Please read till the end for proper cognition..

Note: the write-up may be slightly replete with theological principles and philosophical points, but in the end it shows the truth also from a biblical perspective!

I had often times came across atheistic ideas summarised in sentences such as, "God is the devil because he knows everything therefore he is the originator of everything both good and bad".. while this claim may be logically persuasive, it is not necessarily true.

In this apology and theological explanation, I wish to as of first instance demystify the meaning of omniscience, the word omniscience from a conventional point of view may simply entail the capacity to know everything, however this definition has often been subject to distinct and even conflicting interpretations, for instance the calvinist theologians believe God's omniscience is absolute, thus he knows all thing, now, before and the ones to come even 10,000 years from now..

While this view seems magnifying, i must humbly submit that it is not true, even if this is the classical view of God as expounded by st Augustine and aristotelean philosophy.

This is so because, a believer of this pattern of omniscience must as well swallow the bitter pill proposed by misotheists, that a God who knows everything with fixed certainty must as well be the orchestrator of all which he knows, be it good, bad or terrible..

On this footing I submit that God's omniscience entail a future consisting of both possibilities and certainties.. for instance God sometimes, knows by 2025, Mr Davidson will be tempted to sin or not, he knows if Mr Davidson sins he will fall out of grace, he also knows that if Mr Davidson does not sin he will remain in grace and abound... Thus he does not all times with certainty precisely know all that will come to manifestation, instead he sometime allows men's freewill to take place.

I submit once more that if God knows with certainty at all time,precisely all that will come to manifestation in the lives of men, then men has fundamentally been reduced to mere robotic entities with no self-determining freewill, therefore we can wrongly surmise that God, knows a man will be born today,will die tomorrow and will as well make hell the next few years..


It is critical to note that if the conclusion of the last paragraph is true, then men no longer has freewill to choose between good and bad, and at the same time God assumes also the role of the devil, by assigning and instigating men to perdition, leaving him dormant..

If the conclusions are also to be taken as true, it must be objected to, because the bible unmistakably teaches that God's ultimate object for everyman is to come to salvation, also the most popular verse in the book of John says. Whoever believes in him(Christ"God" will not perish but have eternal life.. thus it appears that our freewill has an important role to play, thereby making it impossible that God has omnisciently known or chosen those for eternal condemnation or salvation.

In conclusion, it must be noted that this theological view referred to as "OPEN THEISM" is not in anyway heretical, although it has stomached much of criticisms and disparages from men who trail all walks of life..

In the next paragraph I wish to argue biblically and provide instances where it appeared blatantly that God had an open and not settled view of this future..

Eg in **exodus 32-14** it is reported that God changed his mind, and he did not destroy the people of Israel which he had wanted to destroy.
**1 Samuel 15-11** God stated without equivocation that he was sorry that he made Saul king, for he(Saul)has turned from good to evil ways.
**Jeremiah 18-7 to 9** God said If he has said that he will destroy and uproot a nation and that nation turn away from evil and embrace good, he will no longer destroy that nation. Vice versa.
**Jeremiah 26-19** is also to the effect that God changed his mind, after he said he will take the life Hezekiah, he Hezekiah prayed and it was overturned by God, and he God gave him more years to stay.
**Genesis 6-6** and God regretted that he made man, for their ways was too wicked.


Also somewhere in the old testament, after Abraham raised his hand to slaughter his only son, God ordered him to stop, and said ** Abraham now I know that you fear and love me**
Such was a critical point in time where God was put on wait for the freewill which he gave to man to manifest. When he realised Abraham's freewill was to go inconsistent with his will, he ordered Abraham to stop.

In conclusion, although classical theism claims God is immutable, immanent, and imtemporal, it must be noted that God though he does not change from being good, he still changes his mind in certain instances and is affected by man's freedom in one way or another..

In defence of OPEN THEISM.
OD. Michael

Omniscience
Alpha and Omega
I am that I am
Unchangeable changer
Beginning and the end




Light my Kpoli

jehova witness

Is a god that is not truly omniscient truly deserving of worship then? That's a sorry excuse of a god.

Am not in anyway a Jehovah witness, and what I uphold as you see is not philosophically and theologically valid but is also supported by the Bible.

Bacteriologist:
Is a god that is not truly omniscient truly deserving of worship then? That's a sorry excuse of a god.

If you were told that God is fair in complexion, and someone says God has no complexion.. you will also say, is a God not fair in complexion truly deserving of worship?

If you understand my apology well, I did not try to distort the omniscience of God, I only argued to give a detailed definition of omniscience with practical examples from the scripturea .which correctly differs from the classical fallacious one given to the church by Aristotle.

Bacteriologist:
Is a god that is not truly omniscient truly deserving of worship then? That's a sorry excuse of a god.

From where did you get that point of logic from?

Ohizfly:
Omniscience
Alpha and Omega
I am that I am
Unchangeable changer
Beginning and the end




Light my Kpoli

Obsession about titles of God will not aid you in anyway, but studying deep to understand the implication of such title will help you..

Alpha and omega which means beginning and end does not imply that God has omnisciently known or chosen somepersons to go to hell or heaven, but it means he is the beginning and end, which unequivocally assures us of eschatological manifestation of his power. Because at the end he will save the faithful..
God has given us freewill and that is one thing he respects. when we use it inconsistently with what he desires he feels bad, just as in Sodom and Gomorrah. Just as in the prior destruction of the world.. God's knowledgable purpose for creating the world at first was not to destroy it with water.. that was not in anyway pre-determined. If the people had by virtue of their freewill lived a good life, he would not have wiped them out. Open theism entails that the future is partly open and settled, not all future occurrences are settled. It all depends on God's will and the freewill of men. Simple.

BUMP

Bump

Jashub:
From where did you get that point of logic from?

".....for instance the calvinist theologians believe God's omniscience is absolute, thus he knows all thing, now, before and the ones to come even 10,000 years from now..

While this view seems magnifying, i must humbly submit that it is not true, even if this is the classical view of God as expounded by st Augustine and aristotelean philosophy...."


The OP states that the claim that God's omniscience is absolute is untrue.

Omniscience that isn't absolute isn't omniscience at all. As "omni" literally means "every," or "absolute."

divinemichael:




If you were told that God is fair in complexion, and someone says God has no complexion.. you will also say, is a God not fair in complexion truly deserving of worship?

If you understand my apology well, I did not try to distort the omniscience of God, I only argued to give a detailed definition of omniscience with practical examples from the scripturea .which correctly differs from the classical fallacious one given to the church by Aristotle.

Your apology is nonsensical. Omniscience that is not "knowing literally everything " is not omniscience.