) and it can only choose when or at whom it wishes to bark, but it will indeed bark.  Irresistible grace states that it will meow and not bark because it has been decreed that it can and will meow and have eternal life as a result of it.  The elect cannot chose against this irresistible grace or the grace would be render inoperative and therefore could not be called irresistible. 

 

Last but not least, there is perseverance of the saints.  According to this idea, the precise ones God has elected and drawn to Himself through the Holy Spirit will persevere in faith.  None whom God has elected will be lost;  they are eternally secure.  Essentially based on God foreknowledge God has unconditional elected certain individual's to be saved through irresistible grace and predetermined them to eternal life with Him and has elected and none of those whom God has decreed to be saved will be loosed.  The elect will perseverance as saints.  Or to put it another way they will always meow.  They either want or cannot choose to bark.

 

Again, a theological systems that I do not agree with! Personally, I believe that any theology and or philosophy that leads to any form of fatalism/Determinism is a religion that ends in hopelessness and pointless arbitrary devotion. "God rules in such a way as to uphold the created structures and, and because He gives liberty to His creatures, is happy to accept the future as open, not closed, and a relationship with the world that is dynamic, not static." Clark Pinnock