A Biblical Refutation Of Open Theism

• Discussion:

           -The online Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines open theism (also referred to as openness theology or free will theism) as follows:

           "Open Theism is the thesis that, because God loves us and desires that we freely choose to reciprocate His love, He has made His knowledge of, and plans for, the future conditional upon our actions. Though omniscient, God does not know what we will freely do in the future. Though omnipotent, He has chosen to invite us to freely collaborate with Him in governing and developing His creation, thereby also allowing us the freedom to thwart His hopes for us. God desires that each of us freely enter into a loving and dynamic personal relationship with Him, and He has therefore left it open to us to choose for or against His will."

           Let it first be said that the notion of God having imperfect knowledge of the future is heresy and illogical for the Christian to uphold at best. If open theism is true, then we have a number of problems which are articulated as follows:

            *God must learn, since He would not know what decisions people could make in the future. 
            *God could be wrong about something, as He has no way of knowing what decisions people could make at a later point in time. Whatever He plans could be thwarted.
            *If open theism is true, then God cannot simply be all-knowing. If He is not all-knowing, then it is difficult to see how He can be all-powerful. One cannot say that God is omniscient (meaning that He knows all things) and then affirm that God does not know something in the very next breath. 

            *Consequently, it would be difficult to trust in the reliability of biblical prophecy. It would also be difficult to trust that God could even accurately answer our prayers.

           Even a cursory glimpse at Scripture is sufficient to expose the errors of open theism. It without reservation or qualification affirms that God knows the future perfectly (Psalm 139:4; 16; Isaiah 46:9-10; Jeremiah 1:5; Matthew 26:34; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 John 3:20). Nothing is beyond His comprehension (Psalm 147:5). Nothing is hidden from His sight (Hebrews 4:13).

           While proponents of open theism may adamantly contend that their system of thought does not undermine the sovereignty of God, that is precisely what it does. Open theism flies right in the face of His glory and majesty. God's thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are not our ways. There are no limits to the depths of His wisdom. If open theism is true, then the God of the Bible would not be any different than the idols worshiped by pagans (Isaiah 41:22-23).