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As for the open view of God, that would be an excellent topic for another thread, except I think most everyone is in the same boat you are. Here is a link to a dialog on the topic: Openness of God (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/007/1.38.html)

Basically it is a theology attempting to reconcile God's knowledge of the future with man's free will. It suggests that "God, in grace, grants humans significant freedom to cooperate with or work against God's will for their lives, and he enters into dynamic, give-and-take relationships with us. The Christian life involves a genuine interaction between God and human beings. We respond to God's gracious initiatives and God responds to our responses...and on it goes. God takes risks in this give-and-take relationship, yet he is endlessly resourceful and competent in working toward his ultimate goals. Sometimes God alone decides how to accomplish these goals. On other occasions, God works with human decisions, adapting his own plans to fit the changing situation. God does not control everything that happens. Rather, he is open to receiving input from his creatures. In loving dialog, God invites us to participate with him to bring the future into being."

This theory is an alternative view from the more traditonal classical theists and process theologians. There are several Adventist theologians who have written on it. Most prominently, Richard Rice, from La Sierra University coauthored a book called The Openness of God. The above quote was taken from the Preface to that book.

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Originally posted by Mark Shipowick:
Mike, does the open view boil down to 'cause and effect' theology?

Tom, can you expand on point 2? What are the proponents saying when they state that our actions influence God?

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It means that God does things He would not have done had we not done what we did to influence Him. The most straight-forward example would be prayer. Because we pray, God does things He would not have done had we not prayed.

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Removed double-quote only. - Daryl

[ September 16, 2004, 02:38 PM: Message edited by: Daryl Fawcett ]

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Originally posted by Mike Lowe:
True, prayer enables God to do things which otherwise He cannot do, but there is a limit to this insight. For one, it does not apply to the salvation of souls. That is, God is not dependant upon our prayers to save human beings. He has done and is doing everything He can to influence people to accept Jesus as their personal Saviour. God is more, way more, interested in the salvation of mankind than man can ever hope to be.

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Originally posted by Mark Shipowick:
OK, so far so good. I'd like to understand though exactly what this theology is trying to correct. Can you help me here Mike or Tom or anyone? We all agree that prayer makes a huge difference. God wants us to come to Him with our burdens and desires and he encourages us to do that - to come boldly to the throne of grace. That means that a soverign God has a dynamic relationship with His covenant people. Where does the open view expand or change our perspective?

Keep in mind that Adventist theology has emphasized free will to the point of infringing on the doctrine of the divine election of the saints. Does the 'open view' go still further in emphasizing free will?

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