Omniscience. Does God actually know everything?

 

Hey Dan, you should define God! ...Okay, I'll try.

 

God Is Available To Regular People

Some people want to make their job seem more complicated to others because they assume it will make them come off as valuable and necessary.

Believe it or not, this happens in the world of church work, as well. There are ministers and other church workers who want to make Christianity seem complicated because they believe it makes them appear to be more important and more essential to the spiritual journey of others.

It is true that theology is a deep and significant area of study. God and the truths of God have been examined, analyzed, thought-about and written-about in ways that are intellectually profound and deeply challenging. In fact, I am impressed and thankful for the rich intellectual heritage of the Christian faith.

However, based on the Bible—and particularly on the life of Jesus—I do not believe God’s intention is to make knowing Him and walking with Him so intellectually difficult that only extremely brilliant and learned people will be able do so.

Don’t be intimidated by people who want to be gatekeepers and control your access to God. God is available to regular people like you and me.

I’m glad He is available to regular people, aren’t you?

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."  Matthew 19:14

Debating The Issues In Civil, Reasonable and Respectful Ways

A friend sent me a message recently about a matter over which there has been a long history of debate within Christianity.  At the end of his message—after writing some thoughts in which he considered both sides of the debate—he offered the opinion that Christians should learn to put aside differences and focus on the basics of the faith. It was a good thought.

I happen to believe there can be value in debating different points of view. I even enjoy this give and take of ideas from time to time. I find it to be fun. (Come to think of it, this may be why I am not known as the “life of the party” in most social circles.) But I have discovered sometimes people are so invested in their position on a matter that they have difficulty hearing the expression of other points of view.

Occasionally, what happens is these folks cannot engage in the debate without becoming unreasonably angry. It can even get to the point that the angry party launches a verbal attack on the person with whom they disagree.

FYI:  A theological discussion should almost never involve someone jumping up and down, rolling around on the ground, and throwing chairs or other pieces of furniture.

It is a mark of maturity when people learn to talk about matters over which they disagree in civil, reasonable and respectful ways.

A Personal God

When God reveals Himself to us we are not learning a theological doctrine.

We are meeting a person.

Follow Jesus

Sometimes, in Christianity, we think in terms of following particular theological points of view or particular denominations.  We might even find ourselves thinking in terms of following a particular teacher or leader.  I can understand how these things happen and I respect the importance of theological distinctions and the role of leadership.  But it’s good for us to remember that ultimately, we follow Jesus and our primary allegiance must always be to Him.

E-Flash From Dan -- Thanksgiving Adventures

Dear E-Flash Friends;

Hope you’ve been having a great Thanksgiving Day!  Mine has been terrific.  Nadia whipped up a delicious feast that any early American Pilgrim would have envied.

And then, following our dinner, I sat back in a comfortable chair and did what most of you probably did.  I read for a while from a book on theology.  Yep, I know, that’s the typical thing most people do after a scrumptious Thanksgiving meal.  Here’s a brief sample passage from the book I’m reading:

“Yet eschatology itself is a crucial category for theology and ethics, to take only the question of how ‘realized’ is the kingdom of God in our era and how we therefore should act in light of that eschatological understanding.”

Yeah, I know. It’s dynamic and exhilarating, isn’t it?

Well, as you can imagine, after reading a number of thrilling passages like that for half an hour or more, you could feel the excitement all through our house reach a fever pitch.  I quickly took advantage of the momentum from all that reading frenzy to make a stealthy move into the kitchen and dive back into the turkey and other leftovers for the next round of eating.

I’m telling you all of that to let you know that I’m now laying on the couch with a mild sugar coma and a small turkey bone hanging out of the corner of my mouth. 

And, furthermore, it seemed like a good time to remind you all that this Sunday, Nov. 27^th, the elders will be having a prayer time in between the two morning services.  (I bet you’ve never read an introduction for a “prayer time” announcement like that before, huh?)  If you have a prayer need or if you would simply like to join with us during our time of prayer, we will be meeting in the sanctuary at approximately 10:15am, and you are welcome to come.

Also, we will be looking at Ecclesiastes chapter 7, vs. 13, this Sunday.  It is an interesting passage that talks about accepting the way God does things.  I believe you will be blessed if you are here.  In fact, it would be a great Sunday to invite a friend.  I am praying that God will be moving powerfully.  I ask that you pray for the service, too.

Thanks, and in all serious, I hope that you have had a wonderful and blessed day and that there is genuine gratitude in your heart for God’s goodness in your life.

Love and blessings,

Dan

Before Time Began, God Knew I'd Write This Review

Review of:
What Does God Know and When Does He Know It?
By Millard J. Erickson

Several years ago, I discovered that some serious, evangelical Christian scholars believed that God may not know everything about the future. That surprised me, to say the least. I wonder if God saw this coming.

I had always been taught that God knew everything, past, present and future. In fact, I was taught that He even knew future contingencies that wouldn’t actually occur, but, if they did, this is how it would happen. God’s complete omniscience seemed to be a reasonable concept to me. After all, He’s God, right? He exists outside of time, so how could a matter that hinges on time (past, present, future) present a limitation for Him?

Well, I discovered that some theologians would be quick to say, “Wait, just a minute, buddy boy. What about this passage where God seems to change his mind?”

Or, “what about this passage where God’s actions are changed based upon what a person does?”

Or, “what about this passage where God seems to truly discover something about a person based upon a test He has given the person?”

Or, “how can people really have a free will and, yet, God already knows what they’re going to do?”

And, so, the debate is on.

Millard J. Erickson’s book, “What Does God Know And When Does He Know It?” presents the issues of this debate in a reasonably fair and comprehensive manner.

Erickson presents the arguments for the Traditional View of God’s foreknowledge and he presents the Open View of God. He offers a biblical basis for each position. He examines the hermeneutics and doctrinal structure of the issues. He looks at the historical development of the matters and the philosophical influences. And he presents some of the practical issues that follow.

Erickson has a keen eye for identifying the logical inconsistencies of the Open View.

Erickson, himself, holds the Traditional View of God’s foreknowledge and he makes that clear, in the book. However, he also states that his book represents an attempt “to deal with these issues with an open mind and to listen carefully to the arguments on both sides.” He does acknowledge the strength of the Open View on the points where he perceives they have the stronger argument, especially in the “Evaluation and Conclusion” section of the book.

Summing it up, he writes this, “On balance, then, while no single view has given final answers to the issues involved in the foreknowledge debate, the traditional view of God’s exhaustive definitive foreknowledge appears to have considerably more cogent intellectual support and fewer difficulties than does the alternative.”

This is a good introduction to Open Theism.

Dan Marler
Oak Lawn, IL

www.VisitUsOnline.org