Love and the Timeless God
Philosophy always plays a role in Christian theology. This isn’t a bad thing; philosophy isn’t inherently evil. We’re all philosophers, in the general sense of thinking about things, and all theologies have philosophical assumptions. In fact, every statement about love – scholarly or not – incorporates philosophy, at least in the broad sense. Some philosophies […]
God’s Omniscience Grows
Open and relational thinkers say the future does not exist. Because it does not, God can’t know with certainty what will happen in the future. Does this contradict the idea God is all-knowing? In Open and Relational Theology: An Introduction to Life-Changing Ideas, I say that God can’t foreknow with certainty everything that will occur. […]
Partnering with God
I’m happy to announce the publication of a new book, Partnering with God: Collaboration in Open and Relational Theology! The title itself will strike some readers as audacious. After all, who can really claim to “partner with God”?! Partnering with God answers that question by claiming collaboration with the divine is a real possibility! Seventy-seven […]
Why We Embrace Open and Relational Theology
I’m writing a book introducing open and relational theology. It’s aimed at the general public and for use in classrooms, small groups, and personal enrichment. Early in the book, I list reasons people are attracted to open and relational theology. Many of the reasons come from posts on social media. Whole books have been written […]
Is Progress Possible?
The idea life could get better strikes some as naïve. It’s easy to lose hope in a pandemic and amid political strife. Pessimists Some people point to the pandemic, wars, ecological disasters, political elections, racial injustice, and more that’s wrong in the world. To them, it’s absurd to think things could get better. The world […]
Open Theism and Divine Limitations
In his book The Future of Open Theism: From Antecedents to Opportunities (IVP Academic 2020), Richard Rice does a myriad of helpful things. He reports on the origins of open theology, describes contemporary debates among open theists, and looks at where open theism might move in the future. Rice rightly calls openness theology a “paradigm […]
A TimeFull God of Providence
Most Christian theologies assume God is essentially timeless. By ‘essentially timeless,’ I mean they assume God does not experience in relationship with others moment by moment. Many assume God ‘sees’ history – beginning to end – from an eternal now, without engaging in giving and receiving relations with creation. Scholars offer various theories for how […]
An Experiencing God Knows All that’s Knowable
Open and relational theologies say God enjoys moment-by-moment experiences in relationship with others. This important idea affects how these theologies think about God’s knowledge. Open and relational theologies take seriously the reality of time’s forward flow. Not only is existence fundamentally in process, but God also experiences the process of time. God is timefull not […]
My Response to John Sanders
In an article published recently in the Wesleyan Theological Journal, John Sanders raises concerns about and criticizes my theological proposals in The Uncontrolling Love of God. In this essay, I answer his criticisms and explain my views in greater depth. Introduction The problem of evil is conundrum for those who believe in God. Unsolved, it […]
Problems with Sanders’s View of Providence
My friend, John Sanders, has written a powerful proposal for understanding God’s providence. As an open and relational theologian myself, I agree with much of it. But there’s a key problem with his view…