tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6920271329589936347.post8438686879847169881..comments2023-04-25T11:15:08.515-04:00Comments on Science & Religion Today: Open Theology DefinedHeather Waxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610116462331794810noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6920271329589936347.post-13532309903136860382008-08-05T10:29:00.000-04:002008-08-05T10:29:00.000-04:00Thanks for these good comments! I think your numb...Thanks for these good comments! I think your number 2 option best fits open theism.<BR/><BR/>Open theists typically believe that God knows all of the possible choices we could make. But God doesn't become aware of which option we choose until we actually choose it.<BR/><BR/>The biblical passages you note are important ones. Open theists typically interpret them as pertaining to a lack of change in God's character. But God's experience can change. If you read the context of these passages, I think you'll find that the open theist interpretation is quite plausible.<BR/><BR/>One way to illustrate the idea that God's character is unchanging while God's experience changes is to talk about God's love. The fact that God love is an unchanging part of God's character. But how God loves each of us in our development as humans changes depending on our needs and circumstances.<BR/><BR/>Hoping this helps somehow...<BR/><BR/>TomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6920271329589936347.post-64606782540379057592008-08-04T18:52:00.000-04:002008-08-04T18:52:00.000-04:00Maybe this objection is so simple that I'm missing...Maybe this objection is so simple that I'm missing something. But if Open Theology is true, that God does not now know what free creatures will actually choose to do, then one of two things must happen:<BR/>1) God remains in a state of ignorance about the choice made by a free creature. This seems absurd since it means that the moment free creatures were created, an "event horizon" that God cannot "see" past came into being.<BR/>2) God becomes aware of the choices made. But this means that God changes with time as He learns what free creatures actually chose. This sure seems to me to contradict passages such as "For I the LORD do not change..." (Mal 3:6, NRSV) and "...with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." (Jam 1:17).wrf3https://www.blogger.com/profile/04657932934353372526noreply@blogger.com