Jen Lemen hooked me up with this article by Huntington College professor Dr. John Sanders, entitled: “On Heffalumps and Heresies: Responses to Accusations Against Open Theism” (PDF here). I had a chance to read through it this past weekend while traveling to/from Idaho, and I really enjoyed it for the most part. I’m still working through Greg Boyd’s God of the Possible, but Sanders’ article seemed to make a better case for open theism (Boyd’s book very well may get better…). Anyway, here is a brief summary of some of my thoughts, and you can download the Word file here to read a few more of my thoughts.
While I still need to finish Boyd’s God of the Possible, Sanders’ article seemed to be a more enticing appeal to begin to (re)think about open theism and its possibilities for theology today. I don’t think that open theism necessarily negates God’s sovereignty, in that God is still knowledgeable concerning the parts of the future that are available to God. God allows part of the future to remain open, and it is that part of the future that we become co-collaborators, co-(re)creators with God, in forming the future, in bringing about God’s kingdom here on Earth. This helps bring about a more dynamic, (inter)active example of Christianity, a Christianity where it does in fact matter what you do, how you live, because you are involved in bringing about God’s future here on Earth – we’re not just playing around and passively accepting whatever future God has decided ages ago – it’s still up for grabs. The future could be absolutely shitty or we could choose to, along with God, co-create a beautiful future, filled with the desires of ourselves and the desires of God.
This, I think, is appealing. This I think will draw people to God. This, I think, could be revolutionary for those who are willing to be open to new ideas about who God is, what God does, and what God desires for God’s Creation.