Thanks for sharing this, Tom.  Clark Pinnock helped me immensely in the past.  I’m not sure I’d believe in God if not for some of the paths he started me on (at least not the living God in Christ).  Further up and further in!

I am sorry to hear of Dr.Pinnock’s having Alzheimer’s. This is such an insidious disease, devastating to both the sufferer and their family and friends. I will be adding Clark, his family and friends to my prayers.

Thanks for writing a worthy exposition of the theology of this good man of God. Though controversial, I believe he has also been a great source of inspiration to many, helping them to see God in a way that I believe is more personal and more true to the revelation we have received through the Scriptures.
We thank God for Clark Pinnock.

This is, sadly, the twilight of an inspiring career that was not afraid of change, but revered classical Christianity. His development over the years was and is a model for inquiring minds. We shall miss him greatly. Thanks also to Tom, for this concise and perceptive summary.

Even in his gracious announcement of Alzheimers, Dr.Pinnock is exhibiting the love that he has attributed to God for many years.I am saddened to think he will write no more but even in this struggle, Dr.Pinnock demonstrates his unwavering trust in the God who loves him and will walk with him through difficult and dark days. May God help him.

Dear Tom,

Thanks so much for this tribute to Clark and the ideas he helped pioneer and champion.  Clark was very important to me as a pioneer of relational theism, but also as a Christ-follower who was able to weather fierce opposition and criticism without becoming bitter or becoming enraged.

Tom,
Very moving.  Thanks so much.  Dr. Pinnock is indeed a theological giant.

What an excellent summation of his views.  Thanks for the concise presentation of the early roots of the Open Movement.  Like so many, very much enjoyed his works, even when he made me nervous. 

Great job as usual Tom.

Don

Hey, touching entry and very informative too.  Thanks for your work on this essay.

Because of the Bible’s witness to what is called Open Theology, I have had the chance to know Clark Pinnock. My developing perspective based on close readings of the biblical text were well articulated by Clark and Bill Haskers and the others who wrote the Openness of God. Twenty years later, I met Clark and his wife in Boston and the next year he came to our home and swam in our pool. I also credit Tom, Karl, and Templeton for bringing Clark into our lives in a more dynamic relational way than can be found in his many profound writings.

It’s a testament to how he values you, Tom - that he sent this to you and John Sanders.  Pinnock (and many of us) believe in your work, Tom.

Thanks for sharing this.

Reading Clark’s books was like fresh air for me. Thank God for his theological work and very open heart to the Bible, God the Father, and people. Even now there such dignity in his words.

Reading Pinnock’s books helped me articulate a theology that I knew to be true in my heart for some time. It saddens me to hear of his illness.

Thanks for sharing Tom.

Tom, thank you for the update. Clark’s work and courage have been a frequent source of strength and encouragement to me.

Clark Pinnock has been a tremendous encouragement to me and his work will continue to be a source of light to many for years to come. Great insight made even more valuable by a great heart.

// Lennart, Madison, WI

Like many of the others, I too am indebted to Clark Pinnock for my theological shift and perhaps my faith as well. I had an undergraduate professor who was very keen on Pinnock’s move from biblical inerrancy to biblical trustworthiness. When I began grad school at Pepperdine (mid 90’s), at the suggestion of that professor, I decided to read all of Pinnock’s works, chronologically. It was an amazing journey. I was encouraged and excited that a theologian of Pinnock’s caliber could make such an honest changes and that a move towards question and critical thinking was not a move away from faith. I was so enthralled by Pinnock’s transformation that I wrote my masters thesis on his paradigm shift in his doctrine of God. I have had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Clark on a few occasions and he has always been very encouraging. A true gentleman scholar.

Thank you Dr. Pinnock for showing me that I don’t have to make an “either-or” choice when it comes to God, the Bible, or any another matter of theology. There is always at least one more path one can take in faith.

Thank you for this moving tribute to a courageous servant of God and clear summary of his convincing theology. I met Clark twice, the last time in October 2008 when I sat next to him during lunch at McMaster at a seminar in which I was speaking. I am so sorry to hear this news. My mother died of Alzheimers in 2006 and it is not a future I would wish on anyone.

I’m still saddened by the news several days later. I was someone who had major struggles with my faith until one day i came across an online paper on Open Theism written by Clark Pinnock and the relief was immediate. So clearly and yet so humbly explained - thanks you Clark .

Tom, thank you for your comments. Here is one message I sent to Clark.
Dear Clark,

Thank you for letting us know about your present situation. Tom sent a wonderful message to you and I want to add a hearty “Amen” to his note. You, and not just your writings, have influenced so many lives including my own. I continue to tell the story of your magnanimous gesture to me when, at a conference at Wheaton, you read an unpublished paper of mine that was appreciative yet critical of some of your views on the destiny of the unevangelized. You encouraged me to publish it, something I had never considered doing. The following week you called me up to encourage me to develop the paper into a book. That pep talk led to No Other Name. Because you read the notes in that unpublished paper carefully you inferred something about my understanding of the divine nature and this led you to invite me to write a chapter for your book The Grace of God, The Will of Man. I remember telling you that I was still working on my master’s degree at the time and did not consider myself worthy to be included in a book with folks such as Billy Abraham and Steve Evans. You replied that you did not care what degree I had so long as I did good work. I was both tremendously excited and deeply humbled.

It has been a pleasure to learn so much from you, to enjoy your spirit and inquisitiveness, and to have collaborated with you on several projects. My prayers will continue for you and Dorothy.

Your friend,
John

As others mentioned, I too came to a major philosophical struggle/obstacle with my faith until my pastor suggested that I read The Openess of God.  Life changing.  Thanks to Clark Pinnock for such wonderful work and dedication to seeking Truth.

I think the world of Clark, as a man and as a courageous, faithful, purposeful thinker.  He has pursued the truth wherever it led, and has endured the consequences with poise and grace, even when they sometimes were harsh and came from the hand of friends.  Knowing Clark is an inspiration and an enlightenment, one for which I am enormously grateful.

He and his family are in my prayers.

I started reading Clark’s books back in, oh, I guess, 1972 or so. I always followed him with great interest and have praised his work ever since. I met him in California in 1979 and had an utterly fascinating conversation with him. This led to extensive correspondence and a couple of thoroughly fun visits, as he graciously hosted me for a theological conference or two in Toronto. In 1981 he served on my dissertation committee. Eventually I left evangelicalism, but ever since, I have always cited Clark as a genuine freethinker who freely thought his way into reasoned faith, to assure my atheist pals that it is possible. If Clark must now take a forced rest from his indefatigable writing, one can anticipate the verdict “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!”

As one who has had several relatives succumb to this miserable disease, I greatly sympathize with Mr. Pinnock. I can only imagine the desolation of thinking about the prospect of losing so much of what makes a person who he or she is.

A dear friend of mine passed away last year, just a bit more than a year after his wife who had had Alzheimer’s for several years. This friend, we called him Doc, served his wife with amazing love and graciousness. He would speak of the privilege it was to serve her after she had served him for so many years. His love for her was an inspiration to so many of us. I pray that those close to Clark will discover the greatness of the love he so clearly had discovered in his life, as they continue to serve him in the coming years.

I think what I like the most about “open theology” is that it portrays God as a compassionate loving God, rather than just a “ruler” or as someone who is trying to control us.  Open theology it so much more relational.  It states that “God seeks relationship with free creatures.”  So God desires a relationship with us (which is amazing in itself), but in order for this to happen, we must respond.  This, in my opinion, is what makes this idea of open theology such a great model of love.

thanks for posting this - only tracked the news down recently.  When I was on faculty at University of Glasgow we had Clark over for a series of lectures that were during all the ETS firestorm.  He was never bitter nor spiteful and always gracious… embodied the “flame of love” in the truest sense with our students.  I will be praying actively for him and their family during this challenging chapter.

Tom, thank you for the excellent essay.  I read Flame of Love in the summer of 2002.  At the time, I was in the middle of serving a three term as an elder at our church and I was particularly frustrated and discouraged.  Flame of Love was on my bookshelf and I rather randomly picked it among others for my reading at that time.  It truly changed my life.  His teaching led me into a relationship with the Spirit that I had not experienced in the previous thirty years of my Christian walk.  Clearly, he did theology in the power of the Spirit.

I’ll be praying for Dr. Pinnock and his family.

I am saddened by this news and yet full of joy for his work. I just now am reading The Openess of God and believe it is a powerful validation of ‘Relational Christianity’  Thank you Mr Pinnock. Your rewards await!

I’m sorry to tell you that Clark passed away yesterday. He will be missed by our little congregation. His Child like wonder around the things of God was wonderful.
Such a mind but so humble
Blessings
Dave S

I met Clark at Regent College when I was a brand new Christian.  Not only did Clark and Dorothy help confirm and mature my faith, they were also friends, mentors and amazing role models.  I would not be a theologian today were it not for them.  I would not have been able to last as a Christian and a feminist, had it not been for them. I am devastated by this news, but I know Clark is waiting for all of us to get there and we will party!! Save a seat for us at the table, Clark!