How do Open Theists respond to Bible verses claiming God knows the future?
score:10
The quote from Jeremiah refers to God's plans. Plans do not require foreknowledge, only forethought. I doubt that Open Theists deny that God plans ahead. The question is whether He has one plan that He knows will work out in every detail with exactitude because of foreknowledge, or an infinite number of contingency plans, one of which will achieve his ultimate aim. Chess computers can now outplay the best human players. The human player has the freedom to choose any legal move they want on their turn, it just means that they lose in a different way.
The quote from John comes closer to posing an issue. However, in 2000 years, has the Holy Spirit provided anyone a detailed timetable and roadmap for all of human history? Or has the Spirit given a broad outline of the shape of God's plan, such that history falls within those parameters and accomplishes God's purposes, but the path to each waypoint along the journey is a surprise? I believe that the lack of such a comprehensive revelation to anyone individually or the church collectively over this long period shows that the meaning of John 16:13, if true, must be different from what your question assumes.
If I succeed in deducing God's comprehensive year-by-year plan for history, I will let you and the Open Theists know.
Upvote:2
The Bible does not teach predestination. It teaches that God gives humans choices and holds them accountable for their actions.
Deuteronomy 30:19 says:
"This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live"
God evidently does have the ability to tell the future, but he has unlimited knowledge and sight, as well as the power to cause anything he wishes to happen. Consider these examples: if a parent tells a child that they will get burned if they touch something hot, and then it happens just as the parent said it would, that is not a prophecy fulfilled - that is simply having a superior knowledge of the consequences. Likewise, if a parent tells a child that they themselves will punish the child for bad behaviour, and then they have to carry that out, this is also not a prophecy fulfilled - the parent used their own free will to carry out what they previously said they would do.
We do not comprehend how God sees the future, but evidently, he does not predetermine our futures as individuals, otherwise he would not give them choices or hold them accountable for their actions. His 'plans', as referred to in the verses you quoted, were things he wanted to happen and could cause to happen.
At Luke 19:40, Jesus had been asked to stop his disciples from preaching, but in reply said:
“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Jesus disciples preached because they used their personal free will to respond to the call. Although Jesus was using hyperbole in this verse, the point was that God would see his will take place even if nobody responded to it. Again, this proves that he causes what he says will happen to happen, and this does not conflict with the concept of free will.
More post
- 📝 Did Peter fully enter the tomb?
- 📝 Why is the Son of God called the Eternal Father in the book of Alma?
- 📝 Is there any concept of angel numbers in Christianity?
- 📝 What is the purpose of the title "King of the Jews"?
- 📝 What is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints view of historical-critical methods?
- 📝 Under Catholic dogma can someone publicly rebuke the Pope like Paul rebuked Peter?
- 📝 Did Jesus definitely say he was a man?
- 📝 Did John know Jesus was the Messiah and Son of God during Jesus's baptism?
- 📝 If the kingdom of God is invisible, in heaven, how can seeing Jesus be key to seeing it as he is also invisible, in heaven?
- 📝 Are the gospel authors who we believe them to be?
- 📝 Why did the Commonwealth Parliament ban theatre?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the belief that Satan was the serpent in the Garden of Eden?
- 📝 According to Eastern Orthodoxy, does Matthew 17:20 apply to all people?
- 📝 How do seraphim in Isaiah 6 relate to the cherubim?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for saying that wives can divorce their physically abusive husbands?
- 📝 What are the essential components of a Protestant evangelical church?
- 📝 Does the free will rebuttal to the problem of evil still work for those who believe in old earth/evolution?
- 📝 A promise in Acts 16:31?
- 📝 What is the cross in the mantra "carry your own cross"?
- 📝 Eastern Orthodoxy: What is the 'nous' and how is it distinguished from your mind and the rest of your spirit?
- 📝 In the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, what is the the distinction between the gifts of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge?
- 📝 How do deniers of Jesus' preincarnate existence interpret John 17:5?
- 📝 What did Paul mean by 'work out your salvation'?
- 📝 Is there a standard version of the Bible?
- 📝 What were the doctrinal differences behind the Great Schism of 1054?
- 📝 Is it ok to pray different prayers in conjunction to one another?
- 📝 Is it right to say "Truly for Christ" or "Truly in Christ"?
- 📝 (Catholic view) Why do we pray for God's Kingdom to come if good people go to heaven when they die?
- 📝 Did Polycarp, the alleged disciple of John, know of and endorse the 4th gospel, three letters or Revelation as authentic writings of the apostle John?
- 📝 Origin of La Madonna Del Gatto
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How do Open Theists respond to Bible verses claiming God knows the future?
- 📝 How do monergists respond to Bible verses that support the doctrine of synergism?
- 📝 How do Trinitarians respond to passages in the Bible that seem to clearly distinguish between God and Jesus after his ascension?
- 📝 If the Bible is open to interpretation, how does one know which one is right?
- 📝 The Mormon Church teaches that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Son. How do you reconcile this when the Bible says the Father cannot be seen?
- 📝 What is LDS teaching about how Bible verses came to be in the Book of Mormon?
- 📝 How do non-trinitarians respond to the argument that God is love necessitates the eternity of the Son?
- 📝 If you do not believe the Holy Spirit is a person, then what is it? What do Bible verses that reference the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God mean?
- 📝 How do Biblical Unitarians respond to translations of Hebrews 1:8 which have God calling the Son 'God'?
- 📝 How do Latter Day Saints interpret the Bible verses saying that all things were created by God?
- 📝 How did people know that their visions of God were not false before the Bible was as a book compiled?
- 📝 How do Trinitarians respond to the objection that God cannot be a man based on Hosea 11:9?
- 📝 How can the Bible say God was refreshed if he never gets weary?
- 📝 How do open theists respond to 1 John 3:20?
- 📝 How do Biblical Unitarians understand verses that appear to identify God (the Father) and the Holy Spirit as different beings/entities?
- 📝 Which verses in the Bible say that God is omniscient?
- 📝 How do Christian Scientists respond to the "poison that nobody knows is poisonous" argument?
- 📝 Where in the Bible does God permit us to create? How would science fit into this?
- 📝 Why did God allow for the original Bible to be lost to history? And how to reconcile that with Matthew 24:35
- 📝 How do Christians understand the omniscience of God in relation to the Uncertainty Principle?
- 📝 How can we trust the Bible after it has been translated to another language?
- 📝 What are the different names of God in the Bible and what do they mean?
- 📝 If God set the maximum age to 120, then how could Jacob be 130 years old?
- 📝 How can a loving God make a deal with the devil?
- 📝 Why is God asking questions or appearing uncertain in the Bible if He's omniscient?
- 📝 According to believers in the inexorable damnation of the unreached, how is God not unfair for letting someone be born in unreachable conditions?
- 📝 What evidence is there to support the position that the Bible is truly the Word of God to mankind?
- 📝 How do Protestants respond to the JW interpretation of John 14:28?
- 📝 If the Holy Spirit is God, and God can not be in the presence of sin, then how can the Holy Spirit dwell in me a sinner?
- 📝 How do opponents respond to the Grace Gambit?