Video from Closer to Truth
Is the Future Open? - Michael Rea - Closer to Truth
"Why is an 'open' future controversial among theologians? If the future is not 'settled', if there is no certainty from God's viewpoint of how future events will turn out, then God's providence, could not be as sure. If the future is truly open, then not even God could know the future because there are no future facts to know." from video introduction
Michael Rea is Rev. John A. O’Brien Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Center for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Notre Dame.
Open Theism, also referred to as openness/open view, is a theological position dealing with human free will and its relationship to God and the nature of the future. It contends that God has granted to humanity free will and that in order for the free will to be truly free, the future free will choices of individuals cannot be known ahead of time by God. Open theism states that if God knows what we are going to choose, then how can we be truly free when it is time to make those choices - since a counter choice cannot then be made by us, because it is already "known" what we are going to do. We would not then actually be able to make a different choice to what God "knows" we will choose therefore implying that we would not then be free.
Link to Michael Rea website.
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