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Open Theism

Invincible chess master?

“It takes a truly wise and creative God to guarantee victory without having to control every detail of history. By contrast, to simply control others so that you always get your way is a sure sign of insecurity and weakness.” “Though she cannot be certain of how her opponent will move, for her opponent is […]

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Open Theism

Missing the mark

If God had a good purpose he did not fulfill, then did he “miss the mark”? In the sense of the Greek word “hamartanw”: “Literally miss the mark, be in error; figuratively, of offending against God, man, religious or moral law sin, do wrong, transgress” (Friberg Dictionary) “Even the Septuagint, although the Hebrew ‘chatah’ also means primarily to […]

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Open Theism

Jeremiah 18 – Does this make all judgment prophcies conditional?

“At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it.” (Jer. 18:7-8) First of all, “planned” could mean “devised”, […]

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Open Theism

I thought that…

Jeremiah 3:7  I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it.Jeremiah 3:19-20  I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me. But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful […]

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Open Theism

Love must be free?

Must love be free, at conversion, to be really love? But love comes from God (1 Jn. 4:7): 1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us… And “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Not because we chose to! Yes, people are responsible to […]

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Open Theism

Does God ever really change his mind?

Numbers 23:19  God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? And the reason is given here that God will not change his mind, because “God is not a man,” it […]

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Open Theism

Does God know future free choices?

Will God know all about choices in heaven? Even within the Trinity? Or at least about major choices? For it would not be much good to only have incidental choices be free, and not major ones, for example, when God makes “all things new,” as in the new creation. How can this be free, if […]

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Open Theism

Is prophecy ever wrong?

Jeremiah 28:9 As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word [NIV: prediction] of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet. This is quite clear, if it does not happen, the Lord did not say it… And they certainly were aware of the […]

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Open Theism

Did Jesus only predict Peter’s denial?

Was Peter’s denial simply a prediction based on knowing Peter’s character very well? In this incident, Peter’s courage and cowardice had to balance, this is not just saying Peter would be cowardly, he had to follow right into the high priest’s court, and not run off after the first confrontation, or the second, so this […]

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Open Theism

When God says, “This is sure”

When God swears by himself, does this not mean that what is being predicted depends only on him? Yet some of these purposes, where God swears by himself, involve human decisions: Genesis 22:16-18  “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, […]