@import "misc/drupal.css"; @import "themes/classic/style.css"; opensource theology overview general content special collections ... Theory of God Does God know the future? Theory of God Someone put the question to me yesterday, âÂÂDoes God know the future?â I have a very poor grasp of issues like this which always seem to me to be too abstruse and speculative (IâÂÂve never really seen the point of the open theism debate). So my first response was that the question is meaningless. What difference does it make whether God knows the future or not? Well, what about prophecy? I am inclined to think that the future does not exist to be known by anyone: we make the future by our choices. The future is not a road down which we walk; itâÂÂs the road that we lay as we move forward, picking our way through a landscape of possibilities. Perhaps, then, God also creates a future by his choices â in important respects through interaction with us. Prophecy is possible not because God can see ahead and knows what is coming but because he makes commitments, promises, and is faithful to keep them. All we really need here is a theology of covenant. So when Jesus prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem, for example, he does so not on the basis of advanced knowledge (though it may sound like that) but because he knows that God intends to judge the city within a generation unless there is widespread repentance (the condition is important). Given that basic assumption, anyone could have inferred the details of invasion and desolation provided in the apocalyptic discourse. | |
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