I created this blog, Open Theism, in the fall of 2012 to explain open theism to my family and friends. Open theism holds that in giving us free will God limited His control over and knowledge of the future and thus the future is partly open. I wrote weekly posts about it here from October 27, 2012, to April 27, 2013, by sharing and expanding on an article that I’d written on open theism for Suite101.com in 2005.
After completing that project I began reporting on the weekly meetings of the Life group which my wife and I attended, and I continued doing so until the group disbanded about a year later, my reports running from May 3, 2013, to May 17, 2014. Also on August 24, 2013, I began a series of posts based on my family’s daily reading from Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology and plan to continue to do so until we finish reading that book later this year. After that I’ll be devoting Open Theism to occasional posts on open theism and on holidays.
One of my first posts on open theism, posted on November 10, 2012, was called “Some Websites and Blogs on Open Theism. I posted a revised version of it under the same title on June 14, 1013. This is another revised version of it.
Three Reference Websites with “Open Theism” Entries
Many descriptions of open theism occur on the Internet. These three are at standard reference websites:
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy – Open Theism
Theopedia – Open Theism
Wikipedia – Open Theism
Some Websites and Blogs about Open Theism
In my first post, “An Introduction to Open Theism,” I recommended these websites on open theism, the first two supporting and the third opposing open theism:
Open Theism Information Site
ReKnew – Open Theism
Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry – Open Theism
As its name indicates, Open Theism Information Site contains information about open theism. Currently being rebuilt after having being off the Internet for a while, it has these sections: Home, What Is Open Theism?, Information, Publications, Contact Us. What Is Open Theism? features a definition and summary of open theism by John Sanders, author of The God Who Risks and overseer of the site. Information will contain several sections, the most noteworthy so far being Articles, which contains academic articles on open theism by John Sanders, Gregory Boyd, William Hasker, Clark Pinnock, and several other scholars. Publications describes several books on open theism and related topics by various authors.
ReKnew is the website of Greg Boyd, the author of God of the Possible. Its Resources / Essays / Open Theism section contains several items, one of which I especially recommend to anyone wanting to know what open theism is, “A Brief Outline and Defense of the Open View.” The other items are more advanced.
Open Theism at Matt Slick’s Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM) contains material opposing open theism. It has four sections: Introduction, describing open theism; Issues and Answers, criticising open theism; Scriptures Examined, explaining Bible passages cited by open theists as evidence that God learns; and “A Dialogue with an Open Theist.”
Since I posted “An Introduction to Open Theism,” many other websites and logs about or containing significant material about open theism have appeared or at least become known to me. I’ll note only a few here:
God Is Open
The Open View
Library of Theology – Open Theism
Revival Theology Resources – Omniscience and Openness
Jess in Process
God Is Open and The Open View are similar to but not as developed as Open Theism Information Site. They are the creations of Christopher Fisher and Kirk Johnson, respectively.
Library of Theology – Open Theism and Revival Theology Resources – Omniscience and Openness provide numerous articles and longer works on open theism by various writers of the past and the present. Their content is similar, but each contains some items not on the other. In particular, Library of Theology – Open Theism includes several articles by Jesse Morrell of Open Air Outreach.
Jess in Process focuses on Jessica Kelley’s discovery of open theism while dealing with the sickness and death of her son, Henry, to brain cancer. I especially recommend the video “Triumph by Testimony” provided on its Home page.
Websites for Discussing Open Theism
I’m a member of two Facebook groups that host discussions of open theism:
Facebook – Open View Theists
Facebook – Open Theism, Moral Government Theology, Pentecostal
I joined Facebook so that I could participate in its Open View Theists group and I do so regularly. After joining Facebook, I found that it hosts some other open theist groups. So far I’ve joined just one of them, the Open Theism, Moral Government Theology, Pentecostal group. The two groups are administered by Michael Faber and William Lance Huget, respectively. I recommend both to anyone who wishes to learn more about and/or discuss open theism.
I’d appreciate your telling me in a comment on this post of other websites or blogs about or with significant material on open theism.
Bob's Corner 